Cult of the Dead Cow

The Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc or cDc Communications), founded in 1984, is one of the oldest computer hacking organizations. Cult of the Dead Cow started in Lubbock, Texas, and the group quickly gained fame for their hacktivist campaigns. Their website has extensive material and includes information on various topics: Their blog includes new media releases and diverse opinions and ideas of the cDc’s members.

The group was formed at a slaughterhouse in Lubbock. Early members include people with experience running bulletin board systems, also called BBS. A BBS is a computer server running BBS software that allows users to connect using terminal programs. Once joined, you can upload and download a wide variety of content, files, games, software, and more. The Cult of the Dead Cow further organized a widespread group of BBS services in North America.

The cDc was also responsible for starting Hohocon, the predecessor of hacker.com. Hohocon, hosted initially in Houston, Texas, was one of the first hacker conventions, including participation by law enforcement and the journalist community.

The cDc became involved in various causes, which became the pivot points for their hacktivism. It is said that the cDc specifically targeted the Church of Scientology in the mid-90s. Cult of the Dead Cow is part of a larger cDc Communications. The other two organizations within cDc communications include Ninja Strike Force and Hacktivismo. In 1996, it was said that the cDc member Omega created and used the term “hacktivism” in an email to other group members. There is a long history of the cDc getting involved in many hacktivism causes over the years.

The Cult of the Dead Cow has developed and publicly shared many hacking tools. Perhaps the most famous of these is Back Orifice (BO). BP software was produced for remote system administration. Of course, in the wrong hands, it can allow a user to control a computer running Windows from a remote location remotely. There were several variations of the software developed for various Microsoft products. Initially, the software was developed to illustrate Microsoft’s operating system’s lack of solid security.

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