Worlds first hacker Nevil Maskelyne

The History of Hacking: 1903 the world's first Hack

In 1903 the world’s first hacking incident occurred, marking the start of an era. At the Royal Academy of Sciences in England, Nevil Maskelyne pulled off an unharmful yet very embarrassing hack.

Join our newsletter:
So what actually happened with the world's first hack that occurred in 1903? Well, first we need to set the scene. In 1903 Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor who’s considered to be the father of modern radio came up with a wireless broadcasting technology that could potentially replace the telegraph. This made telegraph operators worried that their business might be in jeopardy. Guglielmo Marconi claimed that the technology was secure, but there was some doubt and this is where the Eastern Telegraph Company saw an opportunity to sabotage a demo Guglielmo Marconi had planned with John Ambrose Fleming for the technology. The Eastern Telegraph Company hired Nevil Maskelyne, a British magician and inventor, but also a manager of Anglo-American Telegraph Company which controlled the Valdemar Poulsen radio patents.
On the day of the demo, at the Royal Academy of Sciences in London England, John Ambrose Fleming sat ready to receive Guglielmo Marconi’s message from 300 miles away in Cornwall, but right as the demo was about to begin a message in Morse code began to arrive, however that message wasn’t from Guglielmo Marconi. How were they able to tell you might ask? Well, one word was repeated over and over “Rats”. More and more messages started coming through in Morse and they got more personal, mocking Marconi: "There was a young fellow of Italy, who diddled the public quite prettily".
How did Nevil Maskelyne do this? Well, it was quite simple he used powerful wireless pulses to send out his messages and demonstrated that radio was not as private of a channel as Marconi had made it out to be. It showed that wireless messages could both be intercepted and interfered with.

Which CMMC practice can protect wireless access?

CMMC practice AC.3.012 can protect wireless access using authentication and encryption. By using authentication and encryption to protect your WiFi networks you prevent unauthorized persons from accessing your network. This prevents attackers from easily sniffing your WiFi traffic or accessing your network resources.

When was the world's first hack?

1903

Where did the world's first hack occur?

The Royal Academy of Sciences in London England

Who was the world's first hacker?

Nevil Maskelyne

Who is Nevil Maskelyne?

Nevil Maskelyne was a British magician and inventor, but also a manager of Anglo-American Telegraph Company which controlled the Valdemar Poulsen radio patents.

Who is the father of modern radio?

Guglielmo Marconi
 

Discover Our NIST SP 800-171 & CMMC 2.0 Solutions:

 /assets/images/app/complaince_accelerator.gif

Compliance Accelerator

Power through compliance. Meet and maintain your NIST SP 800-171 & CMMC 2.0 compliance requirements.
 /assets/images/app/quantum_accelerator.gif

Quantum Assessor

Transform your business. Create new revenue streams and provide scalability for your NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC 2.0 services.
 /assets/images/app/supply_chain_verifier.gif

Supply Chain Verifier

Trust is everything. Verify, monitor, and support subcontactor compliance.