Hagbard (Karl Koch)
Encyclopedia
Karl Werner Lothar Koch was a German
hacker
in the 1980s, who called himself "hagbard", after Hagbard Celine
. He was involved in a Cold War
computer espionage
incident.
. As his moniker would suggest, he was heavily influenced by The Illuminatus! Trilogy
by Robert Anton Wilson
and Robert Shea
. Besides adopting his pseudonym from a character in the book, he also named his computer "FUCKUP" ("First Universal Cybernetic-Kinetic Ultra-Micro Programmer"), after a computer designed and built by that character. He was addicted to cocaine
and became extremely paranoid
, convinced he was fighting the Illuminati
like his literary namesake.
Koch was loosely affiliated with the CCC
. He worked with the hackers known as DOB (Dirk-Otto Brezinski), Pengo (Hans Heinrich Hübner), and Urmel (Markus Hess
), and was involved in selling hacked information from US
military computers to the KGB
. Clifford Stoll
's book The Cuckoo's Egg
gives a first-person account of the hunt and eventual identification of Hess. Pengo subsequently came forward and confessed to the authorities.
Koch was found burned to death with gasoline in a forest near Celle
. The death was generally considered a suicide.
In 1990 a documentary was released titled "The KGB, The Computer and Me"
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
in the 1980s, who called himself "hagbard", after Hagbard Celine
Hagbard Celine
Freeman Hagbard Celine, H.M., S.H. is a central protagonist in the Illuminatus trilogy of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, named after the legendary Viking hero Hagbard who died for love. In the Schrödinger's Cat trilogy, the sequel to Illuminatus!, it is stated that 'Hagbard Celine'...
. He was involved in a Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
computer espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
incident.
Biography
Koch was born in HanoverHanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. As his moniker would suggest, he was heavily influenced by The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magick-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both...
by Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
and Robert Shea
Robert Shea
Robert Joseph Shea was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy Illuminatus!. It became a cult success and was later turned into a marathon-length stage show put on at the British National Theatre and elsewhere. In...
. Besides adopting his pseudonym from a character in the book, he also named his computer "FUCKUP" ("First Universal Cybernetic-Kinetic Ultra-Micro Programmer"), after a computer designed and built by that character. He was addicted to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and became extremely paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
, convinced he was fighting the Illuminati
Illuminati
The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
like his literary namesake.
Koch was loosely affiliated with the CCC
Chaos Computer Club
The Chaos Computer Club is an organization of hackers. The CCC is based in Germany and other German-speaking countries.The CCC describes itself as "a galactic community of life forms, independent of age, sex, race or societal orientation, which strives across borders for freedom of...
. He worked with the hackers known as DOB (Dirk-Otto Brezinski), Pengo (Hans Heinrich Hübner), and Urmel (Markus Hess
Markus Hess
Markus Hess, a German citizen, is best known for his endeavours as a hacker in the late 1980s. Hess was recruited by the KGB to be an international spy with the objective of securing U.S...
), and was involved in selling hacked information from US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military computers to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. Clifford Stoll
Clifford Stoll
*High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian, Clifford Stoll, 2000, ISBN 0-385-48976-5.-External links:* at Berkeley's Open Computing Facility**, December 3, 1989* copy at Electronic Frontier Foundation, May 1988...
's book The Cuckoo's Egg
The Cuckoo's Egg (book)
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage is a 1989 book written by Clifford Stoll. It is his first-person account of the hunt for a computer cracker who broke into a computer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory .-Summary:Clifford Stoll managed some...
gives a first-person account of the hunt and eventual identification of Hess. Pengo subsequently came forward and confessed to the authorities.
Koch was found burned to death with gasoline in a forest near Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
. The death was generally considered a suicide.
Movies
A German movie about his life, entitled 23, was released in 1998. While the film was critically acclaimed, it has been harshly criticized as exploitative by real-life witnesses. A corrective to the film's take is the documentation written by his friends.In 1990 a documentary was released titled "The KGB, The Computer and Me"
Music
- Koch was memorialized by Clock DVAClock DVAClock DVA are an industrial music, post-punk and EBM group from Sheffield, England. The group was formed in 1978, with two members, Adolphus "Adi" Newton and Steven "Judd" Turner. Along with contemporaries Heaven 17, Clock DVA's name was inspired by the Russian-influenced Nadsat of Anthony Burgess'...
at the opening of their music video for "The Hacker".
See also
- Boris Floricic a.k.a. TronTron (hacker)Boris Floricic, better known by his pseudonym Tron , was a German hacker and phreaker whose death in unclear circumstances has led to various conspiracy theories...
, a computer hacker who suffered a similar fate