#272 – Brett Johnson: US Most Wanted Cybercriminal

About this episode

<p>Brett Johnson was a US Most Wanted cybercriminal, called the Original Internet Godfather by US Secret Service for building the the first organized cybercrime community called ShadowCrew, which was the precursor to today&#8217;s darknet and darknet markets. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>Public Goods</b>: <a href="https://publicgoods.com/lex">https://publicgoods.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get $15 off<br /> &#8211; <b>NetSuite</b>: <a href="http://netsuite.com/lex">http://netsuite.com/lex</a> to get free product tour<br /> &#8211; <b>Blinkist</b>: <a href="https://blinkist.com/lex">https://blinkist.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get 25% off premium<br /> &#8211; <b>MasterClass</b>: <a href="https://masterclass.com/lex">https://masterclass.com/lex</a> to get 15% off<br /> &#8211; <b>Onnit</b>: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/onnit">https://lexfridman.com/onnit</a> to get up to 10% off</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Brett&#8217;s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/GOllumfun">https://twitter.com/GOllumfun</a><br /> Brett&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://anglerphish.com">https://anglerphish.com</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (08:47) &#8211; Early years<br /> (43:05) &#8211; Phishing and social engineering<br /> (1:01:09) &#8211; SolarWinds cyberattack<br /> (1:06:56) &#8211; Future social engineering fears<br /> (1:09:37) &#8211; Early cybercrimes<br /> (1:22:10) &#8211; Cybercrime entrepreneurship<br /> (1:25:39) &#8211; ShadowCrew<br /> (1:56:42) &#8211; Dark web<br /> (2:05:29) &#8211; ShadowCrew arrested<br /> (2:17:28) &#8211; Cybercrime<br /> (2:22:34) &#8211; Love<br /> (2:54:39) &#8211; Prison<br /> (3:22:50) &#8211; Life after prison<br /> (3:44:39) &#8211; Advice for young people<br /> (3:46:03) &#8211; Hope for the future<br /> (3:49:32) &#8211; Meaning of life</p>