How Two Kids Hacked the CIA

October 2015 – CIA Headquarters, Virginia

John Brennan, Director of the CIA—the world’s most powerful intelligence agency—received a strange call from an unknown number. The voice on the other end wasn’t that of a terrorist, a foreign spy, or even an insider. It was a teenager.

The boy calmly told Brennan:

“I’ve hacked into the entire CIA system.”

Had this call been made to anyone else, it might have been dismissed as a prank. But calling the CIA Director’s personal number, which isn’t even supposed to be publicly known? That was something serious.

This is the true story of how two teenage hackers brought America’s top intelligence agencies to their knees. Who were they? Why did they do it? And how did they pull it off?

The Call That Shook the CIA

When asked what he wanted, the young hacker said:

“Stop attacking the Middle East, especially Palestine. Let the world live in peace.”

Even before this eerie phone call, the CIA had detected unusual activity—yes, their systems had indeed been breached.

What followed was chaos. The American government, the CIA, and multiple intelligence branches went into high alert. Being hacked by a teenager wasn’t just a security issue—it was a major embarrassment.

The CIA is known for being obsessively secretive. Even their on-site Starbucks doesn’t put logos or agent names on coffee cups to avoid potential identification. So imagine the panic when their internal system had been compromised.

Who Was Behind It?

The call was traced to Leicester, England. The hacker was just 15 years old and went by the alias Cracka. He was the founder of a small but bold hacking group called Crackas With Attitude.

But he wasn’t working alone.

Back in 2008, in Virginia, another teenager named Default (real name: Justin Grey Liverman) had begun his journey into the world of hacking—not out of malice, but to cheat in online video games. Eventually inspired by the hacktivist group Anonymous, he grew more political in his motives.

He joined a hacking group called AnonSec, which used botnets—networks of infected computers—to gain access to secure systems. During one such exploration, Default gained access to the financial records of a Canadian medical college and even deleted their student debt records worth $9 million.

Then came a moment of rage-fueled hacking.

In 2014, Denmark legalized animal abuse. As an animal lover, Default was furious. Along with his group, he hacked into Danish government websites and launched DDoS attacks on any pro-law websites. The public backlash forced Denmark to reverse the law in 2015.

The Spark: Edward Snowden

The turning point came with Edward Snowden’s 2013 NSA leak, which revealed that the CIA was secretly collecting personal data of millions of internet users. Cracka and Default, both deeply disturbed, decided to strike back.

They believed the CIA should know what it feels like when someone violates your privacy.

Hacking the CIA

Their first major act: leaking the personal phone number of James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence.

Next, they set their sights on the CIA Director himself—John Brennan.

Cracka found a Verizon number linked to Brennan and called Verizon tech support pretending to be an employee. He had already stolen Brennan’s PIN through earlier hacks. After verifying his identity, Verizon gave up Brennan’s personal info—including his account number, backup phone, billing address, and partial bank card digits.

Using this information, Cracka reset Brennan’s AOL email password and gained full access to his personal inbox.

Inside?

Classified CIA documents. Social security numbers of other agents. Internal discussions and sensitive memos.

Brennan found out quickly and shut down the account—but it was too late. Cracka had already downloaded everything.

The Fallout

Cracka began leaking the documents online. The CIA was humiliated. Headlines screamed about one of the worst breaches in intelligence history.

Cracka didn’t stop there. He released personal data of:

• 9,000 Department of Justice employees
• 20,000 FBI agents

The U.S. government was desperate to find the culprits—but they left almost no digital trail.

Almost.

The Mistake That Brought Them Down

While Cracka remained careful, Default made a fatal mistake. He drunkenly bragged to a friend that he was behind the CIA hack. That friend reported him.

Soon after, the FBI raided Default’s house and arrested him. During interrogation, he revealed Cracka’s name—Kane Gamble.

British police arrested Cracka with help from the FBI.

Justice Served?

• Kane Gamble (Cracka), being a minor, received 2 years in prison.
• Justin Liverman (Default), who wasn’t directly involved in the CIA breach, got 5 years.

Today, both are free and working in the cybersecurity field.

Final Thoughts

Was what they did right or wrong?

They exposed the weaknesses of a superpower. They highlighted privacy violations. But they also broke serious laws and endangered national security.

What do you think?

Let me know in the comments.

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