Who are you?

My name is Joe Grand (aka Kingpin) and I’m an electrical engineer and hardware hacker. I’ve been involved in the computer underground since I was seven years old. After getting into a bit of trouble with some telephone and computer mischief in the early 1990s while part of a crew called Renegade Legion, I became a member of the infamous hacker collective L0pht Heavy Industries, focusing my efforts on defeating the security of hardware products and sharing that knowledge with the world. Now, I run a product development and licensing firm, Grand Idea Studio. I grew up in the Boston hardcore music scene and I am also straight edge, a competitive triathlete, and unwavering when it comes to defending my values, my ethics, and my way of life.