Mark Abene first started using computers when he was about 9 years old, and by 12 he was exploring the electronic frontier from his home in Queens, New York. On bulletin board systems he swapped information with other phone phreakers and hackers, who formed the "Masters of Deception" group and inspired a book.

Abene, whose handle was "Phiber Optik," later received a one-year prison sentence for computer-related activities committed when he was a minor from a judge who said he wanted to send ...