John Lee, a.k.a. John Threat, used the name "Corrupt" as a member of Masters of Deception (MOD), a New York based hacker group in the early '90s.Village Voice, "Rebel Hackers: The Computer Kids who Phreak Out the Feds," By Julian Dibbell, July 24, 1990''Shift Magazine'', "Being John Lee," By Christopher Shulgan, 2002 As a result of his participation in the

Great Hacker War The Great Hacker War was a purported conflict between the Masters of Deception (MOD), an unsanctioned splinter faction of the older hacker group Legion of Doom (LOD), and several smaller associated groups. Both primary groups involved made attempt ...

, between

MOD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

and rival hacker group Legion of Doom, he was indicted on federal wiretapping charges in 1992. He pled guilty and was sentenced to one year at a federal detention center. His participation in the Great Hacker War landed him on the cover of ''Wired Magazine'' in 1994.'' Wired'',
Gang Wars in Cyberspace
" By Michelle Slatella and Joshua Quittner, December 1994 Lee was born on July 6, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in Brownsville, where he was a member of the Decepticons, a Brooklyn-based street gang formed in the early '80s, named after the villains in the

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

, '' Transformers''. Lee attended

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School (pronounced ), commonly referred to among its students as Stuy (pronounced ), is a State school, public university-preparatory school, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school ...

and went on to New York University. During his freshman year at NYU, Lee was sentenced to prison for his role in the

. Lee also has editing, producing, and directing credits in film and television. In 2004, he founded Mediathreat, LLC, a film production company.''Mass Appeal'', "A Digital Gangsta," By Noah Rubin and Todd Jordan, 2004 In 2005, he directed the original documentary " Dead Prez: Bigger than Hip Hop."Dead Prez: It's Bigger than Hip Hop @ Starz.com
/ref> In 2011, he co-directed the music video for MAKE OUT's single "You Can't Be Friends With Everyone" with Diane Martel. Lee also gained notoriety in 2001 when he revealed himself as the anonymous editor of UrbanExpose.com, a controversial entertainment gossip website.''The Industry Standard'', "An Urban Mystery Man Revealed," By Kenneth Li, February 12, 2001''Inside Magazine'', "Confession of a Media Terrorist," By John Lee, March 6, 2001

References

External links

Wired Magazine December 1994: Gang Wars in CyberspaceHackateer, directed by John Threat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Threat, John 1973 births Living people Masters of Deception African-American people People associated with computer security People from Brooklyn