logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
2h 8m

406. The Man Behind the Dark Web | Brett...

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
About this episode

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down in-person with Brett Johnson, formerly the United States’ most wanted cyber criminal, now a public speaker and expert on cyber security. They discuss the nurturing of a child into a criminal, the compartmentalization of guilt, the psychology of exploitation, the creation of the precursor to the dark web, and what caused Johnson to walk away completely.

 

Brett Johnson. Former U.S. Most Wanted Cybercriminal. Now Good Guy. The United States Secret Service called Mr. Johnson "The Original Internet Godfather" for his role in refining modern financial cybercrime. Or to put it another way: Brett was convicted of 39 felonies, placed on the U.S. Most Wanted List, escaped from prison, and … he built the first organized cybercrime community, Shadowcrew. Shadowcrew was a precursor to today's darknet and darknet markets, and it laid the foundation for the way modern cybercrime channels operate today. Johnson was sentenced to 90 months in Federal Prison. End of story? Not hardly. Brett found redemption through his sister, his wife Michele, and finally the FBI. He was given the chance to turn his life around. He took it. Today, Brett is considered one of the leading authorities on cybercrime, identity theft, and cybersecurity on the planet. He works hard to protect businesses and consumers from the type of person he used to be.

 

 

- Links -

 

For Brett Johnson:

 

On X https://twitter.com/gollumfun?lang=en

 

On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gollumfun/

 

The Brett Johnson Show (website)  https://www.thebrettjohnsonshow.com/

 

The Brett Johnson Show (youtube) https://www.youtube.com/@brettjohnsonshow 

Up next
Jul 7
560. When Does Masculinity Become Toxic? | David French
Sparked by French’s recent New York Times article, “The Democrats’ $20 Million Man Problem,” he and Jordan Peterson discuss the societal failures contributing to male alienation—fatherlessness, loss of purpose, overmedication, and a culture that increasingly pathologizes masculin ... Show More
1h 8m
Jul 3
559. How to Stop Europe’s Collapse: What We Can Learn from Germany's Mistakes | Christine Anderson
Member of European Parliament Christine Anderson joins Jordan Peterson to explain the cultural, political, and economic unraveling of Germany and the EU. Mass immigration, rising crime, deindustrialization and elite-driven climate policies—Anderson argues that Europe is collapsin ... Show More
1h 33m
Jun 30
558. The Snow White Disney Doesn’t Want You To Know
Dr. Jordan Peterson offers a psychological and cultural analysis of the Grimm Brothers' Snow White, using it as a lens to explore evolutionary biology, female status hierarchies, fertility suppression, and the pathology of the “evil queen” archetype. Drawing on research in primat ... Show More
1h 20m
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
The Original Internet Godfather: From FBI’s Most Wanted to Leading Security Expert
Online crime often succeeds because of failure across a variety of systems and as technology changes, cybersecurity becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain. Those that are committing online crime usually operate open source and somewhat freely exchange information. The re ... Show More
43m 4s
Jul 2022
#503 - Brett Johnson - The United States' Most Wanted Hacker
Brett Johnson is referred to by the United States Secret Service as "The Original Internet Godfather", he was the Founder and Leader of Counterfeit Library and Shadow Crew and has been a central figure in the cybercrime world for almost 20 years.Brett has been a lifelong criminal ... Show More
1h 15m
Mar 2022
#272 – Brett Johnson: US Most Wanted Cybercriminal
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’s darknet and darknet markets. Please support this podcast b ... Show More
3h 53m
Jan 2019
The Grifter
Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work.Brett Johnson was a career criminal: a fraudster, a con man, a cyber criminal, but now he’s a legal person operating on the right side ... Show More
54m 16s
Nov 2022
129: Gollumfun (Part 2)
Brett Johnson, AKA Gollumfun (twitter.com/GOllumfun) was involved with the websites Counterfeit Library and Shadow Crew. He tells his story of what happened there and some of the crimes he committed. In part 2, his past catches up to him. Listen to more of Brett on his own show. ... Show More
1h 18m
Mar 2020
60: dawgyg
This is a story about the hacker named “dawgyg” and how he made over $100,000 in a single day, from hacking.Thanks to our guest dawgyg for telling his story.SponsorsThis episode is sponsored by SentinelOne - to learn more about their endpoint security solutions and get a 30-day f ... Show More
43m 9s
Jun 2020
John Rodney McRae
John McRae's committed his first murder when he was only 15. He murdered an 8-year-old boy in his neighborhood. He was convicted of the murder and sent away to prison for life. It was thought that, after 20 years, he was rehabilitated and he was set free. That decision would prov ... Show More
59m 14s
Jun 2023
Hacking and cybercrime
Just how safe is the online world? Yale Professor of Law and Philosophy Scott Shapiro delves into cybersecurity in his book, Fancy Bear Goes Phishing. The book’s title derives from the exploits of ‘Fancy Bear’, an elite unit of the Russian military intelligence that hacked the US ... Show More
42m 1s
Aug 2020
72: Bangladesh Bank Heist
A bank robbery with the objective to steal 1 billion dollars. This is the story of the largest bank robbery in history. And it was all done over a computer.Our guest this episode was Geoff White. Learn more about him at geoffwhite.tech.Check out Geoff’s new book Crime Dot Com. Af ... Show More
36m 47s
May 2020
The Dark Secrets of a Hacking Hero
In May of 2017, Marcus Hutchins saved the internet. A vicious ransomware attack known as WannaCry had infected computer systems across dozens of countries. It was the worst cyberattack in history at the time, and it seemed unstoppable. But Hutchins, a 23-year-old-hacker in Ilfrac ... Show More
30m 39s