Cabal - Use in Relation To Computers and Usenet

Use in Relation To Computers and Usenet

During the rise of Usenet, the term was used as a semi-ironic description of the efforts of people to maintain some order over the chaotic, anarchic Usenet community (see backbone cabal). As in this specific case, references to an alleged cabal often fall within the realm of conspiracy theory.

Valve Software, the creators of games such as Half-Life, use "Cabal Rooms" when working on projects such as new games or bug fixes. Each cabal was usually dedicated to one very specific area of the game which meant the cabal had to meet very regularly, in the case of Half-Life the members had to meet four days a week, six hours a day for five months.

These rooms usually comprise 10-15 people, many computers and design technologies, and at least one whiteboard. (See adjacent image). As mentioned in the article "The Enemy Within" by Mark Bowden, published in the June 2010 edition of The Atlantic, the Conficker Cabal is a team of specialists working to defeat the Conficker worm. The worm is believed to have infected an estimated 1.5 million machines worldwide. The Conficker Cabal includes Rodney Joffey, vice president and chief technologist for Neustar, Adre' M. DiMono, one of the world's foremost authorities on Botnets, and Philip Porras who operates a large network of honeypots for SRI International. Despite the negative connotations associated with the term "Cabal," the name has stuck with this particular team of "good-guy geeks."