In 1986, the Hanover Hackers successfully broke into a number of computer systems, including a defense contractor in McLean, Virginia; the Lawrence Livermore Lab in Berkeley, California; and Ft Buckner, Okinawa, Japan.

The hackers used home computers in Hanover, Germany, to access transatlantic cable or satellite phone lines and penetrated the defense contractor's system on the US East Coast. From there, the hackers broke into the Lawrence Livermore Lab in California.

After breaking into the Lawrence Livermore Lab, they used this link to establish contact with other information systems, with stops at many defense contractors, Agencies, and research labs.