55chaosagentsliketheblackhatsbutdon’tfollowthewhite
hats’strictethicalcodes,either.“Agrayhatis justtold,‘Get
thejobdone,andyougetpaid,’” saysTheresaPayton,a for-
merWhiteHousechiefinformationofficerwhonowruns
FortaliceSolutionsLLC,a cybersecurityconsultingfirm.
“Theydon’thavea rulebook.”
Kayeinhabitedthisquasi-legalworld,workingforprivate
clientswhoheardabouthimthroughhackingforumsor
word-of-mouth.Healsoappliedforstraightjobs,buthis
demeanorputemployersoff.Whilehewasthoughtfuland
soft-spoken,therewasa “blackcloudaroundhim,”saysAvi
Weissman,founderofanIsraelicybersecurityschool,who
consideredworkingwithhim.Kayewasawkwardinperson,
witha pronouncedsquintanda wayofansweringquestions
thatmadeit seemlikehewashidingsomething.
Inabout 2011, Kayewas a finalist fora job atRSA
SecurityLLC,a largeAmericancyberdefensecompany
withofficesinIsrael,butwasrejectedbecauseofunspec-
ifiedhumanresourcesconcerns.Kayetoldhimselfit was
forthebest.Corporatelifedidn’tappealtohim.Nowin
his20s,herelishedhisfreedom,workingthroughthenight
whenheneededtoandhangingoutwithhisfriendsin
barswhenhedidn’t.
Hisadventuresintheonlineunderworldcarriedrisks.
In2012,Israelipolicequestionedhiminconnectionwithan
investigationofa gray-hatacquaintance.Kayewasreleased
withoutcharge.ThatyearhedecidedtomovetoLondon.
He’djustproposedtohisgirlfriend,a formeruniversity
administratorwhomovedtoIsraeltobewithhim.She
wantedtopursuehercareerintheU.K.,andhewanteda
freshstart.
AnthonyZboralski,a hacker-turned-entrepreneur,met
Kayeata WestLondonpartyin 2014 andrecallssensinghis
frustrationandbitterness.Kayehadrareandvaluableskills,
yetnoupstandingcompanywouldemploya hackerwithhis
background.ZboralskisayshetriedtofindKayelegitimate
work,withoutsuccess.
A fewmonthslater,Kayeheardfroma friendbackhome
abouta businessmanofferingfreelanceworktopeopleinthe
Israelihackingscene.Thefriendconnectedthem,andthe
man,whosenamewasAvi,calledtosayhewaslookingfor
helpwithcybersecurity.HisbusinesswasbasedinLiberia.
InFebruary 2012 a dozenyoungwomeninheelstottered
upthestepsofanofficebuildinginMonrovia,wearing
fixedsmilesandcolorfulsashesbearingthenamesoftheir
homecounties.TheywerecontestantsintheMissLiberia
beautypageantandhadbeeninvitedtotheheadquarters
ofCellcomLiberia,theevent’ssponsorandthecountry’s
second-largest telecommunications company. Inside, Avishai
“Avi” Marziano, Cellcom’s chief executive officer, took the
microphone. An Israeli with gelled black hair, Marziano was
dynamic and had a gift for flashy promotions. “We are all
about Liberia,” he said.
Cellcom was owned by a group of adventurous American
and Israeli businessmen led by Yoram Cohen, a Miami-based
former attorney with shipping interests in the region, and
LR Group, an African investment firm run by former Israeli
Air Force pilots. Cellcom had grown rapidly since its 2004
creation, its red-and-white logo plastered across shanty-
towns and marketplaces around the country. Marziano, a
trained engineer, seemed to enjoy the attention. After pre-
senting each Miss Liberia hopeful with a new phone and
SIM cards loaded with credit, he grinned for the cameras
and signed off with his company’s slogan: “With Cellcom,
you are always No. 1.”
In terms of market share, though, Cellcom was stuck
firmly in second place behind Lonestar, a former monop-
oly backed by one of Africa’s largest telecommunications
groups. Lonestar’s figurehead, chairman, and part owner
was Benoni Urey, who’d faced international sanctions
because of his links to jailed warlord Charles Taylor. (The
sanctions were lifted in 2014.) Urey’s 40% stake in Lonestar
made him Liberia’s wealthiest man, one of the country’s few
bona fide millionaires.
Across Africa, mobile phone use was soaring, bringing
technology to places where few people had access to a com-
puter. The rivalry between Urey’s Lonestar and Marziano’s
Cellcom was “cutthroat” from the start, according to
Nagbe, the Liberian information minister. When Cellcom
announced it would give defecting Lonestar customers a
monthoffreecalls,a decade-longpricewarfollowed.Under
Marziano,Cellcomgaveaway 100 motorcyclesin 100 days,
commissioneda popsongforpromotionalvideos, hired
comedians as spokespeople, and mocked Lonestar relent-
lessly in its ads.
Urey complained to the Liberian Telecommunications
Authority, as well as to President Ellen Sirleaf, that
Cellcom’s giveaways were unfair, to no avail. Cellcom’s mar-
ket share grew steadily. At its 10-year anniversary party in
December 2014, scaled down somewhat because of a deadly
Ebola outbreak, Marziano told guests that the company’s
development phase was over. Now it was time to dominate.
“We aim to be at the top of the telecommunications mar-
ket in 2015,” he said.
At least part of Marziano’s plan would rely on a man
who’d never set foot in Liberia: Daniel Kaye. The CEO and
the hacker met for the first time in London in about 2014.
They made an odd pairing. Marziano liked to quote Henry
Ford’s management aphorisms and spend hours at the
gym, taking steroids to get extra ripped. He also entered
bodybuilding contests, where he posed for photos in