RST in Peace, FX...

There are not many people I would credit with having had an immense influence on my personality and development. Felix (FX) Lindner of Phenoelit is one of those people .

On Sunday, I received the news that he has passed away. Although or perhaps precisely because we had not seen or spoken to each other for some time, I would like to share a few words about this extraordinary human being.

Our paths first crossed sometime in the early 2000s – I honestly don’t remember exactly when. Back then, he was already one of the rock stars of the hacker scene, long before the term “infosec” even existed. I was the intimidated, insignificant guy who didn’t quite fit the mold of the hacker community at all, who listened to different music and hardly spoke English. But none of that mattered to FX. I got to know him as someone who simply did not care where people came from or what they brought with them.

As for me, I have brought a lot of questions. And a few beers.

What followed was a journey of several years into the depths of hex editors, disassemblers, and debuggers. FX was a mentor who shared his knowledge and experience without hesitation. Someone who, with patience and dedication, could explain in precise detail how a piece of software works under the hood – and when it might be wise to put on protective gear.

FX had a gift, and it always filled me with great joy to witness him exercise it: He truly lived the hacker mindset – no matter what he was doing or where he was. He had a way of thinking outside the box and instinctively questioning assumptions, always looking for possibilities no one else saw. Whenever he began a sentence with, “What actually happens if…,” something ended up being broken. Every single time.

And the most important “what happens if”-experience he ever gave me, the one that provided the foundation for the rest of my life – was: “What actually happens if I’m staring at something I’ve never seen or heard of before?” And for that, I am endlessly grateful to him. Because the answer, essentially, is: “It’s broken. If you want it to be.”

And if there was only one thing we celebrated back in the days, it was this one: things were meant to break (sometime).

We’ve had a wild time – countless small c0d3&b33r gatherings, the legendary PH-Neutral parties, concerts, park parties, and barbecues on projects 8,000 kilometers away from home. Over and over again, FX brought people together, connected them, and didn’t care in the slightest about preserving elite, secret knowledge.

FX pushed me into the deep end more times than I can count. He opened up new horizons and provided one impetus after another. When he founded his own company, I had the privilege of being part of his team and experiencing project work in the field of unconventional IT security services, far beyond the world of compliance checklists. And even throughout this entire experiment, he continually shared his vision, explained his reasoning, and spoke – sometimes almost excessively humble, but always openly – about his own mistakes.

We eventually lost touch. And yet, FX was and remains a role model for me, and one of the best friends I had. Thanks to his openness, we were all able to benefit from his experience – and I still benefit from it today.

Rest in peace, my friend. I deeply regret that we were unable to see each other one more time.

Cheers, ths