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Computer underground Digest Sun Oct 16, 1994 Volume 6 : Issue 90
ISSN 1004-042X
Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
Retiring Shadow Archivist: Stanton McCandlish
Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
Ian Dickinson
Urban Legend Editor: E. Greg Shrdlugold
CONTENTS, #6.90 (Sun, Oct 16, 1994)
File 1--"Operation Sundevil" is finally over for Dr. Ripco
File 2--Turing Test Conference
File 3--Internet Security: Secure Comm over Untrusted Networks
File 4--CPSR Award to Antonia Stone
File 5--"Tastes like Chicken" ("chicken" domain explanation/Canada)
File 6--More Gems from Spam-meister Siegel (NYT Excerpts)
File 7--Cu Digest Header Information (unchanged since 10 Sept 1994)
CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION APPEARS IN
THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 1994 00:57:06 -0500 (CDT)
From: bje@RIPCO.COM(Bruce Esquibel)
Subject: File 1--"Operation Sundevil" is finally over for Dr. Ripco
((MODERATORS' NOTE: I first learned of Operation Sundevil, part of
the US Secret Service's "hacker crackdown" of 1990 described by Bruce
Sterling in the book of the same name, the day after it happened.
I called RIPCO BBS in Chicago and received a voice message instead of
the familiar computer tone. Dr. Ripco and Ripco BBS had been busted,
and he bade farewell to us all:
This is 528-5020.
As you are probably aware, on May 8, the Secret Service
conducted a series of raids across the country. Early news
reports indicate these raids involved people and computers
that could be connected with credit card and long distance
toll fraud. Although no arrests or charges were made, Ripco
BBS was confiscated on that morning. It's involvement at
this time is unknown. Since it is unlikely that the system
will ever return, I'd just like to say goodbye, and thanks
for your support for the last six and a half years. It's
been interesting, to say the least.
Talk to ya later. %Dr. Ricpo%
The raiders carted off Dr. Ripco's BBS-related computer hardware,
books, posters, and other possessions. No computer-related charges
were filed against Dr Ripco then or since. Nor was he given any
indication that he was under suspicion for any offense. For over four
years, he remained in legal limbo, while over $15,000 worth of
computer equipment depreciated in government possession.
Because of its lively and diverse message boards, the large
cross-section of users, and the exceptional competence of Dr. Ripco as
a sysop, the BBS became one of the most popular "underground" boards
in the country in the 1980s. Despite its reputation as a "hacker
haven," Ripco was an open system with at that time one of the best
collection of text files in the nation. As we reported in CuD 3.02 in
1991, it also attracted an informant known as "The Dictator," also
identified as "Dale Drew." According to court documents, "The
Dictator's" reports were the primary "evidence" to justify the Ripco
raid.
When announcing the news of Operation Sundevil, Secret Service
spokespersons lauded its scope--150 USSS agents in addition to local
law enforcement support, 13 cities, 28 search warrants, 23,000 seized
computer disks--they had no reason to suspect that their
then-perceived "success" would quickly turn into a major embarrassment
of comic proportions (see CuD 1.09 for Sundevil news). A few
eventual arrests--some of which were not Sundevil dependant--were
the only demonstrable outcome. Even these were tarnished by USSS and
others' hyperbole and similar excesses: The ludicrous claim that this
"group" was responsible for what one newspaper reported as "up to $50
million" in fraud costs, the questionable use of an informant, the
seemingly indiscriminate manner in which equipment was seized, the
lack of subsequent information to convince a skeptical community that
the raids' excesses were warranted--soon had Sundevil operatives on
the defensive. Some of those responsible for Sundevil, such as USDA
Bill Cook and USSS special agent Tim Foley, were successfully sued in
civil court for their excesses in raiding Steve Jackson Games a few
months earlier. One high-profile state prosecutor closely associated
with Sundevil often cautioned critics to "wait until all the facts
come out," presumably because the operation and those who planned it
would be vindicated.
After over four years, vindicating facts have not yet emerged. Quite
the opposite: Sundevil was costly, had few significant results,
produced few directly-related indictments or convictions, proved a
major public relations disaster, and messed up some innocent lives.
Sundevil did, however, have some significant unintended
consequences. It galvanized the cybercommunity, increased the
visibility of The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Computer
Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), and led to the
involvement of many individuals and groups in monitoring and shaping
legislation affecting the "information infrastructure."
Ripco BBS returned to operation a few months after the raid more
popular than ever, and has since evolved into a sophisticated system
linked to the Internet. The original telephone number is the same,
although it now has multiple lines to accommodate all the users.
And, for Dr. Ripco, Operation Sundevil has finally come to a close.
His equipment was finally returned, although the original files
were erased. Ripco can be reached at (312) 528-5020.))
== Dr. Ripco's report on events this week ==
Hiya Jim,
Besides offering greetings I just wanted to let you know that
Operation Sundevil is officially closed, I guess.
Ripco (the original) came home to roost, the SS finally released the
seized hardware and I picked it up today. From what I gathered I was
the last one to get out of their hair.
I know SJ had some problems but surprisingly, everything seems to be
in fairly good shape. My guess is it all probably just sat in storage.
Although it physically is back, the system isn't. One condition was to
have all the data erased prior to return because of the copyrighted
pirate warez lurking about. The guy from the justice department said
it wouldn't look right to just return it, would put the feds in the
light that it was ok to have it with their blessing.
I suppose I could of cut some deal leaving the non-warez intact but
after seeing it take 4 1/2 years just to make up their mind to return
it, I didn't feel like waiting another 4 for someone to sort
everything out. A few pieces of the hardware still have some value
today, the old bbs would only have historical value.
It would also appear (Secret Service agents) Foley & Golden are/were
the butt of some inside joke.
Every time their names were mentioned, someone either rolled their eyes or
engaged in jest. The new guy in charge (Greg Meyer) seemed pretty cool
overall. I know, never trust a fed, but it was interesting he had the same
attitude like the guy in D.C. (Josuha Silverman), a hint of
embarrassment and total lack of logic behind the whole thing. It
appears the computer fraud division, at least here in the Chicago
office is more aiming at counterfeiting.
Anyway, I wanted to say thanks for everything. I don't know what would
have happened if we didn't communicate early on, but it's unlikely
things would have ended in a whimper like it did. I'm totally
convinced the efforts of CuD, the EFF and CPSR made a major impact on
all of this; it put the feds in a defensive position instead of
offensive. Things could always have come out better but you have to be
grateful for what you have.
Thanks much Jim, all your efforts and assistance is deeply
appreciated.
Bruce Esquibel (Dr. Ripco)
bje@ripco.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 00:10:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Robert Epstein <repstein@NUNIC.NU.EDU>
Subject: File 2--Turing Test Conference
**********************************************************************
NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS
For Immediate Release September 1, 1994
**********************************************************************
INTERNATIONAL QUEST FOR THINKING COMPUTER
TO BE HELD IN SAN DIEGO
(Human vs. Computers on December 16th)
In the very near future, many believe that human beings will be
joined by an equally intelligent species -- computers so smart that they
can truly think, converse, and perhaps even feel.
To expedite the search for this new species, the fourth annual
Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence will be held at
the new San Marcos campus of California State University on Friday,
December 16th, 1994. The Loebner Prize pits humans against
computers in what the Wall Street Journal described as "a groundbreaking
battle." The first three competitions drew national and international
media coverage.
In the event, human judges converse at computer terminals and
attempt to determine which terminals are controlled by fellow humans and
which by computers. For the 1994 competition, conversation will be
restricted to certain topics. This year, as in 1993, all judges will be
members of the national press. The 1993 judges represented TIME
Magazine, Popular Science, PBS, the Voice of America, and elsewhere. The
contest has drawn media attention around the world, including coverage on
CNN television, PBS television, the New York Times (front page), the
Washington Post, the London Guardian, The Economist, the San Diego Union
Tribune (front page), Science News, and many periodicals in the computer
field, including Computerworld and AI Magazine (cover story).
"Surprisingly, in early competitions, some of the computers fooled
some of the judges into thinking they were people," said Dr. Robert
Epstein, Research Professor at National University, Director Emeritus of
the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and the organizer and
director of the three previous contests.
The author of the winning software of this year's event will receive
$2,000 and a bronze medal. In 1995, Epstein said, the first open-ended
contest -- one with no topic restrictions -- will be conducted. When a
computer can pass an unrestricted test, the grand prize of $100,000 will
be awarded, and the contest will be discontinued.
The competition is named after benefactor Dr. Hugh G. Loebner of New
York City and was inspired by computer pioneer Alan Turing, who in 1950
proposed a test like the Loebner contest as a way to answer the question:
Can computers think?
Transcripts of conversations during the first three competitions are
available from the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies (telephone
617-491-9020). Diskettes that will play back the conversations in real
time may also be purchased.
A partial list of sponsors of previous competitions includes: Apple
Computers, Computerland, Crown Industries, GDE Systems, IBM Personal
Computer Company's Center for Natural Computing, Greenwich Capital
Markets, Motorola, the National Science Foundation, The Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation, and The Weingart Foundation.
Application guidelines: Official rules and an application may be
obtained by contacting Dr. Robert Epstein, Contest Director, 933
Woodlake Drive, Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007-1009 Tel: 619-436-4400
Fax: 619-436-4490 Internet: repstein@nunic.nu.edu * The deadline for
receipt of applications is November 1, 1994. * Applications must be
accompanied by printed protocols recording actual interaction between the
system to be entered and one or more humans. The protocols may not
exceed ten double-spaced pages. * Applications must specify a single
domain of discourse in which the computer system is proficient. The
domain must be expressed by an English phrase containing no more than
five words. * Each entry must communicate using approximations of
natural English, and it must be prepared to communicate for an indefinite
period of time. * Computer entries may contain standard or customized
hardware and software. The hardware may be of any type as long as it is
inorganic and as long as its replies are not controlled by humans
responding in real time to the judges' inputs. * Entrants must be
prepared to interface their systems to standard computer terminals over
telephone lines at 2400 baud. * The prize will be awarded if there is
at least one entry.
Advance notice of new guidelines for 1995: The 1995 event will be
an unrestricted Turing Test, requiring computer entries to be able to
converse for an indefinite period of time with no topic restrictions. In
1995, entries may be required to run on hardware located at the
competition site.
For further information: Complete transcripts and IBM-compatible
diskettes that play the 1991, 1992, and 1993 conversations in real-time
are available for purchase from the Cambridge Center for Behavioral
Studies (tel: 617-491-9020). Sponsorship opportunities are available.
************************
CONTACTS:
Dr. Robert Epstein
Contest Director
619-436-4400 (fax 4490)
repstein@nunic.nu.edu
Dr. Hugh G. Loebner
Prize Donor
201-672-2277 (fax 7536)
loebner@acm.org
------------------------------
From: voidstar@NETCOM.COM(Scott Corcoran)
Subject: File 3--Internet Security: Secure Comm over Untrusted Networks
Date: Thu, 22 Sep 1994 08:35:44 GMT
INTERNET SECURITY
SECURE COMMUNICATIONS OVER UNTRUSTED NETWORKS
A one-day seminar on November 12, 1994
Embarcadero Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco.
Methods of achieving authentication, authorization,
confidentiality, integrity, and nonrepudiation are key to the
successful realization of the National Information
Infrastructure (NII). Today's Internet is a proving ground for
what will become the NII.
The San Francisco Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society has put
together an outstanding program on encryption, intrusion
detection, firewalls, architectures, and protocols for Internet
Security. Speakers in this seminar will describe several of
the main techniques that exist today and the directions in
which they are evolving. The seminar will be helpful to
engineers, engineering managers and product planners seeking
current knowledge of Internet Security.
PROGRAM
8:30 a.m. Registration opens
9:00 a.m. Introduction
9:05 a.m. Keynote Address James Bidzos, President of RSA
9:45 a.m. Steven Bellovin, Ph.D., Bell Labs
"Firewalls for Computer Security"
11:00 a.m. Teresa Lunt, SRI
"Intrusion Detection"
11:45 a.m. Round Table Lunch (incl. with registration)
1:00 p.m. Professor Martin E. Hellman, Ph.D., Stanford
"Cryptography: The Foundation of Secure Networks"
2:00 p.m. Dan Nessett, Ph.D.,
SunSoft and PSRG
"Future Internet Security Architecture"
3:00 p.m. Matt Blaze, Ph.D., Bell Labs
"Protocols: Security Without Firewalls"
4:00 p.m. "Public Safety vs. Private Liberty"
A Panel Discussion on the Social
Implications of Internet Security
Rex Buddenberg NPS
Alan McDonald FBI
Stewart Baker formerly of the NSA
James Bidzos President of RSA
Matt Blaze Bell Labs
Martin Hellman Stanford
A one day seminar in San Francisco, on Saturday, November 12th,
covering private and public-key encryption, key-escrow,
fire-walls, architecture and protocols for security,
intrustion detection, and a spirited panel discussion on
"Public Safety vs. Private Liberty" !
SEATING IS LIMITED. PRE-REGISTER BY OCTOBER 15TH.
9:05 Keynote Address
James Bidzos, President of RSA
James Bidzos, President of RSA Data Security, will present the
keynote address. Mr. Bidzos heads a company whose encryption
technologies are licensed for products ranging from computer
operating systems, to software copy protection, to electronic
mail, to secure telephones. RSA has licensed several million
copies of its encryption software, and has become a focal point
for debate on appropriate application of cryptography.
Mr. Bidzos has gained a unique perspective on the requirements
of effective cryptographic systems. He will highlight the
problem of providing strong encryption for users of computer
networks while meeting the legitimate needs of law enforcement
9:45 Steven Bellovin, Ph.D., Bell Labs
"Firewalls for Computer Security"
When you connect your computer to the Internet, you also create
a channel into your computer. Clever vandals, thieves and
industrial spies have found ways to abuse most of the Internet
protocols from FTP and Telnet to the World Wide Web and
Network Time Protocols. Short of pulling the plug, firewalls
provide the surest defense. The firewall administrator must
keep abreast of new methods of attack and understand how
firewalls can mitigate the threat. Steven M. Bellovin, Ph.D.,
is a senior researcher at AT&T's Bell Laboratories and
co-author of the well known guide "Firewalls and Internet
Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker." As one responsible for
protecting "the phone company" from Internet hackers, Dr. Bellovin
can describe from firsthand experience how firewalls can be
constructed to screen them out. Dr. Bellovin will join us in a
live video teleconference from Bell Laboratories.
11:00 Teresa Lunt, SRI "Intrusion Detection"
Inevitably, someone will try to breach your firewall and might
succeed. The time it takes you to discover the intrusion and
catch the culprit depends on the event logging you have
established. However, logging the many different transactions
that might expose trespassing produces mountains of data.
Automatic digestion of the logs is the only hope of monitoring
them all. Teresa F. Lunt, Director of Secure Systems Research
at SRI's Computer Systems Laboratory, directs work in
multilevel database systems and intrusion detection. Ms. Lunt
will describe intrusion detection and demonstrate automated
tools developed at SRI to analyze audit data for suspicious
behavior.
1:00 Professor Martin E. Hellman, Ph.D., Stanford
"Cryptography: The Foundation of Secure Networks"
Data in transit across unsecured networks like the Internet
are subject to wiretapping attacks and impersonation.
Moreover, privacy of communication and authentication of the
sender's message are essential to Internet commerce, with
exchange of contracts, receipts, credit card drafts and the
like increasingly commonplace. Encryption can solve some of
these problems, but what kind of encryption? Authentication
only or encrypted messages? Secret key or public key, or
both? Will you need a giant key ring for mes sage keys,
session keys, file keys, and passwords? Martin E. Hellman,
Ph.D., Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford
University, is co-inventor of public key cryptography with
Whitfield Diffie and Ralph Merkle. He was elected a Fellow of
the IEEE for contributions to cryptography. Dr. Hellman will
explore threats to communication and costs of electronic
countermeasures. He will explain the importance and means of
authenticating electronic messages, and he will survey public key
cryptography. Dr. Hellman will describe public key techniques
including Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA), Diffie-Hellman, ElGamal
and Digital Signature Standard (DSS). He will also describe
the current status of export control and encryption standards
such as the Data Encryption Standard (DES), Escrowed
Encryption Standard (EES) and its encryption algorithm,
Skipjack, which is implemented in Clipper and Capstone chips.
2:00 Dan Nessett, Ph.D., SunSoft and PSRG
"Future Internet Security Architecture"
Dan Nessett, Ph.D., of the SunSoft Division of Sun
Microsystems, and until recently with Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, has worked extensively in local area
networks, distributed operating systems and distributed systems
security. He is a member of the Privacy and Security Research
Group (PSRG), which is convened under the auspices of the
Internet Society. Dr. Nessett will explain the emerging
Internet security architecture work undertaken by the PSRG.
The architecture will guide the development of security
mechanisms used in Internet standards.
3:00 Matt Blaze, Ph.D., Bell Labs
"Protocols: Security Without Firewalls"
We use firewalls because Internet protocols are not inherently
secure. Can we rehabilitate the Internet protocols to produce
protocols which are secure, not computationally prohibitive,
and compatible with existing protocols? Matt Blaze, Ph.D., of
Bell Laboratories will talk about the problems of integrating
cryptographic protection into large-scale network infrastructure.
Dr. Blaze is the author of "A Cryptographic
File System for Unix," presented at the 1993 ACM Conference on
Communications and Computer Security, and co-author with John
Ioann idis of "The Architecture and Implementation of
Network-Layer Security Under UNIX," which describes "swIPe," a
network-layer security protocol for the IP protocol suite.
Dr. Blaze will address issues concerning network security
protoc ols, key management and distribution, and threats and
models for cryptographic engineering.
4:00 A Panel Discussion on the Social Implications of
Internet Security "Public Safety vs. Private Liberty"
At one end of an imagined security spectrum lies the
information police-state. Through traffic analysis,
mandatory personal ID numbers and escrowed encryption, and
the ability to record all messages and commerce carried out
on the Information Superhighway, governments could maintain
dossiers on every aspect of the personal life and business
of its citizens. Privacy advocates fear that a corrupt government
could use such information against its political enemies and to
subvert personal freedoms. At the other extreme lies information
anarchy. Through the use of digital cash, anonymous remailers,
and strong non-escrowed encryption, the Information
Superhighway could become a hide-out for criminals and
national security threats. The potential for black-market
activity and the associated tax-evasion is so enormous that
some have speculated that governments could eventually
collapse. Law-enforcem ent advocates fear that they will be
unable to keep up with criminals and terrorists who ply their
trade electronically. Our distinguished panel will provide
insight into the interplay between the rights of individuals
to privacy and freedom, the rights of companies to conduct
unrestrained trade, and the ability of law enforcement and
security agencies to perform their functions efficiently.
This conclusion to the seminar will put into perspective
the social changes that might be wrought by the technical
advances discussed earlier in the day.
Panelists include:
Rex Buddenberg NPS
Alan McDonald FBI
Stewart Baker formerly of the NSA
James Bidzos President of RSA
Matt Blaze Bell Labs
Martin Hellman Stanford
Rex Buddenberg, Instructor of information systems architecture
and applied networking at the Naval Postgraduate School, will
moderate the panel. Mr. Buddenberg is a maritime command,
communication, control and intelligence (C3I) consultant and a
computer networking author. As a C3I architect for the U.S.
Coast Guard, he developed plans and specifications for
extending Internet connectivity to oceanographic ships. Mr.
Buddenberg contemplates the means and effects of net warfare as
both the good guys and bad guys share the same network.
Alan McDonald, Special Counsel for Electronic Surveillance Matters,
Information Resources Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
is a specialist in the law and policy concerning electronic
surveillance, Digital Telephony, and encryption issues.
He frequently represents the FBI's view of law enforcement equities
in light of advanced telecommunications and encryption.
Stewart Baker is a former General Counsel to the NSA and
a partner in Steptoe & Johnson, a Washington, DC law firm.
His expertise is in telecommunications, computer export policy,
security of national information infrastructure and encryption.
Mr. Baker brings direct experience with the problem that strong
encryption creates for the NSA in protecting our national
security.
QUESTIONS? CALL (415)-327-6622.
Cut-off and complete this form, enclose your check payable to
the IEEE SFCS, and mail to: IEEE Council Office 701 Welch
Rd. #2205 Palo Alto, CA. 94304
To qualify for the reduced Pre-registration fees, your
application with check must be postmarked no later than Oct.
15, 1994. Registration fee includes lunch, refreshments, and
parking. Seating is limited. To make sure the seminar is
not sold out, call (415) 327-6622.
please check the appropriate box
Fees on or before Oct. 15th:
___ IEEE Member $ 110
___ Non-member $ 120
___ Student $ 85
Fees after Oct. 15th:
___ IEEE Member $ 125
___ Non-member $ 145
___ Student $ 100 (students must present ID)
The seminar location is the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Hotel,
near the Ferry Building, in San Francisco.
Your registration fee includes the all day seminar, lunch,
and convenient parking in the garages underneath adjacent
Embarcadero Centers 1, 2, or 3. (Keep your ticket for validation).
Please print clearly:
Name : __________________________________________
Title : __________________________________________
Company: __________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
_______________________________ ___ ______
Day phone #:(___)_____-_______
IEEE member (or affiliate) #:_______ ____ (for discount)
College/University (if student):___________________
___ Vegetarian lunch option
Refunds will be honored through October 22nd, substitutions
any time. Additional information can be obtained by telephoning
the IEEE Bay Area Council Office: (415)327-6622.
IEEE SFCS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE SEMINAR
Sponsored by the San Francisco Chapter of the IEEE Computer
Society. The IEEE is a non-profit organization.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 94 16:27:22 PDT
From: email list server <listserv@SUNNYSIDE.COM>
Subject: File 4--CPSR Award to Antonia Stone
Playing To Win Founder Antonia Stone
Wins Prize for Social Responsibility
Palo Alto, Calif., October 6, 1994 - Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility (CPSR), the national public interest organization based here,
announced today that Playing to Win founder Antonia Stone is the 1994
winner of the Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional
Responsibility. The award is presented annually to a distinguished
computer professional who has, through personal example, demonstrated a
deep commitment to the socially responsible use of computing technology.
"The greatest danger on the horizon for the National Information
Infrastructure is that we will be left with two societies: a privileged classs
that enjoys the benefits of the information age, and another that is left
behind with none of those advantages," said Stanford professor and CPSR
board president Eric Roberts. "Through her work with Playing To Win,
Antonia Stone has been fighting for years to achieve the equality of access
necessary to empower all of us together."
"I'm thrilled," said Stone. "I believe that CPSR, in recognizing the work
I've been doing by honoring me with the Norbert Wiener award,
emphasizes the importance of a grass-roots effort towards real equity of
technology access, and the need to offer opportunities for learning about
and hands-on use of technology to those who otherwise wouldn't have such
an opportunity."
Stone will be presented with the Wiener award at CPSR's annual meeting
banquet in San Diego, California, on Saturday, October 8th. This year's
annual meeting is a two-day conference entitled "Organizing for Access: A
National Forum on Computer Networking, Community Action and
Democracy", that will bring together local, regional and national activists
and decision makers to take a critical look at some of the social implications
of the NII.
Stone has worked in the area of computer learning since the 1970s. After
an intense period of fundraising and outreach, she opened a computer
center in a basement room of a Harlem housing project. Starting from that
base, with Stone serving as Executive Director from 1980 through 1992, the
Playing to Win network has grown to over 45 affiliates located across the
US as well as in Poland and Northern Ireland.
The PTW network of non-profit groups is dedicated to promoting and
providing equitable technology access and education for economically,
socially, and geographically disadvantaged people. PTW seeks to establish a
national community of neighborhood technology access providers
dedicated to true universal technological enfranchisement. Each PTW
community computer center shares a belief that everyone can learn as
long as they are allowed to follow their own motivational path and develop
according to their own interests.
The Wiener Award was established in 1987 in memory of Norbert Wiener,
the originator of the field of cybernetics and a pioneer in looking at the
social and political consequences of computing. Author of the book, The
Human Use of Human Beings, Wiener began pointing out the dangers of
nuclear war and the role of scientists in developing more powerful
weapons shortly after Hiroshima.
Past recipients of the Wiener Award have been: Dave Parnas, 1987, in
recognition of his courageous actions opposing the Strategic Defense
Initiative; Joe Weizenbaum, 1988, for his pioneering work emphasizing the
social context of computer science; Daniel McCracken, 1989, for his work
organizing computer scientists against the Anti Ballistic Missiles
deployment during the 1960s; Kristen Nygaard of Norway, 1990, for his
work in participatory design; Severo Ornstein and Laura Gould, 1991, in
recognition of their tireless energy guiding CPSR through its early years;
Barbara Simons, 1992, for her work on human rights, military funding, and
the U.C. Berkeley reentry program for women and minorities; and the
Institute for Global Communications, 1993, for their work to use network
technology to empower previously disenfranchised individuals and groups
working for progressive change.
Founded in 1981, CPSR is a national, non-profit, public interest
organization of computer scientists and other professionals concerned with
the impact of computer technology on society. The mission of CPSR is to
provide the public and policymakers with realistic assessments of the
power, promise, and problems of information technology. As concerned
citizens, CPSR members work to direct public attention to critical choices
concerning the applications of information technology and how those
choices affect society.
For more information about CPSR, the annual meeting, or the awards
banquet, call 415-322-3778 or send email to cpsr@cpsr.org.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Sep 1994 11:15:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: eye WEEKLY <eye@IO.ORG>
Subject: File 5--"Tastes like Chicken" ("chicken" domain explanation/Canada)
A little item that we've received a fair number of queries about.
kkc
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
eye WEEKLY August 18 1994
Toronto's arts newspaper .....free every Thursday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EYENET EYENET
TASTES JUST LIKE CHICKEN!!!
by
K.K.Campbell
On July 21, we found this email awaiting us:
address I'm using to send you this message [i.e., eye@io.org] on one
of your postings in rec.arts.books . In a recent book, E-mail
Addresses Of The Rich And Famous, by Seth Godin (Addison-Wesley,
1994) eye is listed as eye@chicken.planet.org (page 75). Strangely,
almost every Canadian address in the book ends with
@chicken.planet.org, including Jean Chretien's, and those of many
other govt officials and departments. I have a strong suspicion that
this is a hoax. Do you know who might have perpetrated it?"
Indeed, in the same month, New York Times Magazine was compelled
to ask: "Why do the email addresses of so many Canadian government
officials end in @chicken.planet.org ?"
Here's the story: chicken.planet.org was a "fax gateway," known as
Digital Chicken. Run by Toronto's Rob Riley (riley@gold.interlog.com),
it died last May. Riley distributed a list of maybe 100
people/organizations reachable through Digital Chicken. By writing
email to, say, ontatg@chicken.planet.org , a fax would be sent to
Ontario Attorney-General Marion Boyd.
The list of chicken.planet.org addresses "is all over the place, I still
get mail about it," says Riley in a phone interview. "I've put out
posts saying the service is no longer operating, but it's apparently
not getting spread as rapidly as the original list."
Godin thought it was a list of email addresses and included them in
the book without verifying the list by contacting Riley or Digital
Chicken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Retransmit freely in cyberspace Author holds standard copyright
Full issue of eye available in archive ==> gopher.io.org or ftp.io.org
Mailing list available http://www.io.org/eye
eye@io.org "Break the Gutenberg Lock..." 416-971-8421
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 17:21:01 PDT
From: Anonymous <cudigest@mindvox.phantom.com>
Subject: File 6--More Gems from Spam-meister Siegel (NYT Excerpts)
"SPAMMING' ON THE INTERNET BRINGS FAME AND FORTUNE
Source: New York Times, Sunday Oct 16, 1994 (Business, p. 9)
Author: Laurie Flynn
((Here are some extracts from a NYT story in spam artists. The story
begins by noting that Laurence Canter and Martha Siegel have been
heavily criticized since their "Green Card" advertisement on April 12
was sent to thousands of Internet targets. Laurence Canter and Martha
Siegel have been the focus of intense criticism on computer networks
since April 12, when they posted an advertisement offering their
immigration legal services on thousands of Internet bulletin boards,
called Usenet news groups.))
The episode forced the debate about commercialism and free
speech on the global computer network, which is not governed
by any single regulating body. It also earned the pair, who
are married, $100,000 in new legal business.
((The article explains that Canter and Siegel abandoned their law
careers to help businesses and individuals market on the Internet. It
notes how they have written a book on it. The book, called "How to
Make a Fortune on the Information Superhighway" is scheduled to appear
in November.))
Some quotes from Siegel:
Question: Are you really the ones who ought to be writing
such a book?
Answer: Ms. Siegel: Who would be better? We know exactly
what's going on. We know exactly how it should be done.
Canter: We know all the pros and cons we experienced
everything positive and negative.
Q: Do you think that people who follow the advice in your
book, the almost step-by-step instructions, are going to get
the same reaction you did?
Ms. Siegel. I think the same small group of people will
continue to react that way, but it's important to understand
that they are a small group. The people who were in favor of
us, who sent us requests for information, makes up the
overwhelming majority, and they will react in the same way
again, too. We got 20,000 to 25,000 positive requests for
information. In direct mail terms, that's an incredibly
positive response.
Canter. There were probably somewhere between 20,000 and
25,000 flames that we received but they were not from 20,000
to 25,000 people. There were individuals who sent us
hundreds and thousands. There was one guy who sent us close
to 1,000 a day. As far as the positive responses, we did get
slightly over 1,000 paying clients out of it.
Q. Has the commercialization of the information highway
become a personal cause rather than merely a business
opportunity?
Ms. Siegel. Freedom of speech has become a cause for us. I
continue to be personally appalled at the disrespect for
freedom of speech by this handful of individuals who would
take over the net if they could.
Canter. The Internet is a very powerful communications
vehicle, and it should be available for everyone. The
problem we have is the few people and in some cases
companies trying to control it for their own benefits.
Q. So you believe many of the people trying to protect the
Internet are really just trying to horde the profits for
themselves?
Ms. Siegel. I think there are two parts to this group. There
are the wild-eyed zealots who view the Usenet as their home.
They don't view it as just for recreation or a place where
you exchange information. To them it's become a womb
practically, and they're defending their home. They have a
very exaggerated sense of importance of the Usenet in their
lives, that the average person doesn't share.
I think that the other group is people like Wired magazine,
who want to be the ones who make money off it. They can do
that; but if they believe they're going to control everyone
who comes in, they've overstepped their boundaries.
Q. You founded Cybersell a few months ago. How many clients
do you have?
Canter: We have over 100 people who are involved with us
now. We plan to have a grand opening soon, primarily on a
Web site.
Q. What's going to happen with advertising on the Internet?
Ms. Siegel. I think the debate is going to go away quite
fast.
Canter. We put advertising guidelines in the book. I think
if people follow all those, in particular designating
something as an ad so somebody clearly knows it's an
advertisement, I don't see there's really an valid
objections. The most common objection I hear, that on the
surface makes sense, is how it's going to clog everything
up.
The truth is what's clogging up the Usenet and the Internet
is that there are just too many people on it.
((The article notes that Canter was born on June 24, 1953, and Siegal was
born on June 9, 1948. The article also adds some of their personal
history)).
------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1994 22:51:01 CDT
From: CuD Moderators <tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu>
Subject: File 7--Cu Digest Header Information (unchanged since 10 Sept 1994)
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