54 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
54 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
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| F.Y.I. |Newsnote from the Electronic Frontier Foundation |July 9,1992|
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FEDERAL HACKING INDICTMENTS ISSUED AGAINST FIVE IN NEW YORK CITY
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Yesterday, Federal officials indicted five people in New York City for
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computer crime. The indictments name Mark Abene (Phiber Optik), Julio
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Fernandez (Outlaw), John Lee (Corrupt), Elias Ladopoulos (Acid Phreak),
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and Paul Stria (Scorpion). The indictments charge that the accused used
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their computers to access credit bureaus, other computer systems, and
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make free long-distance calls.
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Prosecutors revealed they relied on court-approved wiretaps to obtain
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much of the evidence for their multiple-count indictment for wire fraud,
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illegal wiretapping and conspiracy. Each count is punishable by up to 5
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years in prison. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in
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Manhattan Federal Court on July 16. If found guilty on all counts the
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defendants could face a maximum term of 50 years in prison and fines of
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$2.5 million.
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Otto Obermaier, U.S. Attorney, discounted suggestions that the acts
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alleged in the indictment were only "pranks" and asserted that they
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represented "the crime of the future." He also stated that one purpose
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of the indictment was to send a message that "this kind of conduct will
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not be tolerated."
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Mark Abene, known to the computer community as Phiber Optik, denied any
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wrongdoing.
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation's staff counsel in Cambridge, Mike
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Godwin is carefully reviewing the indictments. Mitchell Kapor, EFF
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President, stated today that: "EFF's position on unauthorized access to
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computer systems is, and has always been, that it is wrong."
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"Nevertheless," Kapor continued, "we have on previous occasions
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discovered that allegations contained in Federal indictments can also be
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wrong, and that civil liberties can be easily infringed in the
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information age. Because of this, we will be examining this case
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closely to establish the facts."
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+=====+===================================================+=============+
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| EFF |155 Second Street, Cambridge MA 02141 (617)864-0665| eff@eff.org |
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+=====+===================================================+=============+
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:
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