133 lines
8.2 KiB
Plaintext
133 lines
8.2 KiB
Plaintext
-->Courtesy of the Jolly Roger<--
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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$ $
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$ THE HISTORY OF BRITISH PHREAKING $
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$ -=- -=-=-=- -- -=-=-=- -=-=-=-=- $
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$ $
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$ THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF $
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$ THE HISTORY OF.....PHILES $
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$ $
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$ WRITTEN AND UPLOADED BY: $
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$ $
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$$$$$$$$$$$$-=>LEX LUTHOR<=-$$$$$$$$$$$
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$ AND $
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$ THE LEGION OF DOOM! $
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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NOTE: THE BRITISH POST OFFICE, IS THE U.S. EQUIVALENT OF MA BELL.
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IN BRITAIN, PHREAKING GOES BACK TO THE EARLY FIFTIES, WHEN THE TECHNIQUE OF
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'TOLL A DROP BACK' WAS DISCOVERED. TOLL A WAS AN EXCHANGE NEAR ST. PAULS
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WHICH ROUTED CALLS BETWEEN LONDON AND NEARBY NON-LONDON EXCHANGES. THE TRICK
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WAS TO DIAL AN UNALLOCATED NUMBER, AND THEN DEPRESS THE RECEIVER-REST FOR 1/2
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SECOND. THIS FLASHING INITIATED THE 'CLEAR FORWARD' SIGNAL, LEAVING THE CALLER
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WITH AN OPEN LINE INTO THE TOLL A EXCHANGE.THE COULD THEN DIAL 018, WHICH
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FORWARDED HIM TO THE TRUNK EXCHANGE AT THAT TIME, THE FIRST LONG DISTANCE
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EXCHANGE IN BRITAIN AND FOLLOW IT WITH THE CODE FOR THE DISTANT EXCHANGE TO
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WHICH HE WOULD BE CONNECTED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
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THE SIGNALS NEEDED TO CONTROL THE UK NETWORK TODAY WERE PUBLISHED IN THE
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"INSTITUTION OF POST OFFICE ENGINEERS JOURNAL" AND REPRINTED IN THE SUNDAY
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TIMES (15 OCT. 1972).
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THE SIGNALLING SYSTEM THEY USE: SIGNALLING SYSTEM NO. 3 USES PAIRS OF
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FREQUENCIES SELECTED FROM 6 TONES SEPARATED BY 120HZ. WITH THAT INFO, THE
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PHREAKS MADE "BLEEPERS" OR AS THEY ARE CALLED HERE IN THE U.S. "BLUE BOX", BUT
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THEY DO UTILIZE DIFFERENT MF TONES THEN THE U.S., THUS, YOUR U.S. BLUE BOX
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THAT YOU SMUGGLED INTO THE UK WILL NOT WORK, UNLESS YOU CHANGE THE
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FREQUENCIES.
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IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES, A SIMPLER SYSTEM BASED ON DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF PULSES
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WITH THE SAME FREQUENCY (2280HZ) WAS USED. FOR MORE INFO ON THAT, TRY TO GET A
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HOLD OF: ATKINSON'S "TELEPHONY AND SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY".
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IN THE EARLY DAYS OF BRITISH PHREAKING, THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY TITAN
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COMPUTER WAS USED TO RECORD AND CIRCULATE NUMBERS FOUND BY THE EXHAUSTIVE
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DIALING OF LOCAL NETWORKS. THESE NUMBERS WERE USED TO CREATE A CHAIN OF LINKS
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FROM LOCAL EXCHANGE TO LOCAL EXCHANGE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BYPASSING THE TRUNK
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CIRCUITS. BECAUSE THE INTERNAL ROUTING CODES IN THE UK NETWORK ARE NOT THE
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SAME AS THOSE DIALED BY THE CALLER, THE PHREAKS HAD TO DISCOVER THEM BY 'PROBE
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AND LISTEN' TECHNIQUES OR MORE COMMONLY KNOWN IN THE U.S.-- SCANNING. WHAT
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THEY DID WAS PUT IN LIKELY SIGNALS AND LISTENED TO FIND OUT IF THEY SUCCEEDED.
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THE RESULTS OF SCANNING WERE CIRCULATED TO OTHER PHREAKS. DISCOVERING EACH
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OTHER TOOK TIME AT FIRST, BUT EVENTUALLY THE PHREAKS BECAME ORGANIZED. THE
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"TAP" OF BRITAIN WAS CALLED "UNDERCURRENTS" WHICH ENABLED BRITISH PHREAKS TO
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SHARE THE INFO ON NEW NUMBERS, EQUIPMENT ETC.
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TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BRITISH BRITISH PHREAKS DID, THINK OF THE PHONE
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NETWORK IN THREE LAYERS OF LINES: LOCAL, TRUNK, AND INTERNATIONAL.#IN THE UK,
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SUBSCRIBER TRUNK DIALING (STD), IS THE MECHANISM WHICH TAKES A CALL FROM THE
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LOCAL LINES AND (LEGITIMATELY) ELEVATES IT TO A TRUNK OR INTERNATIONAL
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LEVEL.#THE UK PHREAKS FIGURED THAT A CALL AT TRUNK LEVEL CAN BE ROUTED THROUGH
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ANY NUMBER OF EXCHANGES, PROVIDED THAT THE RIGHT ROUTING CODES WERE FOUND AND
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USED CORRECTLY. THEY ALSO HAD TO DISCOVER HOW TO GET FROM LOCAL TO TRUNK LEVEL
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EITHER WITHOUT BEING CHARGED (WHICH THEY DID WITH A BLEEPER BOX) OR WITHOUT
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USING (STD). CHAINING HAS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED BUT IT REQUIRES LONG STRINGS
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OF DIGITS AND SPEECH GETS MORE AND MORE FAINT AS THE CHAIN GROWS, JUST LIKE IT
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DOES WHEN YOU STACK TRUNKS BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE U.S.#THE WAY THE SECURITY
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REPS SNAGGED THE PHREAKS WAS TO PUT A SIMPLE 'PRINTERMETER' OR AS WE CALL IT:
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A PEN REGISTER ON THE SUSPECTS LINE, WHICH SHOWS EVERY DIGIT DIALED FROM THE
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SUBSCRIBERS LINE.
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THE BRITISH PREFER TO GET ONTO THE TRUNKS RATHER THAN CHAINING. ONE WAY WAS
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TO DISCOVER WHERE LOCAL CALLS USE THE TRUNKS BETWEEN NEIGHBORING EXCHANGES,
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START A CALL AND STAY ON THE TRUNK INSTEAD OF RETURNING TO THE LOCAL LEVEL ON
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REACHING THE DISTANT SWITCH. THIS AGAIN REQUIRED EXHAUSTIVE DIALING AND MADE
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MORE WORK FOR TITAN; IT ALSO REVEALED 'FIDDLES', WHICH WERE INSERTED BY POST
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OFFICE ENGINEERS.
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WHAT FIDDLING MEANS IS THAT THE ENGINEERS REWIRED THE EXCHANGES FOR THEIR OWN
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BENEFIT. THE EQUIPMENT IS MODIFIED TO GIVE ACCESS TO A TRUNK WITH OUT BEING
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CHARGED, AN OPERATION WHICH IS PRETTY EASY IN STEP BY STEP (SXS)
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ELECTROMECHANICAL EXCHANGES, WHICH WERE INSTALLED IN BRITAIN EVEN IN THE 1970S
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(NOTE: I KNOW OF A BACK DOOR INTO THE CANADIAN SYSTEM ON A 4A CO., SO IF YOU
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ARE ON SXS OR A 4A, TRY SCANNING 3 DIGIT EXCHANGES, IE: DIAL 999,998,997
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ETC.#AND LISTEN FOR THE BEEP-KERCHINK, IF THERE ARE NO 3 DIGIT CODES WHICH
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ALLOW DIRECT ACCESS TO A TANDEM IN YOUR LOCAL EXCHANGE AND BYPASSES THE AMA SO
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YOU WON'T BE BILLED, NOT HAVE TO BLAST 2600 EVERY TIME YOU WISH TO BOX A CALL.
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A FAMOUS BRITISH 'FIDDLER' REVEALED IN THE EARLY 1970S WORKED BY DIALING 173.
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THE CALLER THEN ADDED THE TRUNK CODE OF 1 AND THE SUBSCRIBERS LOCAL NUMBER. AT
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THAT TIME, MOST ENGINEERING TEST SERVICES BEGAN WITH 17X, SO THE ENGINEERS
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COULD HIDE THEIR FIDDLES IN THE NEST OF SERVICE WIRES. WHEN SECURITY REPS
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STARTED SEARCHING, THE FIDDLES WERE CONCEALED BY TONES SIGNALLING: 'NUMBER
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UNOBTAINALBE' OR 'EQUIPMENT ENGAGED' WHICH SWITCHED OFF AFTER A DELAY. THE
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NECESSARY RELAYS ARE SMALL AND EASILY HIDDEN.
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THERE WAS ANOTHER SIDE TO PHREAKING IN THE UK IN THE SIXTIES. BEFORE STD WAS
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WIDESPREAD, MANY 'ORDINARY' PEOPLE WERE DRIVEN TO.
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OCCASIONAL PHREAKING FROM SHEER FRUSTRATION AT THE INEFFICIENT OPERATOR
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CONTROLLED TRUNK SYSTEM. THIS CAME TO A HEAD DURING A STRIKE ABOUT 1961 WHEN
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OPERATORS COULD NOT BE REACHED. NOTHING COMPLICATED WAS NEEDED. MANY
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OPERATORS HAD BEEN IN THE HABIT OF REPEATING THE CODES AS THEY DIALLED THE
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REQUESTED NUMBERS SO PEOPLE SOON LEARNT THE NUMBERS THEY CALLED FREQUENTLY.
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THE ONLY 'TRICK' WAS TO KNOW WHICH EXCHANGES COULD BE DIALLED THROUGH TO PASS
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ON THE TRUNK NUMBER.CALLERS ALSO NEEDED A PRETTY QUIET PLACE TO DO IT, SINCE
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TIMING RELATIVE TO CLICKS WAS IMPORTANT THE MOST FAMOUS TRIAL OF BRITISH
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PHREAKS WAS CALLED THE OLD BAILY TRIAL.#WHICH STARTED ON 3 OCT. 1973.#WHAT
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THEY PHREAKS DID WAS TO DIAL A SPARE NUMBER AT A LOCAL CALL RATE BUT INVOLVING
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A TRUNK TO ANOTHER EXCHANGE THEN THEY SEND A 'CLEAR FORWARD' TO THEIR LOCAL
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EXCHANGE, INDICATING TO IT THAT THE CALL IS FINISHED;BUT THE DISTANT EXCHANGE
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DOESN'T REALIZE BECAUSE THE CALLER'S PHONE IS STILL OFF THE HOOK. THEY NOW
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HAVE AN OPEN LINE INTO THE DISTANT TRUNK EXCHANGE AND SENDS TO IT A 'SEIZE'
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SIGNAL: '1' WHICH PUTS HIM ONTO ITS OUTGOING LINES NOW, IF THEY KNOW THE
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CODES, THE WORLD IS OPEN TO THEM. ALL OTHER EXCHANGES TRUST HIS LOCAL EXCHANGE
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TO HANDLE THE BILLING; THEY JUST INTERPRET THE TONES THEY HEAR. MEAN WHILE,
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THE LOCAL EXCHANGE COLLECTS ONLY FOR A LOCAL CALL. THE INVESTIGATORS
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DISCOVERED THE PHREAKS HOLDING A CONFERENCE SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND SURROUNDED BY
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VARIOUS PHONE EQUIPMENT AND BLEEPER BOXES, ALSO PRINTOUTS LISTING 'SECRET' POST
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OFFICE CODES. (THEY PROBABLY GOT THEM FROM TRASHING?) THE JUDGE SAID: "SOME
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TAKE TO HEROIN, SOME TAKE TO TELEPHONES" FOR THEM PHONE PHREAKING WAS NOT A
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CRIME BUT A HOBBY TO BE SHARED WITH PHELLOW ENTHUSIASTS AND DISCUSSED WITH THE
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POST OFFICE OPENLY OVER DINNER AND BY MAIL. THEIR APPROACH AND ATTITUDE TO THE
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WORLDS LARGEST COMPUTER, THE GLOBAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM, WAS THAT OF SCIENTISTS
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CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS OR PROGRAMMERS AND ENGINEERS TESTING PROGRAMS AND
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SYSTEMS. THE JUDGE APPEARED TO AGREE, AND EVEN ASKED THEM FOR PHREAKING CODES
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TO USE FROM HIS LOCAL EXCHANGE!!!
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(Left Untouched as I got it...-----JR)
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