99 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
99 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
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FROM: A ANYNONMOUS SOURCE.
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DURING THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, I HAVE BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH "BULLETIN
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BOARD" SYSTEMS RUNNING ON MICROS AND MAINFRAMES. I'D LIKE TO GIVE A FEW
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EXAMPLES OF THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF MANY OF THESE "KIDS."
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MOST HAVE PROBABLY HEARD OF OR CALLED AN RCP/M. FIVE YEARS AGO, I WROTE A
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SIMILAR TYPE SYSTEM FOR A TRS-80. THIS SOFTWARE RAN FOR 3.5 YEARS WITHOUT
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A PROBLEM. BUT NOW, AS MORE AND MORE POTENTIAL CRACKERS HAVE ACCESS TO
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COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT, THIS SYSTEM HAS BEEN CRASHED REPEATEDLY.
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WHEN I WAS BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL, THE BIG THING WAS TO FIND A BUG IN THE OS.
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BUT, ONCE WE FOUND IT, INSTEAD OF USING IT TO KEEP THE SYSTEM FLAT ON ITS
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BACK, WE DOCUMENTED IT AND SOMETIMES EVEN FIXED IT. DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THAT
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IS THE CASE ANYMORE...
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ON THIS SYSTEM, SOME CALLER BREAKS IN, DELETES ALL THE FILES, AND THEN
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WRITES A PROGRAM WHICH KEEPS THE DRIVES SELECTED; THIS BURNS OUT THE MOTORS
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ON 5.25" DRIVES, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY RUN ALL NIGHT. THIS WAS DONE SO
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OFTEN, THE SYSTEM WAS BROUGHT DOWN FOR A LONG TIME (UNTIL A TRACE COULD BE
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PUT ON THE DIAL-UP).
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I RUN MY OWN SYSTEM AND PUBLISH SOFTWARE THAT TURNS A TRS-80 INTO A MAIL
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AND MESSAGE SYSTEM. I HAVE SAT AND WATCHED CALLERS SYSTEMATICALLY ATTACK
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THE SYSTEM. THIS TAKES SEVERAL FORMS:
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1) ALL COMMANDS, SERIES OF COMMANDS, AND OPTIONS ARE TRIED.
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2) THE SYSTEM IS ASSAULTED WITH ALL MANNERS OF CONTROL SEQUENCES, TRYING TO
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GET SOME UNEXPECTED RESULT.
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3) I HAVE EVEN SEEM SOMEONE DROP AND THEN RE-INITIATE CARRIER TO SEE IF
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THEY COULD GET SOMEWHERE.
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IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, THEY BEGIN TO CRACK PASSWORDS. THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE
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DOING... IN ONE CASE, I WATCHED AS SOMEONE WENT THROUGH WHAT LOOKED LIKE THE
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BEGINNING OF THE WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY TRYING TO GET SUPERUSER STATUS. SINCE
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MOST PEOPLE USE WORDS, NOT A BAD IDEA, RIGHT? LESS INTELLIGENT ONES START WITH
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A AND JUST TRY AND TRY AND TRY.
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OH, BY THE WAY, THEY ARE DEFINITELY USING AUTO-DIAL MODEMS AND SOFTWARE TO
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DO THIS.
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IF ALL ELSE FAILS, THEY SIMPLY TIE UP THE SYSTEM. THEY CHOOSE THE MOST
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OBVIOUSLY DISK INTENSIVE COMMAND, AND EXECUTE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. SINCE MANY
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SYSTEMS ONLY TIMEOUT AFTER INACTIVITY, THIS COULD TIE UP THE SYSTEM FOR MANY
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HOURS (NOT TO MENTION THE WEAR AND TEAR ON THE EQUIPMENT).
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THESE LITTLE BASTARDS CERTAINLY AREN'T DOING ANYTHING CONSTRUCTIVE.
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SEVEN YEARS AGO, I CALLED UP MIT-MC AND GOT A TOURIST ACCOUNT WHICH I KEPT
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FOR THREE YEARS UNTIL I GOT AN AUTHORIZED ONE. IT WAS A FREE ACCOUNT ON AN
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OPEN SYSTEM; THE ONLY STRINGS WERE THAT I USE IT AFTER HOURS AND NOT TIE UP TOO
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MANY RESOURCES. BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED. YOU CAN'T HAVE TOTALLY OPEN SYSTEMS
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ANYMORE WITHOUT MANY PRECAUTIONS AND ALMOST CONSTANT SUPERVISION.
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FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE HAD TO ADD MANY SECURITY FEATURES TO THESE SMALL
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SYSTEMS:
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1) THREE ATTEMPTS AND YOU LOSE THE CONNECTION. NINE ILLEGAL ATTEMPTS AT A
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USERNAME WITHOUT A CORRECT LOGIN CAUSES A SUSPENSION . ANYONE TRYING TO
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LOGIN UNDER THAT NAME IS IMMEDIATELY SUSPENDED (WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS).
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2) CONNECTION LIMITED USE.
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3) APPLICATION PROCESS REVIEWED BY SYSOP BEFORE SOMEONE CAN USE ALL
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FEATURES, OR EVEN USE THE SYSTEM.
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4) ISOLATE THE USER COMPLETELY FROM ALL OPERATING SYSTEM FUNCTIONS, EVEN TO
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THE POINT OF MODIFYING THE DOS TO HANG OR RESET WHEN NECESSARY.
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I DO HAVE ONE LITTLE "JOKE" UP MY SLEEVE. THERE IS AN ACCOUNT ON THESE
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SYSTEMS CALLED SYSOP. NOW, IF I WAS GOING TO BREAK IN, THAT IS WHERE I WOULD
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START. I'VE PUT A LITTLE PATCH INTO MY HOST. AFTER 39 INCORRECT TRIES ON THAT
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ACCOUNT, IT ALLOWS THE CALLER THROUGH. HE GETS A WELCOME MESSAGE AND SYSOP
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COMMAND:. HE CAN RENUMBER MESSAGES, CHANGE THE DATE AND TIME, EVEN DELETE FROM
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THE DIRECTORY, CHANGE USERNAMES AND PASSWORDS. HE CAN DO ALL THE THINGS THAT A
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SYSOP CAN DO. OF COURSE, HE ISN'T *REALLY* DOING ANYTHING (HE HE HE!) AFTER,
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OH SAY, 10 MINUTES, OUTPUT STOPS. 24 LINEFEEDS ARE ISSUED AND THE FOLLOWING
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APPEARS (SLOWLY, AS IF FROM A TTY):
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HELLO INTRUDER! GEE, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR HANGING AROUND FOR
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THE PAST TEN MINUTES WHILE WE HAD A CHANCE TO TRACE YOUR CALL. IT
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IS TOO BAD THAT SOME PEOPLE JUST CAN'T LIVE RESPONSIBLY. BUT, I
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GUESS THAT IS THE REASON WE HAVE THE POLICE AND FBI, RIGHT?
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[DISCONNECT]
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I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS, BUT I DO KNOWS THAT TREATING THIS TYPE OF
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BEHAVIOR CASUALLY MUST BE STOPPED. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE WHO WILL TRY TO
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CIRCUMVENT ALL SECURITY MEASURES, SOMETIMES OUT OF CURIOUSITY, BUT RECENTLY
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MORE OFTEN WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING SOMETHING DESTRUCTIVE.
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IT'S TOO BAD THAT THE DAYS OF THE UNSECURED SYSTEMS IS COMING TO A CLOSE, BUT
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WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE SCANNING THE EXCHANGES WITH THEIR AUTO-DIAL MODEMS
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LOOKING FOR CARRIERS, ARMED WITH 10 PAGES OF PIRATED MCI ACCESS CODES, WE DON'T
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HAVE MUCH CHOICE.
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