327 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
327 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
=================================\==========================================
|
|
|
|
THE SYNDICATE REPORT
|
|
Information Transmittal No. 15
|
|
(Part 1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Released September 21, 1987
|
|
Featuring:
|
|
|
|
New Editors In Phrack Inc. (pwn.xv i 9\12)
|
|
|
|
Bank Couples PCs, Micro Card to Increase Security (i.wld 7\5)
|
|
|
|
CompuSystems Mail-Order Firm Under Investigations for Fraud (i.wld 7\17)
|
|
|
|
LightNet Announces Major Expansion To West Coast (bps 7\22)
|
|
|
|
FCC Leans to Price-Cap Regulation; US West Approves Proposal (n.wk 8\28
|
|
|
|
Meter Reader on Phone...Literally (n.wk 9\13)
|
|
|
|
Tech Access Network Speeds I&R at Bell COs (otsd.plnt 9\15)
|
|
|
|
Cable TV Ban Eyed (n.wk 9\19)
|
|
|
|
$5 Billion Dollar Contract Out For New Government Phone System (bs.wk 7\11)
|
|
|
|
|
|
by The Sensei
|
|
|
|
===========================================================================
|
|
|
|
Exposition:
|
|
|
|
Once again, TSReport now excepts outside sources. Anyone can write/provide
|
|
information to the Syndicate Report. The Syndicate Report is also altering
|
|
format. Rather than concentrating mainly on BELL orientated information,
|
|
the Syndicate Report now has a more broad interest. Thus, TSR now handles
|
|
all types of news gatherings.
|
|
|
|
All articles have been presented by me unless shown at the end of the
|
|
article as the information provider(s).
|
|
|
|
TSR Transfer Line I 612-829-8509 ------ TSR Transfer Line II 612-829-8508
|
|
|
|
TSR NewsLine ------- 612-829-8503/04
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
Author's Note:
|
|
|
|
Welcome Syndicate Report Readers. Many different things are happening.
|
|
As most of you know, the Phreak World is slower than ever. This is of course
|
|
due to the rash happenings of busts. Users are finally realizings that "HEY,
|
|
I COULD BE CAUGHT." Thus, many Phreaks and Hackers are laying low only coming
|
|
online when necessary. The main reasons for getting caught appear to be
|
|
abusing access codes to MCI/Sprint/ITT/Metro or whatever your service. There
|
|
are alternatives. It's up to you make think about them and act.
|
|
|
|
I just recently released a seperate file on 3rd Party Fraud and VMS's.
|
|
This is one alternative to using big business company codes. This file may
|
|
be found on TSR Transfer Line II 8508 (see above).
|
|
|
|
Keep in mind, that this transmittal has a second part to it.
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
NEW EDITORS IN PHRACK INC.:
|
|
|
|
Original Founders of Phrack Inc.: Knight Lightning and Taran King,
|
|
are attending college currently. Thus, this note was sent from Knight
|
|
Lightning in Phrack World News Introduction Issue XV...
|
|
|
|
"TK and KL have put the editorship of Phrack in the hands of
|
|
Elric of Imrryr and Sir Francis Drake. SFD is primarily responsible
|
|
for PWN." -As of yet we have no 'Official Phrack BBS.'
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
BANK COUPLES PCs, MICRO CARD TO INCREASE SECURITY:
|
|
|
|
A Canadian bank is now using microchip-bearing "smart cards" to access
|
|
PCs in order to increase service and security while strengthening its
|
|
competitive edge.
|
|
|
|
These credit card style items carry a nickel-size chip in one corner
|
|
and can be decorated with company logos or employee photos. The memory chip
|
|
can store passwords and codes that trigger software sequences, which in turn
|
|
allow customers or eomployees access to varying levels of confidential data.
|
|
|
|
Applications with PCs have passed the test phase and are being
|
|
implemented in government, health care, financial services, and banking
|
|
industries.
|
|
|
|
With assets o an estimated 99.6$ billion, the Royal Bank of Canadian
|
|
distributes its own brand of smart card to customers and bank employees. As
|
|
Canada's largest bank and the sixth largest in North America, the Royal Bank
|
|
provides electronic cash management services to an undisclosed number of
|
|
Canadian firms, U.S.-owned subsidiaries based in central Canada, and multi-
|
|
national companies.
|
|
|
|
Since September '85, the Royal Bank Secutrity Card has been giving
|
|
customers access to financial data from specially equipped remote PCs. A user
|
|
inserts the smart card into card reader that's attached to a PC via a serial
|
|
port. The chip on the card contains some access codes, while other codes are
|
|
stored in the PC. The user uses the keybaord to enter a self-defined personal
|
|
ID Number to access the system. The card contrains needed information
|
|
including log-on routines and other software sequences to move quickly to the
|
|
level and type of data needed.
|
|
|
|
For bank employees and customers, the smart card specifies who has
|
|
access to what kind of data files during what time. A growing number of
|
|
smaller businesses are turning to smart cards as a way to integrate the
|
|
electronic office. PCs with smart card capabilities give owners and
|
|
managers time to devote to the mainstream of their businesses.
|
|
|
|
Using cards manufactured by Micro Card Technologies Inc. of Dallas,
|
|
the Royal Bank finds the card completely secure from tampering. It also
|
|
strengthens back systems that prevent illegal entry to the mainframe.
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
COMPUSYSTEMS MAIL-ORDER FIRM UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR FRAUD:
|
|
|
|
WARNING: If you placed an order to a computer mail-order firm called
|
|
Compusystems Co. of Beverly Hills, CA, you may have been the victem of fraud.
|
|
|
|
Government investigators are looking for a man who placed an apparently
|
|
fraudulent advertisement in InfoWorld and other magazines. A federal
|
|
Investigator said Compusystems Co. is apparently not a mail-order operation,
|
|
but rather a "bust-out scam." The checks sent to the firm to buy products will
|
|
be cashed, but no merchandise will be sent. The ad on page 12 of the August 10
|
|
issue of InfoWorld was placed by aman calling himself Robert McConihay.
|
|
McConihay sent credit document to InfoWorld's advertising Dept., stating that
|
|
his company was founded in July 1979. An "audited" financial report and bank
|
|
records, based on references fromfirms that apparently never existed, showed
|
|
the company to have assets of over 6$ million, including 4.9$ million in
|
|
inventory. The credit department at IDG, InfoWorld's parent company, approved
|
|
the credit application.
|
|
|
|
What wasn't immediately apparent was that all the records were fakes.
|
|
The bank's phone number and a business reference rang to special lines used by
|
|
the advertiser, investigators said. In effect, he "played banker" and issued
|
|
his own net worth statement, said on investigator. he confirmed that
|
|
Compusystem's credit was clean. he "played CPA" and verified his net worth.
|
|
Once the ad appeared, the phone lines were disconnected.
|
|
|
|
:::::::::::::Information provided by InfoWorld Weekly Magazine::::::::::::::
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
LIGHTNET ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION TO WEST COAST:
|
|
|
|
LIGHTNET, one of the nation's largest fiber optic telecommunications
|
|
companies, announced it will begin providing coast-to-coast service in
|
|
September through an interconnect agreement with Williams Telecommunications
|
|
Co. (WilTel).
|
|
|
|
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will interconnect
|
|
facilities in Chicago and New Orleans to provide their respective customers
|
|
with access to a 10,000-mile coast-to-coast network.
|
|
|
|
According to Arthur E. Parsons, president and CEO of LIGHTNET, the agreement
|
|
represents a major strategic move for LIGHTNET which has been committed to
|
|
expanding service to the West Coast.
|
|
|
|
"LIGHTNET customers will now be able to access 27 cities west of the
|
|
Mississippi along WilTel's routes including Minneapolis; Omaha; Kansas City;
|
|
St. Louis; Tulsa; Oklahoma City; Dallas; Houston; Denver; Salt Lake City; Los
|
|
Angeles; and many others," said Parsons.
|
|
|
|
WilTel will also be able to access cities on the LIGHTNET network. LIGHTNET
|
|
currently serves 38 major metropolitan markets east of the Mississippi through
|
|
a 5,000-mile fiber optic network which it owns and operates. WilTel's 5,000-
|
|
mile fiber optic network reaches more than 40 cities west of the Mississippi.
|
|
|
|
WilTel, formed in 1985, is unique in its use of decommissioned transmission
|
|
pipelines as conduits, and burial of lines near operating pipelines. The
|
|
company is a subsidiary of Tulsa-based Williams Telecommunications Group Inc.
|
|
(WTG). WTG is a subsidiary of The Williams Cos. Inc. The network is
|
|
considered to be one of the most secure and highly protected fiber optic
|
|
systems in the country.
|
|
|
|
LIGHTNET, formed in 1983, is owned by subsidiaries of CSX Corp. and Southern
|
|
New England Telecommunications (SNET). The company provides interstate
|
|
private line telecommunications service to other common carriers (OCC's) such
|
|
as US Sprint, businesses and government agencies for voice, data, and video
|
|
communications.
|
|
|
|
:::::::::::::::::Information Provided by BBS Press Service::::::::::::::::::
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
FCC LEANS TO PRICE-CAP REGULATION;
|
|
US WEST APPROVES PROPOSAL:
|
|
|
|
The FCC last month proposed replacing rate-of-return regulation with a
|
|
framework that would place ceilings on prices charged for interstate services.
|
|
|
|
The commission said that "price cap" regulation, if adopted, would first
|
|
be implemented for AT&T, and then for local exchange carrier. An FCC official
|
|
said no schedule has been set for adopting the proposal.
|
|
|
|
US WEST valled the proposal "timely and very appropriate." The FCC, in
|
|
announcing its proposal, noted that "cost-of-service (rate-of-return)
|
|
regulation imposes significant costs on regulated companies and their
|
|
customers.
|
|
|
|
Under the proposed plan, dominant carriers stil would be required to
|
|
file tariffs, but a streamlined review process would be enacted.
|
|
|
|
Stressed, is the importance of first moving AT&T to the new format.
|
|
"Although the efficiencies gained rom such regulation may be greater for the
|
|
local exchange companies," said Commissioner Dawson.
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
METER READER ON PHONE...LITERALLY:
|
|
|
|
You can bet the meter is running..and now there's a system to keep
|
|
track of it by phone. The new Central Meter Reading system is currently being
|
|
tested in a joint trial by BellCore.
|
|
|
|
Introduced last month, the system allows gas and water utilities to get
|
|
meter readings over telephone lines, thus eliminating the need for on-site
|
|
readings.
|
|
|
|
To obtain the service, customers must have a "meter interface unit"
|
|
installed. It connects their phone line to special encoders on their gas
|
|
and water meters. Meter reading data then is automatically sent over the line
|
|
to a Water Works Computer.
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
TECH ACCESS NETWORK SPEEDS I&R AT BELL COs:
|
|
|
|
A new field access system soon will allow Bell CO Technicians to
|
|
streamline repair and installation procedures and reduce operating costs.
|
|
|
|
The Technician Access Network 8TAN), a BellCore development system,
|
|
gives technicians direct access to the support sstem that screens and
|
|
dispatches customer trouble reports. Previously, a maintenance administrator
|
|
served as the technician's link.
|
|
|
|
For example, using a hand-held terminal, the technician dials into the
|
|
support system to obtain a report ticket number, customer's telephone number
|
|
and address -- all provided by a computerized voice.
|
|
|
|
TAN's versatility will play a large part in decisions. It will be used
|
|
to give outside craft employees direct access to other operations systems such
|
|
as time reports, ordering materials and tracking service information on company
|
|
vehicles, decreasing or eliminating paper forms.
|
|
|
|
::::::::::::::::::::Informatioin provided by The Curist:::::::::::::::::::::
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
CABLE TV BAN EYED:
|
|
|
|
The FCC has initiated an inquiry into whether its rules governing
|
|
cross-owner-ship of telephone companies and cable television companies and
|
|
cabletelevision companies should be modified.
|
|
|
|
The rules, adopted in 1970, generally prohibit telephone companies
|
|
telephone companies from providing cable TV service directly, or through an
|
|
affiliate, in their telephone service areas.
|
|
|
|
Citing substantial growth in the cable TV industry and dramatic changes
|
|
in the telephone industry, the FCC said it was time to reexamine the situation.
|
|
Atleast two commissioners favor lifting the ban.
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
$5 BILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT OUT FOR NEW GOVERNMENT PHONE SYSTEM:
|
|
|
|
It's become one of the most hotly contested government contracts in
|
|
years. In early 1885, Uncle Sam went looking for a supplier to replace the
|
|
aging federal phone system now provided by American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
|
|
The winner stood to get $5 billion or more in revenues over the next 10 years.
|
|
This lured some of the buffest names in government contracting into the battle,
|
|
including Martin Marietta and Electronic Data Systems, the General Motors
|
|
subsidiary.
|
|
|
|
But the fight to supply the world's largest private phone network has
|
|
turned into a political quagmire that could postpone the project idefinitely.
|
|
EDS, disgusted with the lengthy procurement process, pulled out, forcing
|
|
partner US Sprint Communications Co. to withdraw as well. Martin Marietta
|
|
Corp., which leads the team of AT&T seven former regional phone companies,
|
|
threatens to q uit, too, if the General Services Administration does not
|
|
close bids soon. AT&T's legal guns, mean while are trying to blow the Baby
|
|
Bells off Marietta's team. And lawmakers have added to the confusion by
|
|
questioning whether there realy should be a 10 year contract with just one
|
|
supplier. To study such concerns, the GSA on Aug. 24 postponed bidding a third
|
|
time, until Sept. 30.
|
|
|
|
Mariett's team sees a lot of potential. The federal bureaucracy will
|
|
become a testing ground for an unprecedented all-digital transmission system
|
|
handling voice, data, and video calls simultneously over a single phone wire.
|
|
With the business of Intergrating Voice and Data Networks now estimated at $1
|
|
billion a year and growing fast, Marietta, a veteran government space
|
|
contractor, wants the GSA award to establish it as a systems integrator for
|
|
corporations.
|
|
|
|
The General Accounting Office estimates that the new systenm could shave
|
|
the government's phone bill by more than $100 million a year -- once it
|
|
decides who gets the job.
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
The Brewery 314-394-8259 :: Freeworld ][ 301-668-7657 :: LunLab 415-278-7421
|
|
|
|
Realm of Reality 612-420-6486 :: Osuny BBS 914-725-4060 :: EInn 915-581-5145
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
This concludes this information transmittal No. 15
|
|
(Part 1)
|
|
|
|
by The Sensei of The Syndicate Report
|
|
|
|
Released September 21, 1987
|
|
|
|
============================================================================
|
|
|
|
|