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==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 1 of 15
Issue XXXVIII Index
___________________
P H R A C K 3 8
April 26, 1992
___________________
"Countdown to SummerCon '92"
"Get ready for the biggest and best computer
hacker PARTY conference of the year!"
Phrack Inc. is proud to be the official sponsor of the 6th Annual SummerCon,
but this year is something different.
The date and location for this year's Summer Conference are for those with a
need to know. SummerCon is a private party, its for our friends, and its our
business and nobody elses'. Events from our past have made it necessary to
keep the important specifics under wraps, so our theme this year is privacy.
Would be informants, ignorant and biased security professionals, and little
malicious rodent hackers can forget about receiving an invitation. We are
making a list and checking it twice. If you would like to receive an
invitation and details about SummerCon then send mail to
"summer@stormking.com".
Meanwhile, back at Phrack...
It appears that Phrack is getting VERY popular. At last count we had well over
775 people directly subscribed to the Phrack Mailing List. However, some
people aren't overjoyed at Phrack's popularity. In recent postings to EFF
newsgroups, complaints have been lodged that people downloading Phrack from
"ftp.eff.org" account for more than 1/3 of all ftp traffic on that site. Some
people at EFF have even suggested that Phrack be removed completely from their
system. When the high and mighty defenders of Knight Lightning's First
Amendment rights begin to balk, what does that say to the community at large
about EFF and their agenda?
In this issue of Phrack we feature "Cellular Telephony" by Brian Oblivion!
Brian tells us to expect more files on this topic from him in the near future,
but for now we can start with this very substantial taste. Additionally, this
issue will wrap up Black Kat's 3-part series on VAX/VMS and Dispater's 2-part
defense manual for police radar. Rambone is back with his second file on the
Pirate community and Datastream Cowboy picks up where Taran King left off in
Phrack 30 with Network Miscellany. And if that wasn't enough, Mycroft brings
us a file on Wide Area Information Services (WAIS). Subtitled "How Do I Use It
and Why Should I Care?" It tells you about the service in general and gives
directions for using WAIS to review Phrack.
Another spotlight file in this issue is "Standing Up To Fight The Bells."
Knight Lightning brings forth a message and a warning about what is happening
right now in the Congress and Senate of the United States, where the Bell
Operating Companies are seeking to hold on to yet another monopoly to control.
Be prepared to act and act fast or live forever with the consequences -- the
future of information services controlled by Ma Bell.
And finally the full details of Computers, Freedom, & Privacy II appear both in
a special file by Max Nomad and in two smaller articles in Phrack World News
(part 3).
We're back and we're Phrack. Enjoy reading it because we enjoy writing it!
Chief Editor: Dispater (dispater@stormking.com)
Staff: Datastream Cowboy
Digital Disciple
NetLink
Takkel Genius
The Public
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Table Of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Introduction by Dispater 06K
2. Phrack Loopback by Phrack Staff 12K
3. Phrack Pro-Phile on Aristotle by Dispater 06K
4. Pirates' Cove by Rambone 23K
5. Network Miscellany IV by Datastream Cowboy 30K
6. Beating The Radar Rap Part 2 of 2 by Dispater 15K
7. Users Guide to VAX/VMS Part 3 of 3 by Black Kat 46K
8. Wide Area Information Services by Mycroft 11K
9. Cellular Telephony by Brian Oblivion 28K
10. Standing Up To Fight The Bells by Knight Lightning 27K
11. The Digital Telephony Proposal by the Federal Bureau of Investigation 34K
12. PWN Special Report VI on CFP-2 by Max Nomad 18K
13. PWN/Part 1 by Dispater and Datastream Cowboy 34K
14. PWN/Part 2 by Dispater and Datastream Cowboy 32K
15. PWN/Part 3 by Dispater and Datastream Cowboy 33K
Total: 355K
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 2 of 15
[-=:< Phrack Loopback >:=-]
By Phrack Staff
Phrack Loopback is a forum for you, the reader, to ask questions, air
problems, and talk about what ever topic you would like to discuss. This is
also the place Phrack Staff will make suggestions to you by reviewing various
items of note; magazines, software, catalogs, hardware, etc.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Terminus Is Free
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Len Rose has been released from prison as of March 23, 1992. Those wishing to
write him and send him U.S. mail:
Len Rose
Salvation Army Freedom Center
105 Ashland
Chicago, Illinois 60607
He will remain at this address until May 23, 1992.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Date: March 4, 1992
From: Sarlo
To: Phrack Staff
Subject: Loopback Correction
While scanning the loopback section of Issue 37, I came across this letter:
>:: Fed Proof Your BBS, NOT! ::
>
> I'm sure many of you have seen text files on making your BBS more secure.
>One such file floating around is by Babbs Boy of Midnight Society. One of the
>members of our Phrack Staff showed this document to EFF's Mike Godwin, who is
>an attorney. He had the following comments:
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
>From: Mike Godwin
>To: Phrack Inc.
>
>(In regards to some of the files about how to "fed-proof" your BBS:)
>
>> Let's start with the log on screen: If FEDZ want anything from your board,
>> they are required to provide 100% accurate information.
>
>This is false. Ask the legislators who've been convicted in "sting"
>operations. In fact, so far as I can tell in a brief run-through of this
>document, absolutely no part of the so-called "legal" advice is true.
>
>Law enforcement agents who misrepresent their identities (e.g., "undercover
>agents") produce admissible evidence all the time.
>
>--Mike
Allow me to clear some things up. Babbs' Boy was a friend of mine a while back
and was more of a Game Programmer than a "hacker" (or "cracker," if you want
to be anal about it). Babbs' Boy was NEVER in MsU. He had asked me if he
could write a file for the group. We informed him that he could if he wanted
to, but he could in no way represent us. According to Babbs' Boy, he retrieved
the information from a copy of the ECPA. Since we were not releasing that as a
MsU file, we never bothered to check any of the said information out. In fact,
MsU does not create files for public display, although individual members may.
Apparently Babbs' Boy uploaded his copy of the document to Ripco, in which
it went wideband from there. I am told that 3 other documents were released
in MSU's name, by someone using one of my very old handles of Raistlin. I can
assure you that these documents were not released by any legitimate (old or
current) member of Midnight Society Underground.
Again, to clear things up, Babbs' is not nor ever was a member of MsU, nor
are there any legitimate public releases from our group.
Besides, we don't let people in the group who spell Feds "FEDZ" ..the shit just
ain't done.
Sarlo of Midnight Society Underground [MsU]
sarlo@gagme.chi.il.us
_______________________________________________________________________________
Date: March 22, 1992
From: "Michael E. Marotta" <MERCURY@lcc.edu>
Subject: Censorship in Cyberspace
To: Phrack Staff
I have been hired to write an article about the control of information in
cyberspace. We all know that Fidonet moderators and sysops devote their OWN
resources for us to use. There is no question about the "right" of the sysop
or moderator to delete messages and users. The practice of censorship is
nonetheless newsworthy.
If YOU have experienced censorship on Fidonet or Usenet, Prodigy or CompuServe,
or another BBS or network, I am interested in learning about your story. If
you can supply downloads of actual encounters, so much the better.
If you have ever been censored, send me physical world mail about the event.
Michael E. Marotta
5751 Richwood #34
Lansing, Mich. 48911
_______________________________________________________________________________
Dear Phrack Staff,
There are very serious negative consequences surrounding the use of modems
and computers in our society. Because of this, all children under the age
of 18 should be prohibited from using a computer in connection with a modem
or that is connected to any computer service.
Please read my attached news release and join me in spreading this message.
-- Ron Hults
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NEWS RELEASE March 18, 1992
PEDOPHILIA, COMPUTERS, AND CHILDREN
If you have children in your home and a home computer complete with a telephone
modem, your child is in potential danger of coming in contact with deviant and
dangerous criminals.
Using the computer modem, these unsavory individuals can communicate directly
with your child without your knowledge. Just as importantly, you should be
concerned if your child has a friendship with other youth who has access to
this equipment in an unsupervised environment.
Using a computer and a modem, your child can readily access community "bulletin
boards" and receive sexually explicit and graphic material from total strangers
who can converse with your children, individuals you quite probably wouldn't
even talk with.
The concern becomes more poignant when stated otherwise; would you let a child
molester, murderer, or convicted criminal into your home to meet alone with
your child?
According to Fresno Police Detective Frank Clark, "your child can be in real
danger from pedophiles, rapists, satanic cultists and other criminals known to
be actively engaged in computer conversation. Unwittingly, naive children with
a natural curiosity can be victimized; emerging healthy sexual feelings of a
child can be subverted into a twisted, unnatural fetish affecting youth during
a vulnerable time in their lives."
It is anticipated that parents, when armed with the knowledge that this
activity exists and awareness that encounters with such deviant individuals
can result in emotional and psychological damage to their child, will take
appropriate measures to eliminate the possibility of strangers interacting with
their children via a computer.
For Further Information, contact Ron Hults (209)498-4568
_______________________________________________________________________________
Date: March 30, 1992
From: Anonymous
To: Knight Lightning <kl@stormking.com>
Subject: Thanks
Dear Knight Lightning,
I would like to thank you for the message you wrote to Dale (scumbag) Drew.
Although the fact is that he will only be slightly inconvenienced by having to
dig up issues of Phrack on his own instead of having them delivered to his
mailbox, his being refused to be added to the mailing list means a lot more. If
I were him, I would consider it a slap in the face (since it seems almost as
bad, IMO, as being blacklisted). :)
May he run into 10 homosexual wrestlers in a dark alley.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Review of Intertek Winter 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
325 Ellwood Beach, #3 Subscription Rates:
Goleta, CA 93117 US : 4 issues (2 year) $14.00.
Internet: steve@cs.ucsb.edu OS : 4 issues (2 year) $18.20.
Phone: 805-685-6557 Back issues : $5.00 ea.
by Dispater
Intertek is the *SHARPEST* looking 'zine I've seen yet that directly
addresses the world of cyberspace. It's not "high res" color or artsy-fartsy
like Mondo 2000, but it is at least more interesting to read as a whole. I
think it looks better and is more direct and to the point. You don't have to
wade through a bunch of trash to get to something interresting.
This issue of Intertek focused on "virtual communities." The topics
included: "Bury USENET," "Electropolis (IRC)," "Social Organization of the
Computer Underground" by Gordon Meyer, "Real World Kerberos," and "Mudding:
Social Phenomena in Text-Based Virtual Realities." Every issue also contains
the top news tidbits about some truly high-tech achievements that go unnoticed
by the mainstream media (I guess the Mike Tyson trial gets more ratings,
huh?). All in all, it was much more interesting to me than the last issue
(Volume 3.2). It's magazines like this that I hope will help make the
mainstream media obsolete.
If you are looking for "how-to" techie projects or hacking tips, this is
NOT for you! Many hackers I know don't like it and think it's boring as hell;
2600 and Phrack it isn't. However, if you are interested in the "big picture"
of the cyberspace (what ever that means! :) or are, say, interested in studying
cyberspace from an uninvolved level, this is the magazine for you. Intertek is
full of social insight into what makes the cyberspace tick. It does this much
better than the feeble attempts other magazines have made. For only $7.00 a
year, I think it's worth it.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Hacking in Australia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By The Cure
Australia has been very sparse after my BBS (Micromation) was closed down. A
lot of people took it as a warning, and closed up shop as well. The Amiga
warez BBSes still continue to flourish, as do some IBM ones. Because of the
expense of phone lines ($300 installation of a line, $250 per year rental [in
American dollars]) we tend to have a lot of BBSes that are dual purpose, i.e.
both warez and phreak. Devastation Phase One is a great example: huge Amiga/
IBM/phreak/etc. I, however, was devoted to phreak/hack/etc. We did have a few
busts actually, and the police were called in to trace all calls through Vicnet
and some people I know were caught. We've got a few warez-monger type people
here that have been busted for "pitting" (climbing into telecom phone pits, and
hooking up straight to the lines) - and I had my knuckles rapped by my
university. Phoenix's court case still hasn't been settled (he's had 35 of the
47 charges against him dropped). Comserve has finally made it down under, and
they're footing the bill for the first year, allowing us to be on Comserve in
the States for a while. Our telephone company (Telecom) is a government
monopoly, and we've only just passed legislation to allow competition. The
first carrier allowed will be a company called Optus. Call waiting,
conferencing, etc. is almost standard here now.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Censorship in Iowa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Mike Begley <spam@iastate.edu>
Hi. I got your name from Erik Bloodaxe. He said you might be able to help us
out with a minor problem we're having here. The computation center at Iowa
State University will very soon institute a policy of censorship of a number of
groups of questionable nature, specifically the alt.sex hierarchy, alt.drugs,
and a few other similar groups.
I wish to conduct a survey of the users of our computer system, but the
university specificly prohibits mass mailings.
I'm frightened by censorship, and I want to fight this as best I can. If you
would be able to do this favor for us, you would be helping to fight electronic
censorship and suppression of free expression.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Phrack FTP Sites
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
quartz.rutgers.edu (128.6.60.6) mc.lcs.mit.edu (18.26.0.179)
Location: /pub/computer/law Location: /its/ai/digex
mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (18.26.0.36) coombs.anu.edu.au (130.56.96.2)
Location: /telecom-archives Location: /inbound
wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4)
Location: /doc/policy/pub/cud/Phrack Location: /pub/cud/Phrack
nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) cs.dal.ca (129.173.4.5)
Location: /pub/doc/phrack Location: /pub/comp.archives
chsun1.spc.uchicago.edu (128.135.46.7) ftp.uu.net (137.39.1.9)
Location: /pub/cud/phrack Location: /tmp
rascal.ics.utexas.edu (128.83.138.20) relay.cs.toronto.edu (128.100.3.6)
Location: /misc/ra/sa/ULM.DE Location: /doc/telecom-archives
aix370.rrz.uni-koeln.de (134.95.132.2)
Location: /pub/usenet/comp.archives/hackers/journals
titania.mathematik.uni-ulm.de (134.60.66.21)
Location: /info
src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.3.7)
Location: /usenet/comp.archives/hackers/journals
bric-a-brac.apple.com (130.43.2.3)
Location: /pub/stud_reps
faui43.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (131.188.31.3)
Location: /portal/mounts/cyber/pcd/freeware2/magazine
srawgw.sra.co.jp (133.137.4.3)
Location: /.a/sranha-bp/arch/arch/comp.archives/hackers/sites
_______________________________________________________________________________
What's Your NPA These Days?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<> <>
<> AREA CODE SPLITS OF 1991 <>
<> Researched and Collected <>
<> by <Flash!Point> <>
<> <>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
C&P Telephone Company Report for 301 NPA Split
NXXs Converting to NPA 410
205 208 213 221 222 224 225 226 228 232 233 234 235 237 239 242 243 244 247 250
252 254 255 256 257 260 263 265 266 267 268 269 272 273 275 276 278 280 281 282
284 285 287 288 289 290 291 296 298 307 312 313 316 319 321 323 325 326 327 328
329 332 333 335 337 338 339 342 343 346 347 348 351 352 354 355 356 357 358 360
361 362 363 364 366 367 368 370 374 376 377 378 379 381 382 383 385 388 389 391
392 393 396 397 398 404 425 426 429 433 435 437 438 440 442 444 446 448 450 452
455 456 457 458 461 462 465 466 467 471 472 476 477 479 481 482 483 484 485 486
488 489 494 514 515 516 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 531 532 533 534 535
536 537 538 539 541 542 543 544 546 547 548 549 550 551 553 554 555 556 557 558
560 561 562 563 566 569 573 574 575 576 578 581 583 584 586 591 592 594 597 602
605 612 613 614 623 624 625 626 628 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 641 642
643 644 646 647 648 651 653 655 658 659 661 664 665 666 667 668 669 671 672 673
674 675 676 677 679 682 683 684 685 686 687 691 692 693 712 715 719 720 721 723
726 727 728 730 732 734 740 741 742 744 745 747 748 749 750 751 752 754 755 756
757 758 760 761 764 765 766 768 771 775 778 780 781 783 784 785 787 788 789 792
793 795 796 798 799 806 813 819 820 821 823 825 827 828 830 832 833 835 836 837
838 841 844 848 849 850 857 859 860 861 866 867 873 875 876 877 879 880 882 883
885 886 887 889 892 893 896 906 915 920 922 923 928 931 936 938 939 941 943 944
945 947 950 954 955 956 957 960 962 964 965 966 968 969 971 974 976 978 979 987
988 991 992 993 995 996 997 998 999
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Pacific Bell Customer Report For 415 NPA Split
NXXs Converting to NPA 510
204 208 210 215 222 223 226 228 229 231 233 234 235 236 237 238 245 248 251 253
254 256 261 262 263 264 265 268 269 271 272 273 275 276 277 278 279 283 284 287
293 294 295 297 298 302 307 309 310 313 317 339 351 352 356 357 370 372 373 374
376 385 410 412 414 416 417 419 420 422 423 425 426 427 428 429 430 432 436 437
438 439 440 443 444 446 447 448 449 451 452 455 458 460 462 463 464 465 466 471
475 481 482 483 484 486 487 489 490 498 504 509
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 3 of 15
==Phrack Pro-Phile==
Written by Dispater
Created by Taran King (1986)
Welcome to Phrack Pro-Phile. Phrack Pro-Phile is created to bring info to
you, the users, about old or highly important/controversial people. This
month, I bring to you the original of the controversial New TAP Magazine.
Aristotle
~~~~~~~~~
_______________________________________________________________________________
Personal
~~~~~~~~
Handle: Aristotle
Call him: Kevin
Past handles: Ed, Bob, Bill, and a multitude of other lame handles.
Handle origin: Humanities class in high school.
Date of Birth: April 12, 1970
Age at current date: 22
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair Color: Red
Computer: IBM-PS/2 55SX
Sysop/Co-Sysop of: ALL PAST: Digital Underground, Blitzkreig, some board on
a major packet switching network, a board on MIT's FSF
machines, and a bazillion other lame boards that I don't
care to mention.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was one of those people that played with phones for as long as I can
remember. I guess you could say I started phreaking a few years before
WARGAMES came out. After the movie, I found out that other people were
interested in phones too. Due to the influx of "elite hackers" after the
movie, information became extrememly available. This lead to my existence in
the real world of hack/phreak.
Eventually I ended up writing articles for both 2600 and TAP. In the late
80s I restarted TAP with help from some friends and we started to revive one
of the first hack/phreak magzines that ever existed.
Having TAP helped us gain a special insight on how the system really
works. Some of our issues were cool enough to actually be censored at certain
institutions where avid censorship still exists. Also, we were allowed to see
how far you could go in expressing your opinion until some bigshot noticed.
Believe it or not though, running a periodical without any income is a
major pain. It was well worth it though as I got to meet a lot of cool people
and also was able to do something for the computer underground scene. If you
currently don't support magazines like 2600, etc., please do. They are doing a
lot of work for the community and without them, there would be a major gap in
the press regarding the truth about our community.
I exited the hack/phreak world when things got a bit hairy and Craig
(Knight Lightning) got nailed. I simply decided that a hobby is not worth
going to jail for and that it did not pay the bills either. Anyways, most old
hacks eventually reach the point where everything they see seems old and
boring. This is where I currently am.
Today I am employed at a computer lab at a large university where I am
working on a degree.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aristotle's Favorite Things
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Women: Karen (To be married soon)
Cars: REAL Cars: '86 Mustang GT, '86 VW Golf, various Porsches.
Foods: Anything that you cannot get at a drive-thru.
Music: Metallica, Bach, Danzig, Anthrax.
Authors: All the posters of Alt.Sex
Books: The Art of War
Outdoor fun: Snowboarding
Most Memorable Experiences
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o Getting engaged
o My first blue box call
o Watching some guy die after wrecking his car
o Being interviewed by the FBI for something I did not do and then pissing
them off by allowing them to prove that they were wrong.
o All of the SummerCons and other assorted h/p meetings.
Some People to Mention
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o Bill from RNOC : Getting us kicked out of the museum at the Arch.
o Cheshire Catalyst : Help with restarting TAP.
o Slave Driver : For his hospitality and the infamous "Guess who/what died in
the couch" game.
o The Mentor : For the BBS and his non-snobbish attitude.
o J.R. "Bob" Dobbs : All the cool blue box info.
o The Not : All the help with Unix
o Taran King : For being an exception to the "Hackers are all geeks" rule.
o Knight Lightning : For sending back the pictures and generally being a cool
guy.
o Dispater : For having the no-bullshit attitude and actually getting the job
done.
o Nite Ranger : For helping me realize that lamers will always exist (not you
though).
o Predat0r : All the experiences.
o All the Legion of d0oDs : For adding to the entertainment at PartyCon.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of the general population of phreaks you have met, would you consider most
phreaks, if any, to be computer geeks?
Of the general population, I would consider about 89.9% to be nerds. I
would also consider 65% of the entire population nerds and/or strange. Phreaks
may be geeks but each usually has his/her cool qualities as everyone does.
Most are socially lacking though. Keep in mind that a hacker/phreak is ALWAYS
better than the average GIF viewing geek.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 4 of 15
Pirates' Cove
Issue Two
By Rambone
Welcome to Issue Two of Pirate's Cove. There is a lot going on in the
Pirate community, busts of pirates in the USA and Canada, and new software and
operating systems like IBM's OS/2. So sit back and absorb the news.
First on the agenda is to discuss the over-talked about, and hopefully
dead issue of the carding scam initiated by The Grim Reaper and The Not So
Humble Babe. The reason Phrack Magazine delayed publishing anything about this
bust was because we refused to publish any third party rumors and idle gossip.
Now that I have personally spoken with the Grim Reaper, we can shed some light
on this subject.
Mike "The Grim Reaper" obviously regrets what has transpired and would
like to put this part of his life behind him. At this point in time, he still
does not know what is going to happen, and is taking his arrest very seriously.
Mike asked me just to use the letter he has written. Some of you may have seen
this before, some may not.
*******************************************************************************
Statement by The Grim Reaper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Lamer Pirate Magazines, Etc..."
By THE GRIM REAPER
This was originally going to be an article for iNSANITY Magazine #4 called
"Lamer Pirate Mags, Etc." to straighten out the complete bullshit and lies in
Badnews #7, but seeing as there are so many rumors floating around, and the
future of iNSANITY is undecided, I decided to just put out this text file to
explain what is really going on, less a few lamers out there spread all kinds
of bullshit and lies, as they seem to do so often.
Pretty much everything in Badnews #7 was a complete lie, as most of you
already know by now. They didn't have any backdoors to ViSiON-X, and there
aren't and weren't any that allowed someone to get the user list. What
happened on Showdown was the Sysop PW was given out to the wrong person, and
they used it, so again, nothing but B.S. and hype on their end. While I think
the FiRM overhyped themselves, they didn't deserve the ragging they got by BaD,
and BaD having failed in their own attempt at a pirate group has no right to
criticize ANYONE until they've accomplished the same. Perhaps a few of the
other groups could have said something to them (and many talked about it) but
they didn't deserve the 3rd Degree from a lamer mag.
The main reason for this article was that while many found the BaD Mag
to be so completely full of shit to the point that it was hilarious, some got
to thinking that down the line, someone might actually believe some of the B.S.
They claimed to be the group that caused the downfall of THG, PE and others,
which was a complete joke... They had absolutely nothing to do with any of
that. USA had killed off THG, etc... What else was there to straighten up?
"Did they shoot your Dog????"
- Anonymous Lamer
So what's up? Well, to make it short and blunt, The NotSoHumble Babe and
I were involved in a carding incident. She most likely was being watched by
certain people since she had been using false corporations and fake Tax ID
Numbers to order games and for suppliers for USA. The Secret Service either
stumbled across us that way, from one of the orders gone bad, or from the
illegal cash and hardware coming in to Enterprize. The NSH Babe (Amy) had a
cash flow from Dist Sites and other hot hardware from USA Sites totalling about
$3500-$5000 a month. She had sent one of her hot laptops she gets every month
to Optical Illusion in Canada, and asked him to sell it for her. He wanted to
be nice and tried to sell it. A local from his 416 area wanted to buy the
laptop. He went to sell it, and was busted by a plainclothes police officer
for possession of stolen property of over a $1000.
I found some CC #'s, she had a lot of experience with UPS and FedEx from
ordering games, and she thought of a way to pick up the packages. We both
placed orders (I placed about 2/3rds since she was picking up, and she placed
about a 1/3rd). Most of the stuff wasn't for myself, and was meant for other
people (trying to be nice, eh?). In any case, we shouldn't have done it. TNSH
Babe wanted to order a A LOT of stuff because, over time, she owed people in
USA a lot of hardware they had paid her for, and she had never sent any to
them. We ordered a bit too much, more than I thought we should have.
"They had Bulletproof Vests and Grenades??"
- Another |<-Rad D00D!!
So then what? Well, they found out the packages were coming and were
waiting for TNSH Babe to pick them up. They went back to her place and she
gave them permission to come in and search (dunno what happened in between
then). She talked to them and they wanted to have her give some of the stuff
to me that she got when we were supposed to meet for the first time at a
Meijers parking lot. There were some weird things going on at the time, and an
alarm was flashing in the back of my mind, but I decided to ignore it. Anyhow,
she handed me a hard drive or something, then, basically, they moved in. I saw
a car pulling up, and figured what was going on. One guy said, "Secret
Service" (about 6 people), and it kinda went downhill from there. But
seriously, they weren't that bad and I cooperated with them.
They wanted to go back to my house and look around, and wanted permission.
They said they would have gotten a search warrant, and it was in my best
interest to cooperate, so I let them come in. Basically there wasn't anything
in the house, I always throw everything out when I am done with it. As far as
the computer went, I didn't even have anything Unzipped on the Hard Drive that
I hadn't paid for. They wanted to look further on the computer and in the end
did take it, but gave me a receipt. I paid for my entire system, so don't
listen to some of the lamer textfiles floating around. There wasn't anything
on my system, so I might get lucky and they'll give it back. They also took 3
or 4 computers from Amy's place, but left Static with his. This was the first
time either of us had done anything like this. There had been a few attempts
in the past, but nothing that had ever been followed through, or had worked.
No no, I've never been busted for this before, or anything. I've never been
arrested for anything before.
"I formatted my Hard Drive 3 Times!!"
- Local 313 Sysop
I don't know if it was overreacting, but our dumb situation seemed to
affect a lot of other people. The locals over here went apeshit, and many of
them formatted their drives and deleted files (20+), and took their boards down
temporarily. Many of the major pirate boards decided to power down for a
while. Unfortunately many of the truly good boards in the world have gone
down, possibly forever. BBS-A-Holic has gone down, Enterprize is now PD Only,
many INC boards, LSD2 possibly for related reasons, The VOID of course, and
many others. Many big names are considering quitting the pirate scene because
they think it's not worth it, and they're right. Some of the boards may come
back. BBS-A-Holic was one of my favorites. Many considered The VOID one of
the Top 10 Boards in the world as far as quality went, and I appreciate the
users and the support. I worked hard to try to make it the best, and put my
heart into it. As are many others, Black Spyrit might be retiring, so I don't
know if another iNSANITY Issue will be coming out. It was truly a great mag if
you never saw it. The best.
"I heard they were thrown in jail, and fined $72 Million Dollars!!"
- Another Neverending Lamer
No matter what or who the issue, this never stops, eh? I wouldn't believe
any of the bullshit text files, mostly from jealous people and the few enemies
you get when you end up getting towards the top, especially the anonymous
(surprise) text file taken off of OOFNet (surprise again, huh? Heh). All are,
as always, complete B.S.
Try not to be a lamer. There are too many of 'em, and they do nothing for
the pirate world. If you are going to do anything, do SOMETHING. Organize a
group of some type, coordinate couriers, do some VGA or ANSI work, or get in a
group, but don't be a lamer. Call LD, establish a rep, and see what you are
missing. All locals aren't lamers, but 90% are.
A Lamer - A person who calls only local boards, does nothing but leeches files,
and doesn't contribute to groups in any ways.
Neither BaD, any locals, or Socrates had anything to do with us getting
into trouble in any way.
"Don't try this at home kids."
- Grim '92
All things considered, I wish it wouldn't have ended this way. I don't
think any of this was good for anyone in the pirate or BBS world. USA is now
pretty much a dead group. Many of the best boards have gone down, and others
are considering calling it quits because it just isn't worth it. INC never was
a for-profit group, and had no illegitimate cash flow, unlike USA.
*******************************************************************************
Rambone's Remarks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well that's the real story, straight from the horse's mouth. I've read at
least a dozen text file's after this one, and I tend to believe what Mike has
written. Now Amy (NotSoHumble Babe) tells a different story. According to her
text file, she had seldom carded or phreaked before, but no one seems to be
able to corroborate this information, and people that know her tend to say she
was in deeper than she cares to admit. It's also been brought to my attention
that Amy may be volunteering information to the feds about other people. What
she has done before or after the bust may or may not be true, but here is her
story.
*******************************************************************************
Statement by The Not So Humble Babe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I am sure you have all heard that I had a small legal problem
today, and I know how stuff gets blown out of proportion, so I thought I'd
explain the story myself. Here goes...
I have carded a few items in the past 3 days, and I have NEVER done this
before. The Grim Reaper got CBI accounts and placed orders, and I picked them
up. Well, one of the places Grim ordered from was Paradise Computers. They
knew it was a bogus order, but told us the package was shipped. Then they
called the FEDS. Anyhow, the Feds must have been watching the pickup spot,
then following me around until I met up with Grim to deliver his share of the
stuff. As soon as we went to make the exchange, the Secret Service, FBI, state
police, and local police were running at us with bulletproof vests and
automatic guns. They handcuffed us, separated us, and took each of us back to
our homes for them to search.
I haven't talked to Grim Reaper since I saw him lying next to me on the
ground being arrested. But here's my story. About 20 agents came to my
apartment and grabbed all computer equipment without a receipt. So we still
have 1 modem, and this computer system. Anyhow, they grabbed every piece of
paper they could find. Unfortunately, I am a very organized person, and had
"the who's who in the pirate world" written down for my use. So if you ever
gave me your real name, number, or address, it is now in the hands of the
Secret Service and FBI. This list was quite large, as it took 2 years to
compile.
These boys did their homework. They knew Enterprize was USA HQ and they
knew my handle, and they knew I supplied the group with software. They weren't
going for just anyone here guys; they knew they needed to bust a group leader.
Well, they did. Got me on carding, pirating, and a ton of other legal terms
having to do with both of these.
I was charged with 6 different counts, each holding a 5-30 year prison
sentence. It doesn't look good for me at all. I'll post a file as soon as I
get arraigned and let you guys know what is going on.
But I will say this now, and I MEAN it. I love the groups, the software,
and the competition. But regardless of what happens to me, I am done forever.
No more NotSoHumble Babe, no more USA. I hate to do this to everyone, but I
really don't have a choice. And regardless of who I am that got busted, be
strong and support what you believe in your hearts: PIRACY. Don't let them
win. You guys can all go on without me. Just promise me you won't give up and
throw in the towel. If anyone wants to contact me, you can leave e-mail on
Enterprize for me, or call voice AT YOUR OWN RISK. They told me they were
tapping the phone lines.
*******************************************************************************
News Flash: Mutli-Media Aggravation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mutli-Media games (CD-Rom) are being played on the hard drive. There
seems to be a trend of starting to send out huge CD-Rom games electronically
through BBSes, the first one being Battle Chess I, and taking as much as 30
megs of hard-drive space. Soon after, Steller 7, and Wing Commander I started
to show up. One of the reason for the start of this was a lack of programs
coming down the pike, and one group decided to send Battle Chess out. I
haven't seen anything lately, and hope programs meant for the CD-Rom will stay
that way.
*******************************************************************************
Another News Flash: OS/2 2.0 GA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IBM has released the long anticipated OS/2 (Operating System 2) 2.0 GA.
OS/2 2.0 is an alternative to DOS 3.3, 4.01, or the latest, 5.0, and implements
true 32 bit technology. There are several ways of using this operating system.
OS/2, implementing it's own version of FAT, Dual Boot (which will allow you to
be able to use DOS if necessary), and a Multi-Boot, brings up a prompt a when
booting up which allows you to choose which operating system you would like to
use (similar to Vpix for Unix and Xenix).
I had the opportunity to view a preview of OS/2 2.0 GA at our local IBM
Corporate Building, and to say the least, I was impressed. One of the points
stressed at the meeting was the diverse control over many programs at the same
time. OS/2 comes with its own operating system, along with a clone of sorts of
both DOS and Windows. This feature will enable a user to access a DOS
emulation without having to actually boot up DOS on the machine. It also has a
Windows emulation which will eradicate the need for a full blown version. The
one shortcoming of this is that it is Version 3.0, but I have been informed
that 3.1 is right around the corner, and actually saw a demonstration of it.
The true strong point of OS/2 is the mutli-tasking. After witnessing
15 windows open at the same time, all with programs running concurrently, I
truly can say this is a step into the future, and it is here now. My personal
experience running 2.0 is very impressive. Being able to properly run a
program with the BBS in the background is a welcome treat, and I see no reason
to ever support another operating system, until I get my hands on Windows NT.
*******************************************************************************
Industry News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The long awaited A-10 Avenger by Spectrum Holybyte has now been pushed
back till early next year. This was the next in a series of interactive
programs put out by SH to be played over the modem, the first being Falcon 3.0,
a 256VGA jet game.
UT (Ultra-Tech) and EMC (Electro-Magnetic Crackers) have now merged.
This merger will be beneficial to both groups, bringing lacking talents
together to form one of the largest cracking groups in the world, one with
strong software connections, and the other with cracking resources and existing
software support sites. Captain Tom of UT and Cyborg of EMC brought the whole
thing together as a reality, and this merger may point them in the same
direction as when INC formed their group from several smaller groups.
*******************************************************************************
BBS Bust in Canada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Federal Investigations Section of the RCMP seized components of an
electronic bulletin board system (BBS) "90 North" at a West Island residence.
This is believed to be the first execution of a search warrant under the
Copyright Act of Canada against an electronic bulletin board system.
The seizure included 10 micro computers, seven modems and the software
present on these systems (approximate value of $25,000). An electronic
bulletin board is a service which allows personal computer users to exchange
messages and to exchange or receive computer files including software, text and
digitized images over telephone lines via a modem.
During a four-month investigation, it was established that the 90 North
BBS enabled users to obtain software in exchange for other files or for an
annual fee of $49.00. While some of the programs consisted of "shareware"
which may legally be distributed in this way, much of the available material
was protected under the Copyright Act including beta versions of commercial
software packages which have not yet been released on the market. More than
3,000 software programs were available to users of this BBS including
WordPerfect 5.0, Microsoft DOS 5.0, Windows 3.0, Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows,
Borland C++ 2.0, Quattro Pro 3.0, d-Base IV 1.1, SCO Xenix for DOS, Netware
3.11 and Clipper 5.0.
Charges of commercial distribution of pirated software are planned against
the owner and operator of 90 North. Paragraph 42 (1)(c) of the Copyright Act
states that "every person who knowingly distributes, infringes, copies of any
work in which copyright subsists either for the purpose of trade or to such
intent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, is guilty of an
offense and liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding $25,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both, or on conviction
on indictment, or a fine not exceeding $1 million or to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding five years or both."
_______________________________________________________________________________
More Details On The Canadian BBS Bust
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has, for the first time under
the Copyright Act of Canada, seized all the components of an electronic
bulletin board (BBS), for providing illegal copies of copyrighted software to
its subscribers.
According to Allen Reynolds of the secretariat of the Canadian Alliance
Against Software Theft (CAAST), the Federal Investigations Section of the RCMP
has not laid formal charges against the West Island, Quebec owner and operator
of the BBS. Charges of commercial distribution of pirated software are planned
against the owner of 90 NORTH, he said.
CAAST is a Canadian organization made up of ASHTON-TATE CANADA, LOTUS
DEVELOMENT CANADA, MICROSOFT CANADA, NOVELL CANADA, and QUARTERDECK OFFICE
SYSTEMS CANADA. Its main objective is to educate the public and business about
the hazards of software piracy.
In the raid, the RCMP seized 10 Micro computers, seven modems, and about
$25,000 worth of software which was allegedly being distributed to users of the
90 NORTH BBS for an annual $49.00 fee, Reynolds said.
Some of the seized software packages were Wordperfect 5.0, MS-DOS 5.0,
Windows 3.0, Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows, dBase IV, Netware 3.11, and Qemm. If
charged and convicted on a summary conviction, the 90 NORTH owner could face
either a penalty or a fine not exceeding $25,000 or a jail term not exceeding
six months or both. If the 90 NORTH owner is convicted on indictment, the
penalty is a fine not exceeding $1 million or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding five years or both. "I don't know how long it will take to lay
charges," Reynolds said. He would not speculate when the RCMP would charge the
owner of 90 NORTH, but he did say that the users of the 90 NORTH BBS will not
be investigated by by the RCMP.
He added that there is reason to believe that a number of BBSes across
Canada are supplying beta test versions of products which can be dangerous to a
user's system because they are usually laced with bugs.
*******************************************************************************
Rambone's Remarks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been informed that there are several more bulletin boards,
especially those in the 416 NPA, that are under investigation right now. Most
of the sysops being busted are ones that charge for download credits, which is
a violation of the Copyright Act for reselling software.
*******************************************************************************
New Release
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ultima UnderWorld by Origin
Name: The Stygian Abyss
Company: Origin
Graphics: 256VGA
Sound: SB/SB-Pro/Adlib/Roland
Rating: 10/10
Supplier: High Pockets/Red Runner
Copy Protection: None
Date: 3/26/92
Looking for virtual reality in a game? Didn't think you could find it?
Welcome to Origin's Ultima UnderWorld, "The Stygian Abyss." Don't let the name
fool you, this game does not have any attributes from the Ultima 1-6 series.
You start out in a dark room looking out into what would be called a 3-D
perspective. Picking up the bag in front of you would be your best bet -- it
may have things that you need. Once you are on your way, you will notice how
realistic the walls, ground, and ceiling look, almost like you are there.
Along the way in your adventure, you will encounter many items that will help
you along the way and some that may not, but you will have to decide. There
are also many cultures down below that will be friendly and not-so-friendly;
use your best judgement. Learn all your abilities. They will come in handy
down the road. Practice your magic, it may save your life, or help you walk
across water (hint). Learning how to jump correctly is important. You'll have
to be able to leap across flaming, volcanic ravines to be able to finish the
game. When you see writing on the wall or in a scroll with words and telling
you to chant this to the Mantra, you better copy them down: They build up your
attributes.
All in all, there are 7 levels, and one unexplored level, sporting true
256VGA graphics, SB-Pro support, and a riveting sound-track. This is this
closest thing to virtual reality graphics in the game market today, and it'll
be a while before you play anything else like it.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 5 of 15
Network Miscellany IV
Compiled from Internet Sources
by Datastream Cowboy
Network Miscellany created by Taran King
Special Internet Connections February 5, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most Recent Update
Comments to: Scott Yanoff <yanoff@CSD4.CSD.UWM.EDU>
American Philosophy Association
telnet atl.calstate.edu or 130.150.102.33
Login: apa
OFFERS: BBS for APA.
Archie
telnet archie.mcgill.ca or 132.206.2.3 (Canada)
telnet archie.funet.fi or 128.214.6.100 (Finland/Europe)
telnet archie.au or 128.184.1.4 (Australia/New Zealand)
telnet cs.huji.ac.il or 132.65.6.5 (Israel)
telnet archie.doc.ic.ac.uk or 146.169.3.7 (United Kingdom/Ireland)
telnet archie.sura.net or 128.167.254.179 (Maryland, USA)
telnet archie.unl.edu (Password: archie1) (Nebraska, USA)
telnet archie.ans.net or 147.225.1.2 (New York, USA)
telnet archie.rutgers.edu or 128.6.18.15 (New Jersey, USA)
OFFERS: Internet anonymous FTP database. (Login: archie)
Archie Mail Servers
mail archie@<INSERT ONE OF ABOVE ADDRESSES HERE>
Subject: help
OFFERS: Alterative Archie access to those without ftp or telnet access.
Automated Data Service
telnet tycho.usno.navy.mil or 192.5.41.239
Login: ads
OFFERS: Navigational/Time/Astronomical Information.
CARL
telnet pac.carl.org or 192.54.81.128
OFFERS: Online database, book reviews, magazine fax delivery service.
CHAT
telnet debra.doc.ca or telnet 192.16.212.15
Login: chat
OFFERS: Conversion of Hypertext Access Technical information files.
Cheeseplant's House
telnet orchid.csv.warwick.ac.uk 2001 or 137.205.192.5
OFFERS: Online chat service in a very unique format.
Chess Server
telnet lark.utah.edu 5000 or telnet 128.110.128.72 5000
OFFERS: Play/watch real-time chess with human opponents.
Type "help" for help
C64 Archive Server
mail twtick@corral.uwyo.edu
Subject: Mail-Archive-Request Body-of-letter: help (hit return) end
Dante Project
telnet library.dartmouth.edu or 129.170.16.11
Login: connect dante
OFFERS: Divine Comedy and reviews.
Distance Educational Data
telnet sun.nsf.ac.uk or telnet 128.86.8.7
(Login: janet Hostname: uk.ac.open.acs.vax Username: icdl)
Document Site
ftp ocf.berkeley.edu or ftp 128.32.184.254
OFFERS: Many docs, including 5 purity tests, the Bible, lyrics.
Earthquake Information
finger quake@geophys.washington.edu
OFFERS: Recent quake information (location, time, magnitude, etc.)
E-Math
telnet 130.44.1.100 (Login: e-math Password: e-math)
OFFERS: American Math Society sponsored BBS with software and reviews.
FEDIX
telnet fedix.fie.com or telnet 192.111.228.1
Login: fedix
OFFERS: Information on scholarships, minority assistance, etc.
Freenet
telnet freenet-in-a.cwru.edu or 129.22.8.82 (Cleveland)
telnet yfn.ysu.edu or 192.55.234.27 (Youngstown)
OFFERS: USA Today Headline News, Sports, etc.
FTP Mail
mail ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
Subject:(hit return) Body-of-letter: help (return) quit
OFFERS: ftp via e-mail
Genetics Bank
mail gene-server@bchs.uh.edu
Subject: help
OFFERS: Genetic database accessible via e-mail.
Geographic Server
telnet martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000 or 141.212.100.9 3000
Gopher
telnet consultant.micro.umn.edu
Login: gopher
OFFERS: Access to many interesting features.
Graf-Bib
mail graf-bib@decwrl.dec.com
Subject: help
Body-of-letter: send index
OFFERS: Graphics bibliography
Ham Radio Callbook
telnet marvin.cs.buffalo.edu 2000 or 128.205.32.4 2000
OFFERS: National ham radio call-sign callbook.
INFO - Rutgers CWIS
telnet hangout.rutgers.edu 98 or 128.6.26.25 98
OFFERS: Dictionary, thesaurus, CIA world fact book, quotations database.
Internet Resource Guide
ftp nnsc.nsf.net
OFFERS: Compressed/tar'd list of net resources in /resource-
guide.txt.tar.Z
IRC Telnet Client
telnet bradenville.andrew.cmu.edu or 128.2.54.2
OFFERS: Internet Relay Chat access.
Library of Congress
telnet dra.com or 192.65.218.43
OFFERS: COPY of Library of Congress
(Assumes terminal is emulating a vt100)
List of Lists
ftp ftp.nisc.sri.com or ftp 192.33.33.22
mail mlol-request@wariat.nshore.ncoast.org
OFFERS: List of interest groups/e-mail lists in /netinfo/interest-groups.
Lyric Server
ftp cs.uwp.edu
OFFERS: Lyrics (/pub/music/lyrics/files) in text files for anonymous ftp.
Mail Server/User Lookup
mail mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu
Usage: In body of mail message: send usenet-addresses/[name searching for]
Melvyl
telnet melvyl.ucop.edu or 31.1.0.1
OFFERS: Access to various libraries.
Type "other" at prompt to see others.
NASA Headline News
Finger nasanews@space.mit.edu
OFFERS: Daily press releases from NASA.
NASA SpaceLink
telnet spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov or 128.158.13.250
OFFERS: Latest NASA news, including shuttle launches and satellite
updates.
NED
telnet ipac.caltech.edu or telnet 131.215.139.35
Login: ned
OFFERS: NASA Extragalactic Database.
NetLib
mail netlib@ornl.gov
Subject:(hit return)
Body-of-letter: send index
OFFERS: Math software.
Oceanic Information Center
telnet delocn.udel.edu or telnet 128.175.24.1
Login: info
Oracle
mail oracle@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu
OFFERS: The Usenet Oracle!
Mail with subject as "help" for more info.
PENpages
telnet psupen.psu.edu or telnet 128.118.36.5
Login: PNOTPA
OFFERS: Agricultural info (livestock reports, etc.)
SDDAS
telnet espsun.space.swri.edu 540 or telnet 129.162.150.99
OFFERS: SW Research Data Display & Analysis Center.
SERVICES
telnet wugate.wustl.edu or 128.252.120.1
Login: services
OFFERS: Access to nearly every listed service!
Software Server
telnet charlie.secs.csun.edu 5742 or 130.166.2.150 5742
OFFERS: Similar to Archie.
Type help for a list of commands.
StatLib Server
mail statlib@lib.stat.cmu.edu
Mail with line: send index.
OFFERS: Programs, Datasets, etc. for statisticians.
STIS
telnet stis.nsf.gov or 128.150.195.40
Login: public
OFFERS: Science & Technology Information System.
Supreme Court Rulings
ftp ftp.cwru.edu
OFFERS: ASCII files of Supreme Court rulings in directory /hermes
Usenet News MailServer
mail [newsgroup]@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Allows you to post to a Usenet newsgroup via e-mail. Useful if you have
read-only access to Usenet news.
Note: .'s become -'s Ex. alt.test -> alt-test
UNC BBS
telnet samba.acs.unc.edu or 128.109.157.30
Login: bbs
OFFERS: Access to Library of Congress and nationwide libraries.
WAIStation
telnet quake.think.com or 192.31.181.1
Login: wais
OFFERS: Wide Area Information Service
FTP think.com for more info.
Weather Service
telnet madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000 or 141.212.196.79 3000
OFFERS: City/State forecasts, ski conditions, earthquake reports, etc.
World-Wide Web
telnet info.cern.ch or telnet 128.141.201.74
OFFERS: Information service with access to various documents, lists, and
services.
* NOTE: NO LOGIN NAMES OR PASSWORDS ARE REQUIRED UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE! *
If it prompts you for a login name, you did something wrong, or are not
running on a machine that the system you telnetted to supports!
_______________________________________________________________________________
+++++ Zamfield's Wonderfully Incomplete, Complete Internet BBS List +++++
FOREWORD
~~~~~~~~
The following list has been compiled with the help of the wonderfully generous
crowd of folks who associate with Internet or UseNet. I owe them many thanks
and please keep the info coming.
I, and many others, have a few things to say about these BBSes in general. So
bear with me, or skip ahead, but do take a look later.
1). These BBSes are provided as a service to anyone on Internet. Not just you.
2). While you may not directly pay for these services someone does.
3). You are a guest, and please keep that in mind while using these BBSes.
Okay, that wasn't so bad after all.
Most of these BBSes offer services unique to BBSing. Some offer small scale
versions of standard Internet services. Keep in mind that mail or articles
posted on BBSes do not reach everyone in the world, and if you can get to
UseNet, you will probably find better responses. Most of the files on these
BBSes can be found by anonymous FTP, so don't tie up the system with files if
you have FTP. Do be considerate on these BBSes, some people aren't using
telnet or rlogin to get to these, some people still dial numbers with modems at
their homes. :-)
For users of JANET (UK), you may access these BBSes through first connecting to
UK.AC.NFSNET-RELAY.TELNET or PAD.UK.AC.NFSNET-RELAY.TELNET. Likewise, users of
Internet can get to JANET by telnet SUN.NFS.AC.UK, login as janet.
Zamfield@Dune.EE.MsState.Edu
==============================================================================
2/6/92
NAME ADDRESS LOGIN BBS Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AfterFive winner.itd.com 9999
-- 128.160.2.248 9999
-- Hours: 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. CST. Please no logins during the day.
-- MUCK - enhanced tinymuck2.2.3d-beta. Based on Bourbon Street, New
Orleans. May not be appropriate for all ages, especially very young
children as the database is rather graphic in section describing strip
tease, and bars.
-- BBS is Citadel like Quartz and Grind. No HotKeys though. Supports 59
concurrent users.
-- This site is running on a very fast machine, but you might experience
network delays. Contact Howard, Darrel, Trish, Wolvercuss, Akbaar or
Captain, wizards, if you wish to work on any aspect of After-Five.
BadBoy's Inn 130.18.80.26 bbs Pirate 2.0
-- badboy.itd.msstate.edu
-- Boards, Talk, Chat, Mail
-- Test site for new Pirate Software.
-- Pirate 2.0 kicks, if it would work all the time!
Campus_d 35.204.192.2 LOGIN CAMPUS_D
-- umde.dbrn.umich.edu
-- Currently down and contemplating permanent removal. (8/2/91)
-- Send comments/condemnations/pleading/apologizing/reminiscing/etc. to
DEN@UMDE.DBRN.UMICH.EDU
Cimarron (in Spanish) bugs.mty.itesm.mx bbs Pirate 1.0
-- 131.178.17.60
-- Nice BBS, too bad it is all in Spanish. Good place to get acquainted with
if you are trying to learn Spanish, lots of conversations to look at.
Cimarron means Wild Dog or Untamed.
-- This BBS seems to be a limited access site. I have gained access only
during late hours CST. I will try to get more info on this.
Cleveland Free-Net 129.22.8.75 (cwns16.ins.cwru.edu) CWRUBBS
-- 129.22.8.76 (cwns9.ins.cwru.edu)
-- 129.22.8.82 (cwns10.ins.cwru.edu)
-- freenet-in-a.cwru.edu
-- freenet-in-b-cwru.edu
-- freenet-in-c-cwru.edu
-- Usenet, Internet, MUD, USA Today Online. Local mail, and Interest Groups.
CueCosy cue.bc.ca cosy Cosy 4.0
-- 134.87.11.200
-- Conferences and Topics, EAN Mail, Usenet, FTP, downloads Kermit & Xmodem,
Online Unix course, some local files.
Cybernet Waffle BBS 131.91.80.13 bbs Waffle
-- shark.cs.fau.edu
-- Nice BBS, but I still haven't gotten word on whether I have been validated
or not. And no response to my mail either. Lots of conferences, and
Magpie Chat. Information for Floridians, GNU, computers, alternate
PUBNET, recreational, science, social, Unix-PC; unsure about files, but
still nice.
Delft University BBS 130.161.180.68 BBS
-- tudrwa.tudelft.nl
-- In Holland, mostly Dutch.
-- Files, messages, chat areas
Endless Forest 137.48.1.5 2001
-- forest.unomaha.edu 2001
-- Boards, E-mail. Reminds me of WWIV BBS.
Hall of Doom servax.fiu.edu
-- 131.94.64.2
-- login as WEATHER, passwd WEATHER
-- select 666
-- login as new.
Heartland Peoria Illinois FreeNet
-- 136.176.10.10 fnguest
-- heartland.bradley.edu
-- Mail, Public Forum, Recreation, Calendar, Social services, Senior center,
Teen center, Local job & government information, Legal, Medical, Tax, &
Invest/Banking Forums SIGs, Library, Home & Garden, Science & Tech, &
Education Forums.
Hewlett-Packard BBS hpcvbbs.cv.hp.com
-- 15.255.72.16
-- has tech help, and 48SX files/programs.
IDS DataForum 192.67.241.11 guest
-- ids.jvnc.net
-- IDS DataForum is a public access system run on a DEC VAX. It is menu
driven, supports VT100, and ANSI graphics.
-- Features, TELNET, FINGER, Weather Underground, Ham Callsign Book. Adds
Internet Mail (VMS Mail).
-- Includes Entertainment, such as, International MUDs, local-only games,
CONQUEST & GALACTIC TRADER, and CB Simulator for CHATS.
-- RIME, PC-BBS messaging network, Usenet NEWS with "nearly" full newsfeed.
-- DialOut service, online Game Developer Conference, and BBS software
available as well.
-- Local access at (401)-884-9002, (V.32, Telebit/PEP, USR HST, V.42bis).
-- More info at ids-info@idsvax.ids.com
ISCA isca01.isca.uiowa.edu iscabbs DOC (Citadel)
-- grind.isca.uiowa.edu
-- 128.255.19.233
-- 128.255.19.175
Mars Hotel Mars.EE.MsState.Edu bbs Pirate
-- 130.18.64.3
-- Boards, Talk, Chat, IRC, Mail.
-- Fairly extensive files,
-- ftp'able, Kermit, XYZmodems,
-- Died recently due to irreparable hardware failures. This system will
probably remain down for a year or so, or indefinitely if another machine
is not found for it. I will continue to update its status if any changes
occur.
-- Mars is/was a Sparc 4/110 that lost a Mongo chip. The EE department might
consider ordering a replacement, but has no idea where to get one.
Information will be forwarded if sent to Zamfield@dune.ee.msstate.edu.
Also, if anyone has a spare 4/110 the EE department said that would do
just fine.
-- Further information, offerings, etc, contact Zamfield@dune.ee.msstate.edu
and I will facilitate the rebirth of Mars if possible.
National Education BBS testsun3.nersc.gov bbs Pirate
-- shadowfax.nersc.gov
-- 128.55.128.183
-- 128.55.128.64
-- Boards, Talk, Chat, Mail.'source' file section, but no files. HAS GONE
PRIVATE, or so I have been told. (9/22/91)
Netcom netcom.netcom.com guest + <CR> at passwd
-- 192.100.81.100
-- Full Unix service. Money for access. $15.50/month ($17.50 for invoiced
billing)
-- (408) 241-9760/9794 (San Jose, CA) and
-- (415) 424-0131 (Palo Alto, CA).
Nyx BBS isis.cs.du.edu new
-- 130.253.192.9
-- Full news feed, Local downloads, shell access (with validation), and Ftp.
It is a completely free public access Unix system fun by the University of
Denver's Math and Computer Science Department.
-- Sysop: Professor. Andrew Burt. The system is run by donations on a
donated Pyramid 90x with a homebrew menuing system
Olajier 129.31.22.7 Olajier <passwd Olajier>
-- leo.ee.ic.ac.uk
-- Capitals are important for both the login and passwd. This BBS is at
Imperial College in London.
OuluBox (Finnish) tolsun.oulu.fi box
-- 130.231.96.16
-- Can set English as preferred language, said to switch to Finnish at the
most inconvenient time. IRC.
The Picayune star96.nodak.edu 20
-- star24.nodak.edu or star12.nodak.edu for slower speeds.
-- 134.129.107.131
-- North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network.
-- Limited net news, file areas, tetris online, local e-mail.
-- A 386 running unix, 2 80 meg drives, 600 users give or take a few.
Quartz Quartz.Rutgers.Edu bbs Citadel
-- 128.6.60.6
-- Rooms/Boards.
-- Suggest MUD to chat.
Samba North Carolina 128.109.157.30 bbs Modified XBBS
-- samba.acs.unc.edu
-- (919)-962-9911
-- Offers vi, emacs, rn, NEWS, MAIL, local messaging, SIGS, Conferencing,
Files (Kermit/FTP), & INFO limited NewsFeed (8/2/91).
Softwords COSY softwords.bc.ca cosy Cosy
-- 134.87.11.1
SpaceLink BBS spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov
-- 128.158.13.250
Spies In The Wires doomsday.spies.com bbs
-- 130.43.2.220
-- Full UseNet NewsFeed, Posting to UseNet.
-- IRC (for validated users).
-- Appears to have shut down. 12/6/91
TriState Online 129.137.100.1 visitor FreeNetIII
-- tso.uc.edu
-- new FreeNet site.
Virginia Tech Cosy vtcbx.csn.vt.edu cosyreg
-- 128.173.5.10 bbs (for list)
-- Virginia Tech Conferencing System. Offers local conferencing, up to date
listing of local BBSes and read only Usenet NEWS. Tons of messages.
Youngstown Free-Net yfn.ysu.edu visitor
-- 192.55.234.27
Unknown centaur.ucsd.edu bbs
-- 128.54.16.14
The World world.std.com new
-- 192.74.137.5
-- Public access Unix system. 19.2, 9600, 2400, & 1200 baud modem
connections. 3 GB disk storage. CompuServe Packet Network access and
SLIP connection up to T1.
-- Signup, dial 617-739-WRLD, type new. Basic rates are $2/hr 24 hrs/day and
$5 monthly fee. 20/20 plan, $20 for 20 hrs, including monthly fee. Also
available from Compuserve Packet Network. $5.60 surcharge is added to
monthly bill. Further info at staff@world.std.com
-- E-mail to Internet, UUCP, BITNET, CSNET, EUNET, JANET, JUNET, Fidonet,
BIX, Compuserve, Applelink and MCImail.
-- USENET, ClariNet, Electronic Mailing Lists, Chatting, Unix Software, GNU
Software, Games, Online Book Initiative, AlterNet Access, Internet.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SERVICES
~~~~~~~~
The following is a list of useful services that most BBSers are interested in.
I have not checked any of these except Archie. If you have more info about
these or if you know of other to add, please mail me:
Zamfield@Dune.EE.MsState.EDU.
==============================================================================
Service Address Login
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archie quiche.cs.mcgill.ca archie
-- 132.206.2.3
Cheeseplant's House 137.205.192.5 2001
-- orchid.csv.warwick.ac.uk
-- This is a dedicated Chat program run by Daniel Stephens in Warwick
University in England.
Cat Chat 137.205.192.5 2000
-- Another ChatServer. See Cheeseplant's House.
DDN Network Information Center
-- nic.ddn.mil
-- 192.67.67.20
-- TACNEWS, WHOIS Server, NIC
GeoServer Martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000
-- 141.212.100.9
IRC Client bradenville.andrew.cmu.edu
-- 128.2.54.2
-- not all IRC commands supported.
Library Systems ->FTP<- vaxb.acs.unt.edu
-- This site contains a huge, 100-150 page, guide to Internet libraries.
The file is under the library directory. Send thanks and responses to
Billy Barron, BILLY@vaxb.acs.unt.EDU.
Lyric Server ->FTP<- cs.uwp.edu
-- These files are available via anonymous ftp. This is not really a Telnet
service, but it is nice to know about so I included it.
National Ham Radio Call-Sign Callbook
-- 128.205.32.4 2000
-- marvin.cs.Buffalo.Edu
-- I am very impressed with this service I heard that people had trouble
logging into this site, but I never encountered a login prompt, I just
started using it.
NCSU Services ccvax1.cc.ncsu.edu INFO or PUBLIC
-- 128.109.153.4
Network Information Service (Univ. of California at Berkeley)
-- mailhost.berkeley.edu 117
-- 128.32.136.9, 117
-- 128.32.136.12, 117
-- 128.32.206.9 117
-- 128.32.206.12 117
OCEANIC 128.175.24.1
-- delocn.udel.edu
-- Ocean info center, from the U. of Delaware. Contains technical and
scientific info on oceanic research. DOS software for viewing
oceanographic graphics. Type <$> to logout (no brackets).
Slugnet chat system cons1.mit.edu
-- 18.80.0.88, 2727
-- sorta like IRC.
UM-Weather Service madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000
-- 141.212.196.79 3000
Vatech Server 128.173.16.6
-- vtcbx.cc.vt.edu
WAIS server hub.nnsc.nsf.net wais
-- 192.31.103.7
-- Gives access to online documents. More info can be obtained from
THINK.COM.
Thomas A. Kreeger (Zamfield@Dune.EE.MsState.Edu)
_______________________________________________________________________________
nixpub short listing
Open Access UNIX (*NIX) Sites [both Fee and No Fee]
[ September 13, 1991 ]
Legend: fee/contribution ($), no fee (-$), hours (24), not (-24)
shell (S), USENET news (N), e-mail (M), multiple lines (T)
Telebit PEP speed on main number (+P), Telebit on other line[s] (P)
Courier HST 9600 bps on main number (+H), Courier on other line[s] (H)
V.32 on main number (+V), V.32 on other line[s] (V)
anonymous uucp (A), archive site ONLY - see long form list (@)
Updated
Last Telephone # Sys-name Location Baud Legend
----- ------------ -------- ----------- ------- ---------
08/91 201-759-8450^ tronsbox Belleville NJ 3-96 24 -$ MN+PST
04/91 203-661-2873 admiral Greenwich CT 3/12/24/96 24 -$ AHMN+PT+V
09/91 206-328-4944^ polari Seattle WA 12 24 $ MNPST
05/91 206-367-3837^ eskimo Seattle WA 3/12/24 24 $ MNST
04/91 209-952-5347 quack Stockton CA 3/12/24/96 24 $ MN+PS
12/90 212-420-0527^ magpie NYC NY 3/12/24/96 24 -$ APT
12/90 212-431-1944^ dorsai NYC NY 3/12/24 24 $ MNT
12/90 212-675-7059^ marob NYC NY 3/12/24/96 24 -$ APT
12/90 213-397-3137^ stb Santa Monica CA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ A+PS
01/91 215-336-9503^ cellar Philadelphia PA 3/12/24/96 24 $ +HMN+V
06/91 215-348-9727 lgnp1 Doylestown PA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ AMN+P
12/90 216-582-2460^ ncoast Cleveland OH 12/24/96 24 $ MNPST
07/91 217-789-7888 pallas Springfield IL 3/12/24/96 24 $ HMNSTV
07/91 219-289-0282 nstar Notre Dame IN 24/96 24 $ +HMNPST+V
08/91 301-625-0817 wb3ffv Baltimore MD 12/24/96 24 -$ AHNPT+V
07/91 303-871-4824^ nyx Denver CO 3/12/24 24 -$ MNST
08/91 312-248-0900 ddsw1 Chicago IL 3/12/24/96 24 $ AMNPSTV
04/90 312-283-0559^ chinet Chicago IL 3/12/24/96 24 $ HNPT
10/89 312-338-0632^ point Chicago IL 3/12/24/96 24 -$ HNPST
09/90 312-714-8568^ gagme Chicago IL 12/24 24 $ MNS
06/90 313-623-6309 nucleus Clarkston MI 12/24 24 -$ AM
10/90 313-994-6333 m-net Ann Arbor MI 3/12/24 24 $ T
08/89 313-996-4644^ anet Ann Arbor MI 3/12 24 $ T
08/89 314-474-4581 gensis Columbia MO 3/12/24/48/ 24 -$ MS
08/90 401-455-0347 anomaly Esmond RI 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PS
09/91 407-299-3661^ vicstoy Orlando FL 12/24 24 -$ MNS
06/91 407-438-7138^ jwt Orlando FL 12/24/96 24 -$ MNP
11/90 408-241-9760^ netcom San Jose CA 12/24/96 24 $ MNPST
09/89 408-245-7726^ uuwest Sunnyvale CA 3/12/24 24 -$ N
08/91 408-423-9995 cruzio Santa Cruz CA 12/24 24 $ MNPT
07/91 408-458-2289 gorn Santa Cruz CA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PST
10/89 408-725-0561^ portal Cupertino CA 3/12/24 24 $ MNT
12/90 408-739-1520^ szebra Sunnyvale CA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+P
07/91 408-867-7400^ spies Saratoga CA 12/24 24 -$ MNST
09/91 408-996-7358^ zorch Cupertino CA 12/24/96 24 $ MNPT
06/91 412-431-8649^ eklektik Pittsburgh PA 3/12/24 24 $ MNST
06/91 414-241-5469^ mixcom Milwaukee WI 12/24/96 24 $ MNST
09/91 414-734-2499 edsi Appleton WI 3/12/24 24 $ MN
01/91 415-223-9768^ barbage El Sobrante CA 3/12/24/48 24 -$
11/90 415-294-8591 woodowl Livermore CA 12/24/19.2 24 -$ MN+P
11/89 415-332-6106^ well Sausalito CA 12/24 24 $ MNST
06/91 415-623-8652^ jack Fremont CA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PST
06/91 415-826-0397^ wet San Francisc CA 12/24 24 $ MNPSTV
04/91 415-949-3133^ starnet Los Altos CA 3/12/24/96 24 $ MNPSTV
05/90 415-967-9443^ btr Mountain Vie CA 3/12/24 24 $ HMNPSTV
11/89 416-452-0926 telly Brampton ON 12/24/96 24 $ MN+P
12/88 416-461-2608 tmsoft Toronto ON 3/12/24/96 24 $ MNS
02/90 502-957-4200 disk Louisville KY 3/12/24 24 $ MNST
08/91 503-254-0458^ bucket Portland OR 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PST+V
02/91 503-297-3211^ m2xenix Portland OR 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PST+V
03/91 503-640-4262^ agora PDX OR 12/24/96 24 $ MNST
05/90 503-644-8135^ techbook Portland OR 12/24 24 $ MNST
09/91 508-655-3848 unixland Natick MA 12/24/96 24 $ HMNPSTV
06/91 512-346-2339^ bigtex Austin TX 96 24 -$ A+PS
10/89 513-779-8209 cinnet Cincinnati OH 12/24/96 24 $ MN+PS
08/90 514-844-9179 tnl Montreal PQ 3/12/24 24 -$ MS
01/90 517-487-3356 lunapark E. Lansing MI 12/24 24 -$
12/88 518-346-8033 sixhub upstate NY 3/12/24 24 $ MNST
07/91 602-293-3726 coyote Tucson AZ 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+P
07/91 602-649-9099^ telesys Mesa AZ 12/24/96 24 $ AMN+PS
12/90 602-941-2005^ xroads Phoenix AZ 12/24 24 $ NT
11/90 604-576-1214 mindlink Vancouver BC 3/12/24/96 24 $ HMNPT
12/90 604-753-9960 oneb Nanaimo BC 3/12/24/96 24 $ MN+PT
08/89 605-348-2738 loft386 Rapid City SD 3/12/24/96 24 $ MN+PS
04/91 606-263-5106 lunatix Lexington KY 3/12/24 24 -$ MNST
08/88 608-273-2657 madnix Madison WI 3/12/24 24 -$ MNS
09/90 612-473-2295^ pnet51 Minneapolis MN 3/12/24 24 -$ MNT
12/90 613-237-0792 latour Ottawa ON 3/12/24/96 24 -$ AMN+PS+V
12/90 613-237-5077 micor Ottawa ON 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+P
06/91 614-868-9980^ bluemoon Reynoldsburg OH 3/12/24/96 24 -$ +HMNPT
07/91 615-288-3957 medsys Kingsport TN 12/24/96 24 -$ AN+P
04/91 615-896-8716 raider Murfreesboro TN 12/24/96 24 -$ MNST+V
11/90 616-457-1964 wybbs Jenison MI 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PST
06/91 617-471-9675^ fcsys Quincy MA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ AMN+V
12/90 617-739-9753^ world Brookline MA 3/12/24/96 24 $ MNPST
01/90 619-259-7757 pnet12 Del Mar CA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MNPT
07/88 619-444-7006^ pnet01 El Cajon CA 3/12/24 24 $ MNST
06/91 703-239-8993^ tnc Fairfax Stat VA 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MNPT
12/89 703-281-7997^ grebyn Vienna VA 3/12/24 24 $ MNT
05/91 708-833-8126^ vpnet Villa Park IL 12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PST
06/91 713-438-5018^ sugar Houston TX 3/12/24/96 24 -$ N+PT
08/91 713-568-0480^ taronga Hoston TX 3/12/24 24 -$ MNST
10/89 713-668-7176^ nuchat Houston TX 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PS
04/91 714-278-0862 alchemy Corona CA 12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PS
01/91 714-635-2863^ dhw68k Anaheim CA 12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PST
12/90 714-821-9671^ alphacm Cypress CA 12/24/96 24 -$ A+PT
12/90 714-842-5851^ conexch Santa Ana CA 3/12/24 24 $ AMNS
01/91 714-894-2246^ stanton Irvine CA 3/12/24 24 $ MNS
03/90 717-657-4997 compnect Harrisburg PA 3/12/24 24 -$ MNT
06/91 718-424-4183^ mpoint New York NY 3/12/24/96 24 $ +HMNS+V
04/91 718-832-1525^ panix New York Cit NY 12/24/96 24 $ MNPST
12/89 719-632-4111 oldcolo Colo Spgs CO 12/24/96 24 $ HMNT
12/90 808-735-5013 pegasus Honolulu HI 12/24/96/19 24 -$ MN+PST+V
12/90 812-333-0450 sir-alan Bloominingto IN 12/24/19.2/ 24 -$ A+HMPTV
08/91 812-421-8523 aquila Evansville IN 12/24 24 $ AM
06/91 818-401-9611^ abode El Monte CA 24/96 24 $ MN+PST
03/91 900-468-7727 uunet Falls Church VA 3/12/24/96 24 $ AMN+PT+V
07/91 904-456-2003 amaranth Pensacola FL 12/24/96 24 -$ MN+P
09/91 906-228-4399 lopez Marquette MI 12/24 24 $ MN
06/91 908-297-8713^ kb2ear Kendall Park NJ 3/12/24/96 24 -$ AMNS+V
05/90 908-846-2460^ althea New Brunswic NJ 3/12/24 24 -$ MNS
08/91 916-649-0161^ sactoh0 Sacramento CA 12/24/96 24 $ MN+PSTV
01/91 919-248-1177^ rock RTP NC 3/12/24/96 24 $ MN
10/89 919-493-7111^ wolves Durham NC 3/12/24 24 $ MNS
08/91 +33-1-40-35-23-49 gna Paris FR 12 24 -$ AMN+PT+V
11/90 +39-541-27858 xtc Rimini (Fo) IT 3/12/24/96 24 -$ HN+PT
09/91 +41-61-8115492 ixgch Kaiseraugst CH 3/12/24 24 -$ AMN+P
02/91 +44-81-853-3965 dircon London UK 3/12/24 24 $ MN
11/90 +44-81-863-6646 ibmpcug Middlesex UK 3/12/24/96 24 $ MST+V
06/91 +49-30-691-95-20 scuzzy Berlin DE 3/12/24/96 24 -$ A+HS
06/91 +49-8106-34593 gold Baldham DE 3/12/24/96 24 -$ AHMN+PT+V
01/91 +64-4-642-260 cavebbs Wellington NZ 12/24 24 -$ MNT
11/90 +64-4-895-478 actrix Wellington NZ 3/12/24/96 24 $ +HMNST
02/91 +64-9-645-593 delphi Auckland NZ 3/12/24/96 24 -$ MNT+V
02/91 +64-9-817-3725 kcbbs Auckland NZ 12/24/96 24 -$ MN+PTV
NOTE: ^ means the site is reachable using PC Pursuit.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 6 of 15
_____ BEATING THE RADAR RAP _____
/ / \ / / \
( 5/5 ) Part 2 of 2 : "The Technical Side" ( 5/5 )
\_/___/ \_/___/
by Dispater
______________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Introduction | Welcome to the second installment in this series where we
|______________| will briefly explore some of the technical sides to the
operations, error analysis of the police traffic RADAR
unit, the basics of how this technology was developed, then how it was
implemented, a list of common RADAR errors, and finally the technical analysis
of various types of traffic RADAR by National Highway Safety Administration.
RADAR stands for Radio Detecting And Ranging. A traffic speed RADAR works
under the principle of physicals called the "Doppler effect." This theory
means that when a signal is reflected off of an object moving toward you, the
signal will be at a higher frequency when it is closer to you than when the
object is farther away or at the initial position. So the "Doppler effect" is
THE basis for the use of the traffic speed RADAR.
Right now in the United States, there are three bands that are allocated by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for "field disturbance sensors." These
three bands have non-technical names, and all operate in the GigaHertz range
(GigaHertz is a measure of frequency, i.e. 1 GHz = 1 billion cycles per
second). The following is a list of the RADAR bands (as a point of reference
FM radio modulates at 0.088 GHz to 0.108 GHz).
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BAND : FREQUENCY NOTE ABOUT SPECIFIC BAND
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
X-Band : 10.525 GHz This is the frequency in which most RADAR units operate.
K-Band : 24.150 GHz K-Band was developed to give a longer range of the beam.
Ka-Band : 26.450 GHz This bandwidth is primarily for use with RADAR units
that are used for "photo-speed traps."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"So if RADAR is so unreliable," you ask, "why don't we have planes crashing on
a daily basis?" In the first place, TRAFFIC RADAR operates on a COMPLETELY
different basis than, say, the type of RADAR that tracks weather or airplanes.
The technology of traffic RADAR can in no way be compared to the accuracy of
other types of RADAR. Traffic RADAR does NOT "sweep" like a regular RADAR.
"Sweeping" means that the RADAR is picking up every single return signal it
gets and plots them proportionally on a two-dimensional cathode ray tube. On
the other hand, traffic RADAR uses a stationary beam. Also, traffic RADAR does
not use a modulated beam like regular RADAR; it uses a constant beam. ***This
is an important distinction because this means that if there are multiple
images, the constant RADAR beam cannot distinguish between them!***
Furthermore, traffic RADAR is limited to things such as size. It must be able
to fit inside a patrol car and it is also subject to cost. That means a
municipality usually picks up the lowest bid it can get from various
manufacturers.
______________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Implementation of Traffic RADAR | It is important to note at this time that
|_________________________________| while government standards for accuracy
for military and commercial airline RADAR
exist, traffic RADAR is NOT subject to ANY government standards whatsoever. An
attempt was made to do this by the police and two government agencies, but were
refused any type of compliance with traffic speed RADAR manufacturers and the
Reagan administration.
In the late 1970s, there was wide-spread publicity of about RADAR errors,
including the well known tree clocked at 86-MPH in Florida. So, in 1979 the
National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) assigned to the National Bureau
of Standards the task of testing all brands of traffic RADAR in use at that
time for the purpose of discovering the source of these errors and proposing
federal standards to eliminate them. In January of 1981, the proposed
standards were published in the Federal Register. However, the Reagan
administration took no action on the proposal (the last part of this file
contains the profile from this report of various RADAR units).
After THREE years of government inaction on the problem, the International
Association of the Chief of Police (IACP) provided non-government standards by
which all traffic RADAR units could be tested to assure accuracy: Volume I of
the standards was published in April, 1984 and Volume II in June, of 1984.
In June of 1986, the traffic RADAR manufacturers announced the formation of
their own trade association, saying that they would not submit traffic RADAR
units for IACP testing! Instead, they said they would use their own standards.
So far, NO ONE has any idea of what these standards are; not the police, not
the government and, most importantly, not the public! Basically, there are no
performance requirements or standards for traffic RADAR and the claims of
86-MPH trees and 28-MPH houses cannot be refuted.
______________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Common Traffic Radar Errors | Below is a list of common errors and how they
|_____________________________| occur. This is the part of the article that
must be used in conjunction with the previous
file in this series. You must attempt, while pleading your case, to tie in
some of the following errors to the situation you found yourself in when you
got your speeding ticket. See Phrack #37 file #5 for details.
"The Look-Past Error" Even when the RADAR operator aims his gun properly, the
RADAR is subject to this type of error. This is caused by the RADAR reflecting
off of a larger surface area in the background rather than the smaller
reflective surface in the foreground. Evidence of this the Look-Past Error was
printed in the October 1979 issue of "Car and Driver." The author measured the
effectiveness of KR11 RADAR system against various vehicles. The author showed
that the typical sedan did not show up on the RADAR until it was less that 1200
feet away, however, a Ford 9000 semi tractor trailer could be picked up at 7600
feet.
"The Road Sign Error" Due to the reflectability of microwaves, road signs,
buildings, billboards, large trees, and other stationary objects are a source
of errors.
"Radio Interference Error" According to the Texas Department of Public
Safety, "UHF frequencies broadcast today can force RADAR to read various
numbers when transmitted within the area." This type of interference could
come from the radio within the patrol car, citizens band radio, or television
stations.
"Fan Interference Error" When the antenna is mounted inside the patrol car,
"RADAR will have the tendency to read the pulse of the fan motor (air
conditioner, heater, defroster)." This is a statement provided by the Texas
Department of Public Safety who conducted a study of RADAR guns in 1987. The
Texas Department of Public Safety offered no safeguard for this error.
"Beam Reflection Error" Since microwaves are so readily reflected, the Texas
Department of Public Safety cautioned mounting the antenna within the patrol
car. One instructor said, "It is possible that a reflective path can be set up
through the rear view mirror that will produce RADAR readings on the vehicles
behind the patrol car when the RADAR is aimed forward. And those vehicles can
be either coming or going since traffic RADAR cannot distinguish between the
direction."
"Double Bounce Error" Again, since microwaves are easily reflected, the
operator must be aware of a "bad bounce" and an ordinary reflection. And, as
stated before, since large objects are more efficient than smaller ones,
microwaves are attracted to them more. So, in effect, you could have an
initial RADAR bounce off of the target vehicle, then from the target vehicle to
a house or a truck going the opposite direction, and finally back to the patrol
car. This error will mathematically get larger the slower the target vehicle
is moving.
"The Cosine Error" This is a mathematical error that takes place when the
RADAR gun attempts to calculate the trigonomic equation that is programmed into
it. The RADAR gun measures the angle at which the target enters a point and
then exits a point (i.e. 25 degrees). The cosine of 25 is .9063. The RADAR
gun was designed to calculate the speed of the patrol car by multiplying the
speed of the patrol car (i.e. 50 mph) and the cosine of the angle (.9063) and
it gets the false speed of the patrol vehicle as 45mph. Therefore, when you
subtract the patrol speed from the target speed (i.e. 50, the same as the
patrol car) you get the false sense that the target vehicle is traveling 5mph
faster than the patrol car.
______________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Technical Analysis Report | Below is a copy of the report mentioned above
|___________________________| was conducted by the NHSA. But first I will
explain what some of the criteria were under the
testing conditions. It is also important to note that ALL RADAR units were
subject to "panning error" except the CMI Speedgun-6 and Speedgun-8 models.
Panning error occurs when the RADAR antenna is aimed at it's own display
console. Unintentional errors of this sort can be eliminated when police
officers are given adequate training.
TEST UNIT : Model and manufacturer of the police speed RADAR
unit in question.
BAND : The short hand used for determining the broadcast
frequency of the RADAR unit. X-Band is 8.2-12.4 GHz.
K-Band is 18.0-26.5 GHz.
BEAM WIDTH : The number that is 1/2 of the actual beam width.
In other words, if a RADAR manufacturer says the beam
width is 24 degrees, the actual beam width is
48 degrees. Very deceptive, eh?
SHADOWING ERROR : This occurs in moving mode only. It is the result
of the RADAR mistaking another vehicle for it's
ground reference and adding speed to the target
reading.
POWER SURGE : This occurs when the RADAR unit is first turned on.
This also occurs when the "kill switch" is used to
defeat RADAR detectors. Lag time for kill in the
moving mode ranges from 1.5-5 seconds.
EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE : The NBS test only used CB radio and police-band radio
for "external interference." There are many other
kinds of outside electromagnetic interference that
may effect police RADAR.
INTERNAL INTERFERENCE : Internal interference "may be caused by ANY
electrical component or accessory in the vehicle,
especially when the patrol car's primary power source
is used to operate the RADAR.
[It should be noted that TWO of MPH's K-55 RADAR units were tested. This
demonstrates that each RADAR unit can contain its own quirks regardless of the
fact that it can be from the same model from the same manufacturer.]
_______________________________________________________________________________
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS SUMMARY ON TRAFFIC RADAR
_______________________________________________________________________________
TEST UNIT BAND BEAM WIDTH SHADOWING ERROR
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kustom Signals MR-9 K 13.3 Minor
POWER SURGE EXTERNAL INTERF. INTERNAL INTERF.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Switch-ON gave CB radio caused false CB radio caused
stray reading of 7mph readings of up to 25' erroneous readings
_______________________________________________________________________________
TEST UNIT BAND BEAM WIDTH SHADOWING ERROR
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MPH Industries K-55 X 20.4 Added 12mph to target in one
(first of two units) test
POWER SURGE EXTERNAL INTERF. INTERNAL INTERF.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No valid reading for CB radio caused false CB radio many
2.4 sec in moving mode readings of up to 20' erroneous readings
_______________________________________________________________________________
TEST UNIT BAND BEAM WIDTH SHADOWING ERROR
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MPH Industries K-55 X 24.6 Increased target speed 12-15mph
(second of two units) about 20% of the time
POWER SURGE EXTERNAL INTERF. INTERNAL INTERF.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 sec delay in moving mode, CB radio caused false CB radio cause many
2.5 sec in stationary mode alarms up to 175' away erroneous readings
_______________________________________________________________________________
TEST UNIT BAND BEAM WIDTH SHADOWING ERROR
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Decatur MV-715 X 17.5 Added 8-23mph to target in
repeated testing
POWER SURGE EXTERNAL INTERF. INTERNAL INTERF.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No valid reading for Not effected by external Extreme interference
2+ seconds in moving mode CB radio from heater fan,
ignition, & CB radio
_______________________________________________________________________________
TEST UNIT BAND BEAM WIDTH SHADOWING ERROR
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CMI Speedgun-6 X 18.8 Very severe, added 12-20 mph
to target
POWER SURGE EXTERNAL INTERF. INTERNAL INTERF.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 sec delay in moving mode, Not effected by external CB radio and police
2 sec delay in stationary CB radio radio boosts
readings 20mph
_____________________________________________________________________________
TEST UNIT BAND BEAM WIDTH SHADOWING ERROR
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CMI Speedgun-8 X 18.6 target traveling 41mph shown as
74mph; target 30mph shown as
41mph
POWER SURGE EXTERNAL INTERF. INTERNAL INTERF.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 sec delay in moving mode, Not effected by external No adverse effect
1.2 sec delay in stationary CB radio noted
_______________________________________________________________________________
TEST UNIT BAND BEAM WIDTH SHADOWING ERROR
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kustom Signals MR-7 X 14.3 No effects noted
POWER SURGE EXTERNAL INTERF. INTERNAL INTERF.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25.4 sec delay in moving mode, Not effected by external Police band radio
0.6 sec delay in stationary CB radio caused intermittent
increases of 10mph
______________________________________________________________________________
| |
| In Closing... | I hope you have learned a little about how police speed
|_______________| RADAR operates, the errors that they frequently incur, and
possibly a way to avoid the highway robbery that occurs
each time Officer Friendly decides to make a little extra dough for his "job
security."
Also, if you are interested in obtaining cheap traffic RADAR equipment to play
with, you can write to: AIS SATELLITE INC., 106 N. Seventh Street, Perkasie,
PA 18944. You can also call them for a catalog at (215)453-1400 or place
orders at (800)AIS-2001.
______________________________________________________________________________
== Phrack Inc. ==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 7 of 15
<:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:>\|/<:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:>
<:=--=:> <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> >>>>>=-* Users Guide to VAX/VMS *-=<<<<< <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> Part III of III <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> Part E: DCL Command Reference <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> Part F: Lexical Function Reference <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> By Black Kat <:=--=:>
<:=--=:> <:=--=:>
<:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:>/|\<:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:><:=--=:>
Index
~~~~~
Part E contains information on DCL Command Reference
Part F contains information on Lexical Function Reference
<:=- Part E : DCL Command Reference -=:>
DCL Command Reference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@ file_spec [p1 p2...p8]
Executes a DCL command procedure.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT=file_spec
ACCOUNTING file_spec[,...]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Accounting Utility to collect and report accounting
information.
Qualifiers:
/ACCOUNT /ADDRESS /BEFORE /BINARY /ENTRY
/FULL /IDENTIFICATION /IMAGE /JOB /LOG
/NODE /OUTPUT /OWNER /PRIORITY /PROCESS
/QUEUE /REJECTED /REMOTE_ID /REPORT /SINCE
/SORT /STATUS /SUMMARY /TERMINAL /TITLE
/TYPE /UIC /USER
ALLOCATE device_name: [logical_name]
Provides exclusive use of a device and, optionally, establishes a logical
name for that device. While a device is allocated, other users may access
the device until you DEALLOCATE it or log out.
Qualifier:
/GENERIC
ANALYZE
Invokes various VAX/VMS utilities to examine components of the system. The
default function is to examine a module (ANALYZE/OBJECT).
Qualifiers:
/CRASH_DUMP /DISK_STRUCTURE /ERROR_LOG /IMAGE
/MEDIA /OBJECT /PROCESS_DUMP /RMS_FILE
/SYSTEM
APPEND input_file_spec[,...] output_file_spec
Adds the contents of one or more input files to the end of a file.
Qualifiers:
/ALLOCATION /BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM
/CONTIGUOUS /CREATED /EXCLUDE /EXPIRED /EXTENSION
/LOG /MODIFIED /NEW_VERSION /READ_CHECK /SINCE
/WRITE_CHECK
ASSIGN
Equates a logical name to a physical device name, file specification or
another logical name.
ASSIGN/MERGE
Merges the contents of one queue with another.
ASSIGN/QUEUE
Assigns a logical queue to a device queue.
ATTACH [process_name]
Enables you to transfer control from the current process to another process
created by you (see SPAWN).
Qualifier:
/IDENTIFICATION
BACKUP input_spec output_spec
Invokes the VAX/VMS Backup Utility to perform one of the following file
operations:
o Copy disk files.
o Save disk files as a save set (a single data file) on a disk or
magnetic tape volume.
o Restore files from a save set.
o Compare files.
o Display information about files contained in a save set.
Qualifiers:
/BACKUP /BEFORE /BLOCK_SIZE /BRIEF
/BUFFER_COUNT /COMMENT /COMPARE /CONFIRM
/CRC /CREATED /DELETE /DENSITY
/EXCLUDE /EXPIRED /FAST /FULL
/GROUP_SIZE /IGNORE /IMAGE /INCREMENTAL
/INITIALIZE /INTERCHANGE /JOURNAL /LABEL
/LIST /LOG /MODIFIED /NEW_VERSION
/OVERLAY /OWNER_UIC /PHYSICAL /PROTECTION
/RECORD /REPLACE /REWIND /SAVE_SET
/SELECT /SINCE /TRUNCATE /VERIFY
/VOLUME
CALL label [p1 p2...p8]
Transfers command procedure control to a labeled subroutine in the procedure.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
CANCEL [process_name]
Cancels a scheduled wake_up request for the specified process.
Qualifier:
/IDENTIFICATION
CLOSE logical_name
Closes a file opened for input/output with the OPEN command, and deassigns
the logical name created for the file.
Qualifiers:
/ERROR /LOG
CONNECT virtual_terminal_name
Connects a physical terminal to a virtual terminal connected to another
process.
Qualifiers:
/CONTINUE /LOGOUT
CONTINUE
Resumes execution of a DCL command, program or command procedure
interrupted by pressing <Ctrl-Y> or <Ctrl-C>. You can abbreviate the
CONTINUE command to the letter C.
COPY input_file_spec[,...] output_file_spec
Creates a new file from one or more existing files. The COPY command can be
used to:
o Copy an input file to an output file, optionally changing its name and
location.
o Copy a group of input files to a group of output files.
o Concatenate two or more files into a single new file.
Qualifiers:
/ALLOCATION /BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONCATENATE
/CONFIRM /CONTIGUOUS /CREATED /EXCLUDE /EXPIRED
/EXTENSION /LOG /MODIFIED /OVERLAY /PROTECTION
/READ_CHECK /REPLACE /SINCE /TRUNCATE /VOLUME
/WRITE_CHECK
CREATE file_spec
Creates one or more sequential disk files from records that follow in the
input stream (i.e., the keyboard, a modem...). To terminate input and close
the file, enter <Ctrl-Z>.
Qualifiers:
/LOG /OWNER_UIC /PROTECTION /VOLUME
CREATE/DIRECTORY directory_spec[,...]
Creates a new directory or subdirectory for cataloging files.
Qualifiers:
/LOG /OWNER_UIC /PROTECTION /VERSION_LIMIT /VOLUME
CREATE/FDL=fdl_file_spec [file_spec]
Invokes the FDL (File Definition Language) Utility to use the
specifications in a definition file to create a new (empty) data file.
Qualifier:
/LOG
DEALLOCATE device_name:
Releases a previously allocated device to the pool of available devices.
Qualifiers:
/ALL
DEASSIGN logical_name[:]
Deletes logical name assignments made with the ALLOCATE, ASSIGN, DEFINE, or
MOUNT command.
Qualifiers:
/ALL /EXECUTE_MODE /GROUP /JOB
/PROCESS /SUPERVISOR_MODE /SYSTEM /TABLE
/USER_MODE
DEASSIGN/QUEUE logical_queue_name[:]
Deassigns a logical queue from its printer or terminal queue assignment and
stops the associated logical queue.
DEBUG
Invokes the VAX/VMS Debugger.
DEFINE logical_name equivalence_name[,...]
Creates a logical name entry and assigns it an equivalence string, or a list
of equivalence strings, to the specified logical name.
Qualifiers:
/EXECUTIVE_MODE /GROUP /JOB
/LOG /NAME_ATTRIBUTES /PROCESS
/SUPERVISOR_MODE /SYSTEM /TABLE
/TRANSLATION_ATTRIBUTES /USER_MODE /CHARACTERISTIC
/FORM /KEY
DEFINE/KEY key_name string
Associates a character string and a set of attributes with a function key.
Qualifiers:
/ECHO /ERASE /IF_STATE /LOCK_STATE /LOG
/SET_STATE /TERMINATE
DELETE file_spec[,...]
Deletes one or more files from a mass device.
Qualifiers:
/BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM /CREATED
/ERASE /EXCLUDE /EXPIRED /LOG /MODIFIED
/SINCE
DELETE/CHARACTERISTIC characteristic_name
Deletes the definition of a queue characteristic that previously was
established with the DEFINE/CHARACTERISTIC command.
DELETE/ENTRY=(queue_entry_number[,...]) queue_name[:]
Deletes one or more job entries from the named queue.
DELETE/KEY key_name
Deletes a key definition established by the DEFINE/KEY command.
Qualifiers:
/ALL /LOG /STATE
DELETE/QUEUE queue_name[:]
Deletes the specified queue from the system.
DELETE/SYMBOL symbol_name
Removes a symbol definition from a local or global symbol table or removes
all symbol definitions in a symbol table.
Qualifiers:
/ALL /GLOBAL /LOCAL /LOG
DEPOSIT location=data[,...]
Over-writes the contents of a specified location or series of locations in
virtual memory. The DEPOSIT and EXAMINE commands are used (mostly) while
debugging programs interactively.
Qualifiers:
/ASCII /BYTE /DECIMAL /HEXADECIMAL
/LONGWORD /OCTAL /WORD
DIFFERENCES master_file_spec [revision_file_spec]
Compares the contents of two disk files and creates a listing of those
records that do not match.
Qualifiers:
/CHANGE_BAR /COMMENT_DELIMITER /IGNORE
/MATCH /MAXIMUM_DIFFERENCES /MERGED
/MODE /NUMBER /OUTPUT
/PARALLEL /SEPARATED /SLP
/WIDTH /WINDOW
DIRECTORY [file_spec[,...]]
Provides a list of files or information about a file or group of files.
Qualifiers:
/ACL /BACKUP /BEFORE /BRIEF /BY_OWNER
/COLUMNS /CREATED /DATE /EXCLUDE /EXPIRED
/FILE_ID /FULL /GRAND_TOTAL /HEADING /MODIFIED
/OUTPUT /OWNER /PRINTER /PROTECTION /SECURITY
/SELECT /SINCE /SIZE /TOTAL /TRAILING
/VERSIONS /WIDTH
DISCONNECT
Disconnects a physical terminal from a virtual terminal that has been
connected to a process. The virtual terminal, and its associated process
will remain on the system when the physical terminal is disconnected from it.
Qualifier:
/CONTINUE
DISMOUNT device_name[:]
Dismounts a disk or magnetic tape volume that previously was mounted with a
MOUNT command.
Qualifiers:
/ABORT /CLUSTER /UNIT /UNLOAD
DUMP file_spec[,...]
Displays the contents of files or volumes in ASCII, decimal, hexadecimal or
octal representation.
Qualifiers:
/ALLOCATED /BLOCKS /BYTE /DECIMAL /FILE_HEADER
/FORMATTED /HEADER /HEXADECIMAL /LONGWORD /NUMBER
/OCTAL /OUTPUT /PRINTER /RECORDS /WORD
EDIT/ACL file_spec
Invokes the Access Control List Editor to create or update access control
list information for a specified object.
Qualifiers:
/JOURNAL /KEEP /MODE /OBJECT /RECOVER
EDIT/EDT file_spec
Invokes the VAX/VMS EDT text editor. The /EDT qualifier is not required, as
EDT is the default editor.
Qualifiers:
/COMMAND /CREATE /JOURNAL /OUTPUT /READ_ONLY
/RECOVER
EDIT/FDL file_spec
Invokes the VAX/VMS FDL (File Definition Language) Editor to create or modify
File and FDL files.
Qualifiers:
/ANALYSIS /CREATE /DISPLAY /EMPHASIS
/GRANULARITY /NOINTERACTIVE /NUMBER_KEYS /OUTPUT
/PROMPTING /RESPONSES /SCRIPT
EDIT/TPU file_spec
Invokes the VAX/VMS Text Processing Utility. The EVE (Extensible VAX Editor)
is the default interface for TPU. To invoke TPU with the EDT emulator
interface, define the logical TPUSECII to point to the section file for the
EDT interface as follows:
$ DEFINE TPUSECINI EDTSECINI
Qualifiers:
/COMMAND /CREATE /DISPLAY /JOURNAL
/OUTPUT /READ_ONLY /RECOVER /SECTION
EOD
Signals the end of an input stream when a command, program or utility is
reading data from an input device other than a terminal.
EXAMINE location[:location]
Displays the contents of virtual memory.
Qualifiers:
/ASCII /BYTE /DECIMAL /HEXADECIMAL
/LONGWORD /OCTAL /WORD
EXIT [status_code]
Terminates the current command procedure. If the command procedure was
executed from within another command procedure, control will return to the
calling procedure.
GOSUB label
Transfers command procedure control to a labeled subroutine.
GOTO label
Transfers control to a labeled statement in a command procedure.
HELP
Invokes the VAX/VMS Help Utility to display information about a VMS command
or topic.
Qualifiers:
/INSTRUCTIONS /LIBLIST /LIBRARY /OUTPUT
/PAGE /PROMPT /USERLIBRARY
IF logical_expression THEN dcl_command
Tests the value of a logical expression and executes the command following
the THEN keyword if the test is true.
INITIALIZE device_name[:] volume_label
Formats and writes a label on a mass storage volume.
Qualifiers:
/ACCESSED /BADBLOCKS /CLUSTER_SIZE /DATA_CHECK
/DENSITY /DIRECTORIES /ERASE /EXTENSION
/FILE_PROTECTION /GROUP /HEADERS /HIGHWATER
/INDEX /LABEL /MAXIMUM_FILES /OVERRIDE
/OWNER_UC /PROTECTION /SHARE /STRUCTURE
/SYSTEM /USER_NAME /VERIFIED /WINDOWS
INITIALIZE/QUEUE queue_name[:]
Creates and initializes queues. This command is used to create and assign
names and attributes to queues. When creating a batch queue, the qualifier
/BATCH is required.
Qualifiers:
/BASE_PRIORITY /BATCH /BLOCK_LMIT /CHARACTERISTICS
/CPUDEFAULT /CPUMAXIMUM /DEFAULT /DISABLE_SWAPPING
/ENABLE_GENERIC /FORM_MOUNTED /GENERIC /JOB_LIMIT
/LIBRARY /ON /OWNER_UIC /PROCESSOR
/PROTECTION /RECORD_BLOCKING /RETAIN /SCHEDULE
/SEPARATE /START /TERMINAL /WSDEFAULT
/WSEXTENT /WSQUOTA
INQUIRE symbol_name [prompt]
Provides interactive assignment of a value for a local or global symbol in a
command procedure.
Qualifiers:
/GLOBAL /LOCAL /PUNCTUATION
LIBRARY library_file_spec [input_file_spec[,...]]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Librarian Utility to create, modify, or describe a macro,
object, help, text or shareable image library.
Qualifiers:
/BEFORE /COMPRESS /CREATE /CROSS_REFERENCE
/DATA /DELETE /EXTRACT /FULL
/GLOBALS /HELP /HISTORY /INSERT
/LIST /LOG /MACRO /NAMES
/OBJECT /ONLY /OUTPUT /REMOVE
/REPLACE /SELECTIVE_SEARCH /SHARE /SINCE
/SQUEEZE /TEXT /WIDTH /MODULE
LINK file_spec[,...]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Linker to link object modules into a VMS program image.
Qualifiers:
/BRIEF /CONTIGUOUS /CROSS_REFERENCE /DEBUG
/EXECUTABLE /FULL /HEADER /MAP
/IMAGE /PROTECT /SHAREABLE /SYMBOL_TABLE
/SYSLIB /SYSSHR /SYSTEM /TRACEBACK
/USERLIBRARY /INCLUDE /LIBRARY /OPTIONS
/SELECTIVE_SEARCH /SHAREABLE
LOGOUT
Terminates an interactive terminal session with VMS.
Qualifiers:
/BRIEF /FULL /HANGUP
MACRO file_spec[,...]
Invokes the VAX/VMS MACRO assembler to assemble MACRO assembly language
source programs.
Qualifiers:
/CROSS_REFERENCE /DEBUG /DISABLE /ENABLE
/LIBRARY /LIST /OBJECT /SHOW
/UPDATE
MAIL [file_spec] [recipient_name]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Personal Mail Utility, which is used to send messages to,
and receive messages from, other users of the system.
Qualifiers:
/SUBJECT /EDIT /SELF
MERGE input_file_spec1,input_file_spec2[,...] output_file_spec
Invokes the VAX/VMS Sort Utility to combine up to 10 similarly sorted input
files. The input files to be merged must be in sorted order before invoking
MERGE.
Qualifiers:
/CHECK_SEQUENCE /COLLATING_SEQUENCE /DUPLICATES
/KEY /SPECIFICATION /STABLE
/STATISTICS /FORMAT /ALLOCATION
/BUCKET_SIZE /CONTIGUOUS /FORMAT
/INDEXED_SEQUENTIAL /OVERLAY /RELATIVE
/SEQUENTIAL
MESSAGE file_spec[,...]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Message Utility to compile message definition files.
Qualifiers:
/FILE_NAME /LIST /OBJECT /SYMBOLS /TEXT
MONITOR [class_name[,...]]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Monitor Utility to monitor various classes of system
performance data. Data can be analyzed from a running system or from a
previously created recording file. You can execute a single MONITOR request,
or enter MONITOR interactive mode to execute a number of requests. The
interactive mode is entered by entering the MONITOR command with no
parameters or qualifiers. A MONITOR request is terminated by entering
<Ctrl-C> or <Ctrl-Z>. Pressing <Ctrl-C> causes MONITOR to enter interactive
mode, while <Ctrl-Z> returns control to DCL.
Parameters:
ALL_CLASSES CLUSTER DECNET
DISK DLOCK FCP
FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE IO LOCK
MODES PAGE POOL
PROCESSES SCS STATES
SYSTEM
Qualifiers:
/BEGINNING /BY_NODE /COMMENT
/DISPLAY /ENDING /FLUSH_INTERVAL
/INPUT /INTERVAL /NODE
/RECORD /SUMMARY /VIEWING_TIME
Class Name Qualifiers:
/ALL /AVERAGE /CPU
/CURRENT /ITEM /MAXIMUM
/MINIMUM /PERCENT /TOPBIO
/TOPCPU /TOPDIO /TOPFAULT
MOUNT device_name[:][,...] [volume_label[,...]] [logical_name[:]]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Mount Utility to make a disk or tape volume available for
use.
Qualifiers:
/ASSIST /ACCESSED /AUTOMATIC
/BIND /BLOCKSIZE /CACHE
/CLUSTER /COMMENT /CONFIRM
/COPY /DATA_CHECK /DENSITY
/EXTENSION /FOREIGN /GROUP
/HDR3 /INITIALIZE /LABEL
/MESSAGE /MOUNT_VERIFICATION /OVERRIDE
/OWNER_UIC /PROCESSOR /PROTECTION
/QUOTA /REBUILD /RECORDZIDE
/SHADOW /SHARE /SYSTEM
/UNLOAD /WINDOWS /WRITE
ON condition THEM dcl_command
Defines the DCL command to be executed when a command or program executed
with a command procedure encounters an error condition or is interrupted by
the user pressing <Ctrl-Y>.
OPEN logical_name[:] file_spec
Opens a file for input/output. The OPEN command assigns a logical name to
the file and places the name in the process logical name table.
Qualifiers:
/APPEND /ERROR /READ /SHARE /WRITE
PATCH file_spec
Invokes the VAX/VMS Patch Utility to patch an executable image, shareable
image or device driver image.
Qualifiers:
/ABSOLUTE /JOURNAL /NEW_VERSION /OUTPUT /UPDATE
/VOLUME
PHONE [phone_command]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Phone Utility. PHONE provides the facility for you to
communicate with other users on the system or for any other VAX/VMS system
connected to your system via a DECnet network.
Qualifiers:
/SCROLL /SWITCH_HOOK /VIEWPORT_SIZE
PRINT file_spec[,...]
Queues-up one or more files for printing.
Qualifiers:
/AFTER /BACKUP /BEFORE /BURST
/BY_OWNER /CHARACTERISTICS /CONFIRM /COPIES
/CREATED /DELETE /DEVICE /EXCLUDE
/EXPIRED /FEED /FLAG /FORM
/HEADER /HOLD /IDENTIFY /JOB_COUNT
/LOWERCASE /MODIFIED /NAME /NOTE
/NOTIFY /OPERATOR /PAGES /PARAMETERS
/PASSALL /PRIORITY /QUEUE /REMOTE
/RESTART /SETUP /SINCE /SPACE
/TRAILER /USER
PURGE [file_spec[,...]]
Deletes all but the highest versions of the specified files.
Qualifiers:
/BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM /CREATED
/ERASE /EXCLUDE /EXPIRED /KEEP /LOG
/MODIFIED /SINCE
READ logical_name[:] symbol_name
The READ command inputs a single record from the specified input file and
assigns the contents of the record to the specified symbol name.
Qualifiers:
/DELETE /END_OF_FILE /ERROR /INDEX /KEY
/MATCH /NOLOCK /PROMPT /TIME_OUT
RECALL [command_specifier]
Recalls previously entered commands for reprocessing or correcting.
Qualifier:
/ALL
RENAME input_file_spec[,...] output_file_spec
Modifies the file specification of an existing disk file or disk directory.
Qualifiers:
/BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM /CREATED
/EXCLUDE /EXPIRED /LOG /MODIFIED /NEW_VERSION
/SINCE
REPLY ["message"]
Allows a system operator to communicate with system users.
Qualifiers:
/ABORT /ALL /BELL /BLANK_TAPE
/DISABLE /ENABLE /INITIALIZE_TAPE /LOG
/NODE /NOTIFY /PENDING /SHUTDOWN
/STATUS /TEMPORARY /TERMINAL /TO
/URGENT /USERNAME /WAIT
REQUEST "message"
Writes a message on the system operator's terminal, and optionally requests a
reply.
Qualifiers:
/REPLY /TO
RETURN [status_code]
Terminates a GOSUB statement and returns control to the command following the
GOSUB command.
RUN
Performs the following functions:
o Places an image into execution in the process.
o Creates a subprocess or detached process to run a specified image.
RUNOFF
Performs the following functions:
o Invokes the DIGITAL Standard Runoff text formatter to format one or more
ASCII files.
o Invokes the DIGITAL Standard Runoff text formatter to generate a table of
contents for one or more ASCII files.
o Invokes the DIGITAL Standard Runoff text formatter to generate an index
for one or more ASCII files.
SEARCH file_spec[,...] search_string[,...]
Searches one or more files for the specified string(s) and lists all the
lines containing occurrences of the strings.
Qualifiers:
/EXACT /EXCLUDE /FORMAT /HEADING /LOG
/MATCH /NUMBERS /OUTPUT /REMAINING /STATISTICS
/WINDOW
SET ACCOUNTING
Enables or disables logging various accounting activities in the system
accounting log file SYS$MANAGER:ACCOUNTING.DAT. The SET ACCOUNTING command
is also used to close the current accounting log file and to open a new one
with a higher version number.
Qualifiers:
/DISABLE /ENABLE /NEW_FILE
SET ACL object_name
Allows you to modify the ACL (access control list) of a VMS object.
Qualifiers:
/ACL /AFTER /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM
/CREATED /DEFAULT /DELETE /EDIT /EXCLUDE
/JOURNAL /KEEP /LIKE /LOG /MODE
/NEW /OBJECT_TYPE /RECOVER /REPLACE /SINCE
SET AUDIT
Enables or disables VAX/VMS security auditing.
Qualifiers:
/ALARM /DISABLE /ENABLE
SET BROADCAST = (class_name[,...])
Allows you to block out various terminal messages from being broadcast to
your terminal.
SET COMMAND [file_spec[,...]]
Invokes the VAX/VMS Command Definition Utility to add, delete or replace
commands in your process command table or a specified command table file.
Qualifiers:
/DELETE /LISTING /OBJECT /OUTPUT /REPLACE
/TABLE
SET [NO]CONTROL[=(T,Y)]
Defines whether or not control will pass to the command language interpreter
when <Ctrl-Y> is pressed and whether process statistics will be displayed
when <Ctrl-T> is pressed.
SET DAY
Used to reset the default day type specified in the user authorization file
for the current day.
Qualifiers:
/DEFAULT /LOG /PRIMARY /SECONDARY
SET DEFAULT device_name:directory_spec
Changes the default device and/or directory specification. The new default
is used with all subsequent file operations that do not explicitly include a
device or directory name.
SET DEVICE device_name[:]
Establishes a printer or terminal as a spooled device, or sets the error
logging status of a device.
Qualifiers:
/AVAILABLE /DUAL_PORT /ERROR_LOGGING /LOG
/SPOOLED
SET DIRECTORY directory_spec[,...]
Modifies directory characteristics.
Qualifiers:
/BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM
/CREATED /EXCLUDE /EXPIRED /LOG
/MODIFIED /OWNER_UIC /SINCE /VERSION_LIMIT
SET FILE file_spec[,...]
Modifies file characteristics.
Qualifiers:
/BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM
/CREATED /DATA_CHECK /END_OF_FILE /ENTER
/ERASE_ON_DELETE /EXCLUDE /EXPIRATION_DATE /EXTENSION
/GLOBAL_BUFFER /LOG /NODIRECTORY /OWNER_UIC
/PROTECTION /REMOVE /SINCE /UNLOCK
/TRUNCATE /VERSION_LIMIT
SET HOST node_name
Connects your terminal, via your host processor, to another processor in a
DECnet network.
Qualifiers:
/LOG /DTE /HSC
SET KEY
Changes the current key definition state. Keys are defined by the DEFINE/KEY
command.
Qualifiers:
/LOG /STATE
SET LOGINS
Defines the number of users who may gain access to the system. This command
also displays the current interactive level.
Qualifiers:
/INTERACTIVE
SET MAGTAPE device_name[:]
Defines default characteristics to be associated with a magnetic tape device
for subsequent file operations.
Qualifiers:
/DENSITY /END_OF_FILE /LOG /LOGSOFT /REWIND
/SKIP /UNLOAD
SET MESSAGE [file_spec]
Allows you to specify the format of messages, or to override or supplement
system messages.
Qualifiers:
/DELETE /FACILITY /IDENTIFICATION /SEVERITY /TEXT
SET [NO]ON
Controls command interpreter error checking. If SET NOON is in effect, the
command interpreter will ignore errors in a command procedure and continue
processing.
SET OUTPUT_RATE [=delta_time]
Defines the rate at which output will be written to a batch job log file.
SET PASSWORD
Permits to change password in a VAX/VMS account
Qualifiers:
/GENERATE /SECONDARY /SYSTEM
SET PRINTER printer_name[:]
Defines characteristics for a line printer.
Qualifiers:
/CR /FALLBACK /FF /LA11 /LA180
/LOWERCASE /LOG /LP11 /PAGE /PASSALL
/PRINTALL /TAB /TRUNCATE /UNKNOWN /UPPERCASE
/WIDTH /WRAP
SET PROCESS [process_name]
Modifies execution characteristics associated with the named process for the
current login session. If a process is not specified, changes are made to
the current process.
Qualifiers:
/CPU /DUMP /IDENTIFICATION /NAME
/PRIORITY /PRIVILEGES /RESOURCE_WAIT /RESUME
/SUSPEND /SWAPPING
SET PROMPT [=string]
Defines a new DCL prompt for your process. The default prompt is a dollar
sign ($).
Qualifier:
/CARRIAGE_CONTROL
SET PROTECTION [=(code)] file_spec[,...]
Modifies the protection applied to a particular file or to a group of files.
The protection of a file limits the access available to various groups of
system users. When used without a file specification, it establishes the
default protection for all the files subsequently created during the login
session. May also be used to modify the protection of a non-file-oriented
device.
Qualifiers:
/CONFIRM /LOG /PROTECTION /DEFAULT /DEVICE
SET QUEUE queue_name
Used to modify the current status or attributes of a queue, or to change the
current status or attributes of a job that is not currently executing in a
queue.
Qualifiers:
/BASE_PRIOTITY /BLOCK_LIMIT /CHARACTERISTICS /CPUDEFAULT
/CPUMAXIMUM /DEFAULT /DISABLE_SWAPPING /ENABLE_GENERIC
/FORM_MOUNTED /JOB_LIMIT /OWNER_UIC /PROTECTION
/RECORD_BLOCKING /RETAIN /SCHEDULE /SEPARATE
/WSDEFAULT /WSEXTENT /WSQUOTA /ENTRY
SET RESTART_VALUE=string
Defines a test value for restarting portions of a batch job after a system
failure.
SET RIGHTS_LIST id_name[,...]
Allows you to modify the process or system rights list.
Qualifiers:
/ATTRIBUTES /DISABLE /ENABLE /IDENTIFICATION /PROCESS
/SYSTEM
SET RMS_DEFAULT
Used to set default values for the multiblock and multibuffer counts, network
transfer sizes, prologue level and extend quantity used by RMS for various
file operations.
Qualifiers:
/BLOCK_COUNT /BUFFER_COUNT /DISK
/EXTEND_QUANTITY /INDEXED /MAGTAPE
/NETWORK_BLOCK_COUNT /PROLOG /RELATIVE
/SEQUENTIAL /SYSTEM /UNIT_RECORD
SET SYMBOL
Controls access to local and global symbols within command procedures.
Qualifier:
/SCOPE
SET TERMINAL [device_name[:]]
Modifies interpretation of various terminal characteristics.
Qualifiers:
/ADVANCED_VIDEO /ALTYPEAHD /ANSI_CRT
/APPLICATION_KEYPAD /AUTOBAUD /BLOCK_MODE
/BRDCSTMBX /BROADCAST /CRFILL
/DEC_CRT /DEVICE_TYPE /DIALUP
/DISCONNECT /DISMISS /DMA
/ECHO /EDIT_MODE /EIGHT_BIT
/ESCAPE /FALLBACK /FRAME
/FORM /FULLDUP /HALFDUP
/HANGUP /HARDCOPY /HOSTSYNC
/INQUIRE /INSERT /LFFILL
/LINE_EDITING /LOCAL_ECHO /LOWERCASE
/MANUAL /MODEM /NUMERIC_KEYPAD
/OVERSTRIKE /PAGE /PARITY
/PASTHRU /PERMANENT /PRINTER_PORT
/PROTOCOL /READSYNC /REGIS
/SCOPE /SET_SPEED /SECURE_SERVER
/SIXEL_GRAPHICS /SOFT_CHARACTERS /SPEED
/SWITCH /SYSPASSWORD /TAB
/TTSYNC /TYPE_AHEAD /UNKNOWN
/UPPERCASE /WIDTH /WRAP
SET TIME [=time]
Resets the system time to be used with all time-dependent activities in the
VAX/VMS operating system.
SET UIC uic
Establishes a new default user identification code (UIC).
SET [NO]VERIFY [=([NO]PROCEDURE,[NO]IMAGE)]
Controls whether command and data lines, in a command procedure, are
displayed as they are processed.
SET VOLUME device_spec[:][,...]
Modifies the characteristics of a mounted Files-11 volume.
Qualifiers:
/ACCESSED /DATA_CHECK /ERASE_ON_DELETE
/EXTENSION /FILE_PROTECTION /HIGHWATER_MARKING
/LABEL /LOG /MOUNT_VERIFICATION
/OWNER_UIC /PROTECTION /REBUILD
/RETENTION /UNLOAD /USER_NAME
/WINDOWS
SET WORKING_SET
Sets the default working set size for the current process, or sets an upper
limit to which the working set size can be changed by an image that the
process executes.
Qualifiers:
/ADJUST /EXTENT /LIMIT /LOG /QUOTA
SHOW ACCOUNTING
Displays items for which accounting is enabled.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW ACL
Permits you to display the access control list (ACL) of a VAX/VMS object.
Qualifier:
/OBJECT_TYPE
SHOW AUDIT
Supplies a display that identifies enable security auditing features and the
events that they will report.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW BROADCAST
Displays messages classes that currently are being affected by the SET
BROADCAST command.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW DEFAULT
Displays the current default device and directory specification, along with
any equivalence strings that have been defined.
SHOW DEVICES [device_name[:]]
Displays the status of a device on the running VAX/VMS system.
Qualifiers:
/ALLOCATED /BRIEF /FILES /FULL /MOUNTED
/OUTPUT /SYSTEM /WINDOWS /SERVED
SHOW ERROR
Displays an error count for all devices with an error count greater than 0.
Qualifiers:
/FULL /OUTPUT
SHOW KEY [key_name]
Displays the key definition for the specified key.
Qualifiers:
/ALL /BRIEF /DIRECTORY /FULL /STATE
SHOW LOGICAL [logical_name[:],[...]]
Displays logical names from one or more logical name tables, or displays the
equivalence string(s) assigned to the specified logical names(s).
Qualifiers:
/ACCESS_MODE /ALL /DESCENDANTS /FULL
/GROUP /JOB /OUTPUT /PROCESS
/STRUCTURE /SYSTEM /TABLE
SHOE MAGTAPE device_name[:]
Displays the characteristics and status of a specified magnetic tape device.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW MEMORY
Displays availability and use of memory-related resources.
Qualifiers:
/ALL /FILES /FULL /OUTPUT
/PHYSICAL_PAGES /POOL /SLOTS
SHOW NETWORK
Displays node information about the DECnet network of which your host
processor is a member.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW PRINTER device_name[:]
Displays characteristics defined for a system printer.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW PROCESS [process_name]
Displays information about a process and any of its subprocesses.
Qualifiers:
/ACCOUNTING /ALL /CONTINUOUS /IDENTIFICATION /MEMORY
/OUTPUT /PRIVILEGES /QUOTAS /SUBPROCESSES
SHOW PROTECTION
Displays the file protection that will be applied to all new files created
during the current login session.
SHOW QUEUE [queue_name]
Displays information about queues and the jobs currently in queue.
Qualifiers:
/ALL /BATCH /BRIEF /DEVICE
/FILES /FULL /OUTPUT /CHARACTERISTICS
/FORM
SHOW QUOTA
Displays the disk quota that is currently authorized for a specific user on a
specific disk.
Qualifiers:
/DISK /USER
SHOW RMS_DEFAULT
Displays the default multiblock count, multibuffer count, network transfer
size, prologue level and extend quantity that RMS will use for file
operations.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW STATUS
Displays status information for the current process.
SHOW SYMBOL [symbol_name]
Displays the value of a local or global symbol.
Qualifiers:
/ALL /GLOBAL /LOCAL /LOG
SHOW SYSTEM
Displays a list of processes currently running on a system.
Qualifiers:
/BATCH /FULL /NETWORK /OUTPUT /PROCESS
/SUBPROCESS
SHOW TERMINAL [device_name[:]]
Displays the characteristics of a specified terminal.
Qualifiers:
/OUTPUT /PERMANENT
SHOW TIME
Displays the current system date and time.
SHOW TRANSLATION logical_name
Searches the logical name tables for a specified logical name, then returns
the first equivalence name of the match found.
Qualifier:
/TABLE
SHOW USERS [username]
Displays a list of all users currently using the system and their terminal
names, usernames and their process identification codes.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SHOW WORKING_SET
Displays the current working set limit, quota and extent assigned to the
current process.
Qualifier:
/OUTPUT
SORT input_file_spec[,...] output_file_spec
Invokes the VAX/VMS Sort Utility to reorder records in a file into a defined
sequence.
Qualifiers:
/COLLATING_SEQUENCE /DUPLICATES /KEY
/PROCESS /SPECIFICATION /STABLE
/STATISTICS /WORK_FILES /FORMAT
Output File Qualifiers:
/ALLOCATION /BUCKET_SIZE /CONTIGUOUS
/FORMAT /INDEXED_SEQUENTIAL /OVERLAY
/RELATIVE /SEQUENTIAL
SPAWN [command_string]
Creates a subprocess to the current process.
Qualifiers:
/CARRIAGE CONTROL /CLI /INPUT
/KEYPAD /LOG /LOGICAL_NAMES
/NOTIFY /OUTPUT /PROCESS
/PROMPT /SYMBOLS /TABLE
/WAIT
START/QUEUE queue_name
Starts or restarts the specified queue.
STOP process_name
Specifies the name of a process to be deleted from the system. If the
/IDENTIFICATION qualifier is used, the process name is ignored.
Qualifier:
/IDENTIFICATION
STOP/QUEUE queue_name[:]
Causes the specified queue to pause.
Qualifiers:
/ABORT /ENTRY /MANAGER
/NEXT /REQUEUE /RESET
SUBMIT file_spec[,...]
Enters a command procedure(s) into a batch queue.
Qualifiers:
/AFTER /BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER
/CHARACTERISTICS /CLI /CONFIRM /CPUTIME
/CREATED /DELETE /EXCLUDE /EXPIRED
/HOLD /IDENTIFY /KEEP /LOG_FILE
/MODIFIED /NAME /NOTIFY /PARAMETERS
/PRINTER /PRIORITY /QUEUE /REMOTE
/RESTART /SINCE /USER /WSDEFAULT
/WSEXTENT /WSQUOTA
SYNCHRONIZE [job_name]
Places the process issuing the command into a wait state until the specified
job completes execution.
Qualifiers:
/ENTRY /QUEUE
TYPE file_spec[,...]
Displays the contents of a file or group of files on the current output
device (normally your terminal screen).
Qualifiers:
/BACKUP /BEFORE /BY_OWNER /CONFIRM /CREATED
/EXCLUDE /EXPIRED /MODIFIED /OUTPUT /PAGE
/SINCE
UNLOCK file_spec[,...]
Makes a file that has been made inaccessible as a result of being improperly
closed accessible.
Qualifiers:
/CONFIRM /LOG
WAIT delta_time
Places the current process in a wait state until a specified period of time
has passed.
WRITE logical_name expression[,...]
Writes the specified data record to the output file indicated by the logical
name.
Qualifiers:
/ERROR /SYMBOL /UPDATE
<:=- Part E : Lexical Function Reference -=:>
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part F is a Lexical Function Reference. Parameters for the lexicals are in
parenthesis after the function name, and parenthesis are required whether or
not the lexical function requires parameters.
Lexical Function Reference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
F$CVSI (bit_position, width, string)
Used to extract bit fields from a character string. The result is converted
to a signed integer value.
F$CFTIME (input_time, output_time, field)
Converts absolute or combination time to the format yyyy-mm-dd
hh:mmm:ss.cc. This function can also be used to return information about an
absolute, combination, or delta time string.
F$CVUI (bit_position, width, string)
Extracts bit fields from a character string and converts the result to an
unsigned integer value.
F$DIRECTORY ()
Returns the default directory name as a character string.
F$EDIT (string, edit_list)
Used to edit a character string based on the parameters specified in the
edit_list.
F$ELEMENT (element_number, delimiter, string)
Extracts an element from a character string in which the elements are
separated by some specified delimiter.
F$ENVIRONMENT (item)
Returns information about the DCL command environment.
F$EXTRACT (offset, length, string)
Extracts a substring from a given character string.
F$FAO (control_string[,arg1,art2...arg15])
Calls the $FAO system service to convert a specified control string to
formatted ASCII. This function may be used to insert variable character
string data into an output string or convert integer values to ASCII and
substitute the result into the output string.
F$FILE_ATTRIBUTES (file_spec, item)
Returns attribute information for the specified file.
F$GETDVI (device, item)
Calls the $GETDVI system service to return an item of information on a
specified device. This function allows a process to obtain information for a
device to which the process has not necessarily allocated or assigned a
channel.
F$GETJPI (pid, item)
Calls the $GETJPI system service to return status and identification
information about the running system or about a node in the VAXcluster (if
the system is a VAXcluster).
F$IDENTIFIER (identifier, conversion_type)
Converts an identifier into its integer equivalent, or vice versa. An
identifier is a name or number that identifies a category of data resource
users. The system uses identifiers to determine user access to a system
resource.
F$INTEGER (expression)
Returns the integer value of the result of the specified expression.
F$LENGTH (string)
Returns the length of a specified character string.
F$LOCATE (substring, string)
Locates a character or character substring within a string and returns its
offset within the string. If the character or character substring is not
found, the function returns the length of the string that was searched.
F$MESSAGE (status_code)
Returns a character string containing the message associated with a system
status code.
F$MODE ()
Returns a character string displaying the mode in which a process is
executing.
F$PARSE (file_spec[,related_spec][,field][,parse_type])
Calls the $PARSE RMS service to parse a file specification and return either
its expanded file specification or a particular file specification field that
you have specified.
F$PID (context_symbol)
Returns a process identification number (PID), and updates the context symbol
to point to the current position in the system's process list.
F$PRIVILEGE (priv_states)
Returns a value of true or false depending on whether your current process
privileges match the privileges listed in the parameter argument.
F$PROCESS ()
Obtains the current process name as a character string.
F$SEARCH (file_spec[,stream_id])
Calls the $SEARCH RMS service to search a directory and return the full file
specification for a specified file.
F$SETPRV (priv_states)
Returns a list of keywords indicating current user privileges. In addition,
this function may be used to call the $SETPRV system service to enable or
disable specified user privileges. The return string indicates the status of
the user privileges before any changes have been made with the F$SETPRV
function.
F$STRING (expression)
Returns the character string equivalent of the result of the specified
expression.
F$TIME ()
Returns the current date and time string.
F$TRNLNM (logical_name[,table][,index][,mode][,case][,item])
Translates a logical name to its equivalence string, or returns the requested
attributes of the logical name. The equivalence string is not checked to
determine if it is a logical name or not.
F$TYPE (symbol_name)
Returns the data type of a symbol.
F$USER ()
Returns the user identification code (UIC), in named format, for the current
user. The F$USER function has no arguments.
F$VERIFY ([procedure_value][,image_value])
Returns an integer value which indicates whether procedure verification mode
is currently on or off. If used with arguments, the F$VERIFY function can
turn verification mode on or off. You must include the parentheses after the
F$VERIFY function, whether or not you specify arguments.
Default File Types
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These file types are conventions set by DEC and may not be followed by other
software companies.
Type Contents
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
ANL Output file from the ANALYZE command
BAS Source input file for BASIC compiler
CLD Command line interpreter command description file
COM Command procedure file
DAT Data file (input or output)
DIF Output file from the DIFFERENCES command
DIR Subdirectory
DIS MAIL distribution list
DMP Output from the DUMP command
EDT EDT editor initialization file
EXE VAX/VMS executable program created with the LINK command
FDL File Definition language file created with the EDIT/FDL or
ANALYZE/RMS/FDL command
FOR Source input for FORTRAN compiler
HLB Help text library
HLP Help text file, usually as source input to help text library file
JNL EDT editor journal file
LIS List file created by an assembler or compiler
LOG Information file created by a batch job, DECnet, etc.
MAI Mail message storage file
MAR Source input file for MACRO assembler
MLB MAXCRO source library
OBJ Intermediate object file created by a compiler or assembler
OLB Object module library
OPT Option input file for the LINK command
STB Symbol table
SYS System image
TJL Journal file created by the TPU editor
TLB Text library
TMP General purpose temporary file
TPU Command input file for the TPU editor
TXT Text file
Device Names
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following are common VAX/VMS device codes and their corresponding types.
Code Device Type
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
CS Console boot/storage device
DA RC25 (25 MB fixed/25 MB removable)
DB RP05, RP06 disk
DD TU58 tape
DJ RA60 disk
DL RL02 disk
DR RM03 RM05, RM80, RP07 disk
DU RA80, RA81, RA82 disk
DX RX01 floppy
DY RX02 floppy
LC Line printer device on DMF32
LP Line printer device on LP11
LT Local area terminal (LAT)
MB Mailbox device
MF TU78 magnetic tape drive
MS TS11 magnetic tape drive
MT TU45, TU77, TE16 magnetic tape drive
MU TK50, TA78, TA81, TU81 magnetic tape drive
NL Null device
OP Operators console device
RT Remote terminal (via DECnet)
TT Interactive terminal device
TX Interactive terminal device
VT Virtual terminal
XE DEUNA
XQ DEQNA
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 8 of 15
Wide Area Information Servers
How Do I Use It and Why Should I Care?
by Mycroft
mycroft@gnu.ai.mit.edu
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This file serves as an introduction to "information servers," and in
particular to the WAIS system from Thinking Machines Corp.
Overview
~~~~~~~~
The Wide Area Information Server (or WAIS) system provides a way for
people ("providers") to make information sources ("sources") accessible via a
network, with a very simple interface to search for and retrieve particular
pieces of information ("documents").
Essentially, you pick a source and specify a few keywords, and the WAIS
search engine tries to find documents that match those specific keywords. Each
document is scored, and the highest scoring documents are listed first. In
addition, there is a mechanism ("relevance feedback") for feeding information
back to the server about which documents are most interesting to you, and
having it narrow the search based on this.
To summarize: WAIS gives you a fast and easy way to search vast amounts
of information, and to provide access to it to other users on a network.
Why Should I Care?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You should care because I, through the goodness of my heart, have made all
the issues of Phrack Inc. available through WAIS. :-) I'll soon be adding
issues of the LOD/H TJ, NARC, NIA, Worldview, and a lot of other files. If
anyone would care to donate files, I'd appreciate it.
There are also many other sources currently available that will probably
be of interest to you.
Step 1: Compiling A Client
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To use WAIS, you need a client program. There are currently 4 available
that I know of:
Xwais - for the X Window System
SWAIS - terminal-based
Mac WAIStation
NeXT WAIStation
(I vaguely recall something about a Windows client.)
Xwais and SWAIS both come in the standard distribution, with the search
and index engines.
You can FTP any of the above from think.com, in directory /wais. The
relevant files are:
wais-8-b4.tar.Z - contains the search and index engines, as well Xwais and
SWAIS
WAIStation-0-63.sit.hqx - the Mac WAIStation
WAIStation-NeXT-1.0.tar.Z - the NeXT WAIStation
After you choose a client and get the source, compile it. There are
decent directions on how to do this in each package.
Step 2: Finding An Information Source
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To find a source, you just do a search in the "directory of servers" -- a
source containing pointers to all the registered WAIS sources on the net.
For example, if you're using Xwais:
(I am *not* going to go into the details of how to use the scrollbars and
whatnot. If you're stuck, ask a Mac weenie for help.)
Tell me about:
.----------------------------------------------------------------. .------.
|phrack | |Search|
`----------------------------------------------------------------' `------'
In Sources: Similar to:
.------------------------. .----------------------------------------------.
|directory-of-servers.src| | |
`------------------------' `----------------------------------------------'
.----------. .-------------. .------------+ .---------------. .----. .----.
|Add Source| |Delete Source| |Add Document| |Delete Document| |Help| |Done|
`----------' `-------------' `------------' `---------------' `----' `----'
.+------------------------------------------------------------.
Resulting || 1000 551 phrack.src /proj/wais/wais-sources/ |
documents: || |
.----. || |
|View| || |
`----' `+------------------------------------------------------------'
.-----------------------------------------------------------------.
Status: |Found 1 document. |
`-----------------------------------------------------------------'
The lines in the "Resulting documents:" window break down into three
parts:
Score -- How well it matched your query, as compared to other
documents.
Size -- <In bytes> of the document.
Headline -- The "headline" is generated while building the index.
For source files, it's broken down by filename and path. For the p/h/c/a
server, it's the title of the article, the authors, and the issue and file
number.
So double-click on the document, and you'll get another window (shortened
a bit):
Source Edit
Name: phrack.src
Server: hal.gnu.ai.mit.edu
Service: 8000
Database: /src/wais/wais-sources/phrack
Cost: 0
Units: :free
Maintainer: mycroft@hal.gnu.ai.mit.edu
Description:
.+------------------------------------------------------------------------.
||Server created with WAIS release 8 b3.1 on Jan 31 12:30:28 1992 by mycro|
|| |
||Here are all the issues of Phrack for your edification. |
|| |
||Phrack is an old hacking, cracking, phreaking, and general anarchy |
||newsletter. Articles range from how the phone system works to making |
||------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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`----' `------'
The fields work like this:
Name: Filename to store this source under on *your* machine.
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You really want this one, so just click the "Save" button. This will
create a "source file" on your machine, which you can then access with the "Add
Source" button of the question window. This setup is sort of a lose, because
your copy could get out of date and not work. I've proposed a way to fix this
problem, but so far it hasn't been implemented. This bit me once when I moved
the files to their current location.
Step 3: A Query
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, let's make another query. I can't remember where I saw this, so:
Tell me about:
.----------------------------------------------------------------. .------.
|that night with tuc | |Search|
`----------------------------------------------------------------' `------'
In Sources: Similar to:
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Resulting || 1000 24.9K "Phrack World News Issue XIV, Part 2", compiled |
documents: || 967 29.9K "Phrack World News Special Edition III", compile|
.----. || 800 74.9K "Phrack World News Special Edition II", compiled|
|View| || 467 6.1K "Phrack Pro-Phile V: Tuc", by Taran King (issue |
`----' `+------------------------------------------------------------'
.-----------------------------------------------------------------.
Status: |Found 40 documents. |
`-----------------------------------------------------------------'
All you have to do is double-click on one of the documents. After a while
you'll get another window:
.+------------------------------------------------------------------------.
|| |
||"Phrack World News Issue XIV, Part 2", compiled by Knight Lightning (iss|
|| |
|| |
|| PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN { SummerCon '87 } PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN |
|| ^*^ ^*^ |
|| PWN Phrack World News PWN |
|| ^*^ Issue XIV/2 ^*^ |
|| PWN PWN |
|| ^*^ "SummerCon Strikes" ^*^ |
|| PWN PWN |
||------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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Status:
The "Add Section" button is used for relevance feedback. You select a
region of text and press "Add Section" and it will show up in the "Similar to:"
box in the question window.
"Find Key," "Next," and "Previous" are used to search for the keywords in
the document. The rest is pretty obvious.
What Else?
~~~~~~~~~~
There are more powerful ways to use WAIS. For example, using the "waisq"
and "waisretrieve" programs, you could query the directory of servers nightly
to get the latest copy of phrack.src. This would ensure that yours is never
more than a day out of date. (I recommend subscribing to the wais-discussion
list and/or reading alt.wais instead, though, since it's more interesting and
won't put a load on the directory of servers.)
Or if you keep an archive of your mail, you could use it to index that.
(I know several people who do this, including Brewster.)
Or whatever. Take a look at some of the existing sources to get an idea.
Conclusion
~~~~~~~~~~
WAIS is a very useful tool for finding information. It is still under
development, though, and there a few rough edges that need to be worked out.
In particular:
* Source files getting out of date.
* Multiple servers for a single source (for reliability and speed).
* Multiple indices for the same source on a given server (for transient
information).
* Index overhead. (The Phrack index, for example, is currently larger
than the text itself!)
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 9 of 15
***************************************************************************
* *
* Cellular Telephony *
* *
* by *
* Brian Oblivion *
* *
* *
* Courtesy of: Restricted-Data-Transmissions (RDT) *
* "Truth Is Cheap, But Information Costs." *
* *
* *
***************************************************************************
The benefit of a mobile transceiver has been the wish of experimenters since
the late 1800's. To have the ability to be reached by another man despite
location, altitude, or depth has had high priority in communication technology
throughout its history. Only until the late 1970's has this been available to
the general public. That is when Bell Telephone (the late Ma Bell) introduced
the Advanced Mobile Phone Service, AMPS for short.
Cellular phones today are used for a multitude of different jobs. They are
used in just plain jibber-jabber, data transfer (I will go into this mode of
cellular telephony in depth later), corporate deals, surveillance, emergencies,
and countless other applications. The advantages of cellular telephony to the
user/phreaker are obvious:
1. Difficulty of tracking the location of a transceiver (especially if the
transceiver is on the move) makes it very difficult to locate.
2. Range of the unit within settled areas.
3. Scrambling techniques are feasible and can be made to provide moderate
security for most transmissions.
4. The unit, with modification can be used as a bug, being called upon by the
controlling party from anywhere on the globe.
5. With the right knowledge, one can modify the cellular in both hardware and
software to create a rather diversified machine that will scan, store and
randomly change.
6. ESN's per call thereby making detection almost impossible.
I feel it will be of great importance for readers to understand the background
of the Cellular phone system, mainly due to the fact that much of the
pioneering systems are still in use today. The first use of a mobile radio
came about in 1921 by the Detroit police department. This system operated at
2MHz. In 1940, frequencies between 30 and 40MHz were made available too and
soon became overcrowded. The trend of overcrowding continues today.
In 1946, the FCC declared a "public correspondence system" called, or rather
classified as "Domestic Public Land Mobile Radio Service" (DPLMRS) at 35 - 44
MHz band that ran along the highway between New York and Boston. Now the 35-
44MHz band is used mainly by Amateur radio hobbyists due to the bands
susceptibility to skip-propagation.
These early mobile radio systems were all PTT (push-to-talk) systems that did
not enjoy today's duplex conversations. The first real mobile "phone" system
was the "Improved Mobile Telephone Service" or the IMTS for short, in 1969.
This system covered the spectrum from 150 - 450MHz, sported automatic channel
selection for each call, eliminated PTT, and allowed the customer to do their
own dialing. From 1969 to 1979 this was the mobile telephone service that
served the public and business community, and it is still used today.
IMTS frequencies used (MHz):
Channel Base Frequency Mobile Frequency
VHF Low Band
ZO 35.26 43.26
ZF 35.30 43.30
ZH 35.34 43.34
ZA 35.42 43.32
ZY 34.46 43.46
ZC 35.50 43.50
ZB 35.54 43.54
ZW 35.62 43.62
ZL 35.66 43.66
VHF High Band
JL 152.51 157.77
YL 152.54 157.80
JP 152.57 157.83
YP 152.60 157.86
YJ 152.63 157.89
YK 152.66 157.92
JS 152.69 157.95
YS 152.72 157.98
YA 152.75 158.01
JK 152.78 158.04
JA 152.81 158.07
UHF Band
QC 454.375 459.375
QJ 454.40 459.40
QO 454.425 459.425
QA 454.45 459.45
QE 454.475 459.475
QP 454.50 459.50
QK 454.525 459.525
QB 454.55 459.55
QO 454.575 459.575
QA 454.60 459.60
QY 454.625 459.625
QF 454.650 459.650
VHF high frequencies are the most popular frequencies of all the IMTS band.
VHF low bands are used primarily in rural areas and those with hilly terrain.
UHF bands are primarily used in cities where the VHF bands are overcrowded.
Most large cities will find at least one station being used in their area.
ADVANCED MOBILE PHONE SYSTEM
The next step for mobile telephone was made in 1979 by Bell Telephone, again
introducing the Advanced Mobile Phone Service. This service is the focus of
this document, which has now taken over the mobile telephone industry as the
standard. What brought this system to life were the new digital technologies
of the 1970's. This being large scale integrated custom circuits and
microprocessors. Without these technologies, the system would not have been
economically possible.
The basic elements of the cellular concept have to do with frequency reuse and
cell splitting.
Frequency re-use refers to the use of radio channels on the same carrier
frequency to cover different areas which are separated by a significant
distance. Cell splitting is the ability to split any cell into smaller cells
if the traffic of that cell requires additional frequencies to handle all the
area's calls. These two elements provide the network an opportunity to handle
more simultaneous calls, decrease the transmitters/receivers output/input
wattage/gain and a more universal signal quality.
When the system was first introduced, it was allocated 40MHz in the frequency
spectrum, divided into 666 duplex radio channels providing about 96 channels
per cell for the seven cluster frequency reuse pattern. Cell sites (base
stations) are located in the cells which make up the cellular network. These
cells are usually represented by hexagons on maps or when developing new
systems and layouts. The cell sites contain radio, control, voice frequency
processing and maintenance equipment, as well as transmitting and receiving
antennas. The cell sites are inter-connected by landline with the Mobile
Telecommunications Switching Office (MTSO).
In recent years, the FCC has added 156 frequencies to the cellular bandwidth.
This provides 832 possible frequencies available to each subscriber per cell.
All new cellular telephones are built to accommodate these new frequencies, but
old cellular telephones still work on the system. How does a cell site know if
the unit is old or new? Let me explain.
The problem of identifying a cellular phones age is done by the STATION CLASS
MARK (SCM). This number is 4 bits long and broken down like this:
Bit 1: 0 for 666 channel usage (old)
1 for 832 channel usage (new)
Bit 2: 0 for a mobile unit (in vehicle)
1 for voice-activated transmit (for portables)
Bit 3-4: Identify the power class of the unit
Class I 00 = 3.0 watts Continuous Tx's 00XX...DTX <> 1
Class II 01 = 1.2 watts Discont. Tx's 01XX...DTX = 1
Class III 10 = 0.6 watts reserved 10XX, 11XX
Reserved 11 = --------- Letters DTX set to 1 permits
use of discontinuous trans-
missions
Cell Sites: How Cellular Telephones Get Their Name
Cell sites, as mentioned above are laid out in a hexagonal type grid. Each
cell is part of a larger cell which is made up of seven cells in the following
fashion:
|---| ||===|| |---| |---| |---| |---
/ \ // \\ / \ / \ / \ /
| |===|| 2 ||===|| ||===|| |---| |---|
\ // \ / \\ // \\ / \ / \
|---|| 7 |---| 3 ||==|| 2 ||==|| pc |---| |---|
/ \\ / \ // \ / \\ Due to the \
| ||---| 1 |---|| 7 |---| 3 ||--| difficulty of |
\ // \ / \\ / \ // \ representing /
|--|| 6 |---| 4 ||--| 1 |---|| |graphics with |
/ \\ / \ // \ / \\ / ASCII characters\
| ||==|| 5 ||==|| 6 |---| 4 ||--| I will only show |
\ / \\ // \\ / \ // \ two of the cell /
|---| ||===|| ||===|| 5 ||==|| |types I am trying-
/ \ / \ / \\ // \ / to convey. \
| |---| |---| ||==|| |---| |---| |
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /
|---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---|
As you can see, each cell is a 1/7th of a larger cell. Where one (1) is the
center cell and two (2) is the cell directly above the center. The other cells
are number around the center cell in a clockwise fashion, ending with seven
(7). The cell sites are equipped with three directional antennas with an RF
beamwidth of 120 degrees providing 360 degree coverage for that cell. Note
that all cells never share a common border. Cells which are next to each other
are obviously never assigned the same frequencies. They will almost always
differ by at least 60 KHz. This also demonstrates the idea behind cell
splitting. One could imagine that the parameter of one of the large cells was
once one cell. Due to a traffic increase, the cell had to be sub-divided to
provide more channels for the subscribers. Note that subdivisions must be made
in factors of seven.
There are also Mobile Cell sites, which are usually used in the transitional
period during the upscaling of a cell site due to increased traffic. Of
course, this is just one of the many uses of this component. Imagine you are
building a new complex in a very remote location. You could feasibly install a
few mobile cellular cell sites to provide a telephone-like network for workers
and executives. The most unique component would be the controller/transceiver
which provides the communications line between the cell site and the MTSO. In
a remote location such a link could very easily be provided via satellite
up/down link facilities.
Let's get into how the phones actually talk with each other. There are several
ways and competitors have still not set an agreed upon standard.
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)
This is the traditional method of traffic handling. FDMA is a single channel
per carrier analog method of transmitting signals. There has never been a
definite set on the type of modulation to be used. There are no regulations
requiring a party to use a single method of modulation. Narrow band FM, single
sideband AM, digital, and spread-spectrum techniques have all been considered
as a possible standard, but none have yet to be chosen.
FDMA works like this: Cell sites are constantly searching out free channels to
start out the next call. As soon as a call finishes, the channel is freed up
and put on the list of free channels. Or, as a subscriber moves from one cell
to another, the new cell they are in will hopefully have an open channel to
receive the current call in progress and carry it through its location. This
process is called handoff, and will be discussed more in depth further along.
Other proposed traffic handling schemes include Time-Division Multiple Access
(TDMA), Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Time-Division/Frequency
Division Multiple Access (TD/FDMA).
Time Division Multiple Access
With TDMA, calls are simultaneously held on the same channels, but are
multiplexed between pauses in the conversation. These pauses occur in the way
people talk and think, and the telephone company also injects small delays on
top of the conversation to accommodate other traffic on that channel. This
increase in the length of the usual pause results in a longer amount of time
spent on the call. Longer calls result in higher costs of the calls.
Code Division Multiple Access
This system has been used in mobile military communications for the past 35
years. This system is digital and breaks up the digitized conversation into
bundles, compresses, sends, then decompresses and converts back into analog.
There are said increases of throughput of 20 : 1 but CDMA is susceptible to
interference which will result in packet retransmission and delays. Of course,
error correction can help in data integrity, but will also result in a small
delay in throughput.
Time-Division/Frequency Division Multiple Access
TD/FDMA is a relatively new system which is an obvious hybrid of FDMA and TDMA.
This system is mainly geared towards the increase of digital transmission over
the cellular network. TD/FDMA make it possible to transmit signals from base
to mobile without disturbing the conversation. With FDMA, there are
significant disturbances during handoff which prevent continual data
transmission from site to site. TD/FDMA makes it possible to transmit control
signals by the same carrier as the data/voice thereby ridding extra channel
usage for control.
Cellular Frequency Usage and channel allocation
There are 832 cellular phone channels which are split into two separate bands.
Band A consists of 416 channels for non-wireline services. Band B consists
equally of 416 channels for wireline services. Each of these channels are
split into two frequencies to provide duplex operation. The lower frequency is
for the mobile unit while the other is for the cell site. 21 channels of each
band are dedicated to "control" channels and the other 395 are voice channels.
You will find that the channels are numbered from 1 to 1023, skipping channels
800 to 990.
I found these handy-dandy equations that can be used for calculating
frequencies from channels and channels from frequencies.
N = Cellular Channel # F = Cellular Frequency
B = 0 (mobile) or B = 1 (cell site)
CELLULAR FREQUENCIES from CHANNEL NUMBER:
F = 825.030 + B * 45 + ( N + 1 ) * .03
where: N = 1 to 799
F = 824.040 + B * 45 + ( N + 1 ) * .03
where: N = 991 to 1023
CHANNEL NUMBER from CELLULAR FREQUENCIES
N = 1 + (F - 825.030 - B * 45) / .03
where: F >= 825.000 (mobile)
or F >= 870.030 (cell site)
N = 991 + (F - 824.040 - B * 45) / .03
where: F <= 825.000 (mobile)
or F <= 870.000 (base)
Now that you have those frequencies, what can you do with them? Well, for
starters, one can very easily monitor the cellular frequencies with most
hand/base scanners. Almost all scanners pre-1988 have some coverage of the
800 - 900 MHz band. All scanners can monitor the IMTS frequencies.
Remember that cellular phones operate on a full duplex channel. That means
that one frequency is used for transmission and the other is used for
receiving, each spaced exactly 30 KHz apart. Remember also that the base
frequencies are 45MHz higher than the cellular phone frequencies. This can
obviously make listening rather difficult. One way to listen to both parts of
the conversation would be having two scanners programmed 45 MHz apart to
capture the entire conversation.
The upper UHF frequency spectrum was "appropriated" by the Cellular systems in
the late 1970's. Televisions are still made to receive up to channel 83. This
means that you can receive much of the cellular system on you UHF receiver. One
television channel occupies 6MHz of bandwidth. This was for video, sync, and
audio transmission of the channel. A cellular channel only takes up 24 KHz
plus 3KHz set up as a guard band for each audio signal. This means that 200
cellular channels can fit into one UHF television channel. If you have an old
black and white television, drop a variable cap in there to increase the
sensitivity of the tuning. Some of the older sets have coarse and fine tuning
knobs.
Some of the newer, smaller, portable television sets are tuned by a variable
resistor. This make modifications MUCH easier, for now all you have to do is
drop a smaller value pot in there and tweak away. I have successfully done
this on two televisions. Most users will find that those who don't live in a
city will have a much better listening rate per call. In the city, the cells
are so damn small that handoff is usually every other minute. Resulting in
chopped conversations.
If you wanted to really get into it, I would suggest you obtain an old
television set with decent tuning controls and remove the RF section out of the
set. You don't want all that hi-voltage circuitry lying around (flyback and
those caps). UHF receivers in televisions downconvert UHF frequencies to IF
(intermediate frequencies) between 41 and 47 MHz. These output IF frequencies
can then be run into a scanner set to pick-up between 41 - 47 MHz. Anyone who
works with RF knows that it is MUCH easier to work with 40MHz signals than
working with 800MHz signals. JUST REMEMBER ONE THING! Isolate the UHF
receiver from your scanner by using a coupling capacitor (0.01 - 0.1 microfarad
<50V minimum> will do nicely). You don't want any of those biasing voltages
creeping into your scanner's receiving AMPLIFIERS! Horrors. Also, don't
forget to ground both the scanner and receiver.
Some systems transmit and receive the same cellular transmission on the base
frequencies. There you can simply hang out on the base frequency and capture
both sides of the conversation. The handoff rate is much higher in high
traffic areas leading the listener to hear short or choppy conversations. At
times you can listen in for 5 to 10 minutes per call, depending on how fast the
caller is moving through the cell site.
TV Cell & Channel Scanner TV Oscillator Band
Channel Freq.& Number Frequency Frequency Limit
===================================================================
73 (first) 0001 - 825.03 45.97 871 824 - 830
73 (last) 0166 - 829.98 41.02 871 824 - 830
74 (first) 0167 - 830.01 46.99 877 830 - 836
74 (last) 0366 - 835.98 41.02 877 830 - 836
75 (first) 0367 - 836.01 46.99 883 836 - 842
75 (last) 0566 - 841.98 41.02 883 836 - 842
76 (first) 0567 - 842.01 46.99 889 842 - 848
76 (last) 0766 - 847.98 41.02 889 842 - 848
77 (first) 0767 - 848.01 46.99 895 848 - 854
77 (last) 0799 - 848.97 46.03 895 848 - 854
All frequencies are in MHz
You can spend hours just listening to cellular telephone conversations, but I
would like to mention that it is illegal to do so. Yes, it is illegal to
monitor cellular telephone conversations. It just another one of those laws
like removing tags off of furniture and pillows. It's illegal, but what the
hell for? At any rate, I just want you to understand that doing the following
is in violation of the law.
Now back to the good stuff.
Conversation is not only what an avid listener will find on the cellular bands.
One will also hear call/channel set-up control data streams, dialing, and other
control messages. At times, a cell site will send out a full request for all
units in its cell to identify itself. The phone will then respond with the
appropriate identification on the corresponding control channel.
Whenever a mobile unit is turned on, even when not placing a call, whenever
there is power to the unit, it transmits its phone number and its 8-digit ID
number. The same process is done when an idling phone passes from one cell to
the other. This process is repeated for as long as there is power to the unit.
This allows the MTSO to "track" a mobile through the network. That is why it
is not a good reason to use a mobile phone from one site. They do have ways of
finding you. And it really is not that hard. Just a bit of RF Triangulation
theory and you're found. However, when the power to the unit is shut off, as
far as the MTSO cares, you never existed in that cell, of course unless your
unit was flagged for some reason. MTSO's are basically just ESS systems
designed for mobile applications. This will be explained later within this
document.
It isn't feasible for the telephone companies to keep track of each customer on
the network. Therefore the MTSO really doesn't know if you are authorized to
use the network or not. When you purchase a cellular phone, the dealer gives
the unit's phone ID number to the local BOC, as well as the number the BOC
assigned to the customer. When the unit is fired up in a cell site its ID
number and phone number are transmitted and checked. If the two numbers are
registered under the same subscriber, then the cell site will allow the mobile
to send and receive calls. If they don't match, then the cell will not allow
the unit to send or receive calls. Hence, the most successful way of
reactivating a cellular phone is to obtain an ID that is presently in use and
modifying your ROM/PROM/EPROM for your specific phone.
RF and AF Specifications:
Everything that you will see from here on out is specifically Industry/FCC
standard. A certain level of compatibility has to be maintained for national
intercommunications, therefore a common set of standards that apply to all
cellular telephones can be compiled and analyzed.
Transmitter Mobiles: audio transmission
- 3 KHz to 15 KHz and 6.1 KHz to 15 KHz.
- 5.9 KHz to 6.1 KHz 35 dB attenuation.
- Above 15 KHz, the attenuation becomes 28 dB.
- All this is required after the modulation limiter and before the
modulation stage.
Transmitters Base Stations: audio transmission
- 3 KHz to 15 KHz.
- Above 15 KHz, attenuation required 28 dB.
- Attenuation after modulation limiter - no notch filter required.
RF attenuation below carrier transmitter: audio transmission
- 20 KHz to 40 KHz, use 26 dB.
- 45 KHz to 2nd harmonic, the specification is 60 dB or 43 + 10 log of
mean output power.
- 12 KHz to 20 KHz, attenuation 117 log f/12.
- 20 KHz to 2nd harmonic, there is a choice: 100 log F/100 or 60 dB or
43 log + 10 log of mean output power, whichever is less.
Wideband Data
- 20 KHz to 45 KHz, use 26 dB.
- 45 KHz to 90 KHz, use 45 dB.
- 90 KHz to 2nd harmonic, either 60 dB or 43 + 10 log mean output
power.
- all data streams are encoded so that NRZ (non-return-to-zero) binary
ones and zeroes are now zero-to-one and one-to-zero transitions
respectively. Wideband data can then modulate the transmitter
carrier by binary frequency shift keying (BFSK) and ones and zeroes
into the modulator must now be equivalent to nominal peak frequency
deviations of 8 KHz above and below the carrier frequency.
Supervisory Audio Tones
- Save as RF attenuation measurements.
Signaling Tone
- Same as Wideband Data but must be 10 KHz +/- 1 Hz and produce a
nominal frequency deviation of +/- 8 KHz.
The previous information will assist any technophile to modify or even
troubleshoot his/her cellular phone. Those are the working guidelines, as I
stated previously.
UNIT IDENTIFICATION
Each mobile unit is identified by the following sets of numbers.
The first number is the Mobile Identification Number (MIN). This 34 bit binary
number is derived from the unit's telephone number. MIN1 is the last seven
digits of the telephone number and MIN2 is the area code.
For demonstrative purposes, we'll encode 617-637-8687.
Here's how to derive the MIN2 from a standard area code. In this example, 617
is the area code. All you have to do is first convert to modulo 10 using the
following function. A zero digit would be considered to have a value of 10.
100(first number) + 10(second) +1(third) - 111 = x
100(6) + 10(1) + 1(7) - 111 = 506
(or you could just - 111 from the area code.)
Then convert it to a 10-bit binary number: 0111111010.
To derive MIN1 from the phone number is equally as simple. First
encode the next three digits, 637.
100(6) + 10(3) + 1(7) - 111 = 526
Converted to binary: 1000001110
The remainder of the number 8687, is processed further by taking the
first digit, eight (8) and converting it directly to binary.
8 = 1000 (binary)
The last three digits are processed as the other two sets of three
numbers were processed.
100(6) + 10(8) + 1(7) - 111 = 576
Converted to binary: 1001000000.
So the completed MIN number would look like this:
|--637---||8-||---687--||---617--|
1000001110100010010000000111111010
\________/\__/\________/\________/
A unit is also identifiable by its Electronic Serial Number or ESN. This
number is factory preset and is usually stored in a ROM chip, which is soldered
to the board. It may also be found in a "computer on a chip," which are the
new microcontrollers which have ROM/RAM/microprocessor all in the same package.
This type of set-up usually has the ESN and the software to drive the unit all
in the same chip. This makes is significantly harder to dump, modify and
replace. But it is far from impossible.
The ESN is a 4 byte hex or 11-digit octal number. I have encountered mostly
11-digit octal numbers on the casing of most cellular phones. The first three
digits represent the manufacturer and the remaining eight digits are the unit's
ESN.
The Station Class Mark (SCM) is also used for station identification by
providing the station type and power output rating. This was already discussed
in a previous section.
The System IDentification (SID number is a number which represents the mobile's
home system. This number is 15-bits long and a list of current nationwide
SID's should either be a part of this file or it will be distributed along with
it.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 10 of 15
Standing Up To Fight The Bells
by Knight Lightning
kl@stormking.com
Did you hear about 1-800-54-Privacy? Did you decide to call? I did and the
following is the information I received a few weeks later. It outlines some of
the serious ramifications of what is going to happen if we do not actively
support Congressional bills S 2112 and HR 3515.
The information comes from the American Newspaper Publisher's Association
(ANPA). Keep in mind, they have a vested financial interest in information
services as do many others, and in many ways, the newspaper industry can be and
has been just as bad as the Regional Bell Operating Companies. However, in
this particular situation, the ANPA has the right idea and does a pretty good
job in explaining why we need to act now and act fast.
You know who I am, and what I've been through. My experiences have given me a
unique perspective and insight into the methods and goals of the Regional Bell
Operating Companies. They are inherently deceptive and if given even the
slightest chance, they will screw the consumer and engage in anti-competitive
market practices. Additionally, their tactics threaten our personal privacy as
well.
The RBOCs must be stopped before it's too late.
:Knight Lightning
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1-800-54-Privacy
444 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite 900
Chicago, Illinois 60611
February 14, 1992
Dear Consumer:
If you're like many people, you may have been hesitant about leaving your name
and address on our 1-800-54-PRIVACY phone line.
Why?
Quite simply, no one wants to give out information about themselves without
knowing exactly how that information is going to be used.
But the truth is, you reveal information about yourself EACH AND EVERY TIME YOU
PICK UP THE PHONE. By tracking who you call, how often you call and how long
each conversation lasts, the seven regional Bell telephone companies have the
capability to learn and know more about you than even the IRS.
In fact, with modern computer technology, there is practically no limit to what
the Bells can learn about your personal life every time you pick up the phone.
And there is virtually no limit -- only one's imagination -- to the ways they
can take advantage of all the information they glean.
Of course its one thing to have the capability to do this snooping. It's
another thing to have the incentive to actually do it.
Until October 7, 1991, the incentive just didn't exist for the Bells. Prior to
this date, the vast electronic networks of the Bell monopolies were just
neutral carriers of phone messages, data, and other companies' fax, audiotex,
and videotex services.
For example, when you last called a 1-900 or 1-800 line to get the latest stock
quotes, sports scores, or headlines, your local phone company served simply as
the pipeline for moving the billions of electrons in your call. The company
that provided you with the information over the phone line was not -- and by
law, could not be -- the phone company.
And that's the way things had been since 1984, when U.S. District Court Judge
Harold Greene issued his now-famous decree breaking up the AT&T monopoly and
spinning off control of local phone service to seven regional Bell companies.
In the decree, the Court expressly prohibited the individual Bells from
entering three businesses -- cable TV, telephone manufacturing, and electronic
information services.
Why?
After presiding over the lengthy AT&T anti-trust case and being exposed to
hundreds upon hundreds of monopolistic abuses by AT&T, Judge Greene's Court was
firmly convinced that, if allowed to enter any of these three current areas,
the Bells would undoubtedly engage in the same monopolistic behavior that
characterized their former parent.
In other words, while cutting off the hydra-like AT&T head, Judge Greene was
fearful that, given too much leeway, AT&T's seven so-called "Baby Bell"
off-spring might become equal or worse monsters themselves.
>From day one, however, the Bells undertook a long-term, multi-million dollar
lobbying campaign to fight Judge Greene's ruling and try to convince the
Justice Department, the higher courts, and even the U.S. Congress that they
should be permitted to enter the content end of the information service
business.
And, so, on October 7, 1991, after years of heavy lobbying, a higher court came
through for the Bells and practically ordered Judge Greene to overturn his 1984
decree and open up the information services industry to the Bells.
In the 71-page ruling, a very reluctant Judge Greene devoted two-thirds of his
decision to explaining why allowing the Bells to sell information services was
bad for consumers and bad for America.
For example, he went to great length to discount the Bells' claim that, once
given the green light, they would be better able to serve the public than the
thousands of already existing electronic information services. To quote from
his decision.
"In the first place, the contention that it will take the Regional
Companies (the Bells) to provide better information services to the
American public can only be described as preposterous."
Judge Green also wrote:
"Moreover, the Court considers the claim that the Regional Companies'
entry into information services would usher in an era of sophisticated
information services available to all as so much hype."
His decision also contains a warning regarding the prices consumers will be
forced to pay for Bell-provided services:
"The Regional Companies would be able to raise price by increasing their
competitors' costs, and they could raise such costs by virtue of the
dependence of their rivals' information services on local network access."
Finally, here's what Judge Greene had to say about his court's decision and the
public good:
"Were the Court free to exercise its own judgment, it would conclude
without hesitation that removal of the information services restriction
is incompatible with the decree and the public interest."
If Judge Greene's warnings as well as his profound reluctance to issue this
ruling scare you, they should.
That's because the newly freed Bells now have the incentive, which they never
had before, to engage in the anti-competitive, anti-consumer practices that
Judge Greene feared.
Besides using your calling records to sell you information services they think
you're predisposed to buy, the Bell's may well try to auction off your phone
records to the highest bidder.
As a result, anyone who ever uses a phone could well be a potential victim of
the Bell's abuse.
Consider the simple act of making a telephone call to an auto repair shop to
schedule body work or a tune-up. By knowing that you made that call, your
phone company might conclude that you're in the market for a new car and sell
your name to local car dealers.
Another example. Think about calling a real estate broker for information on
mortgage rates. Knowing you must be in the market for a house, the Bells could
sell your name to other brokers. Or they could try to sell you their own
electronic mortgage rate service.
Now let's say you and your spouse are having some problems and one of you calls
a marriage counselor. Tipped off by information purchased from the phone
company, a divorce lawyer shows up on your doorstep the next morning.
Finally, think about calling your favorite weather service hotline -- a
competitor to the weather service operated by your local phone company. By
keeping track of people who use its competitor's service, the phone company
might just try to get you to buy its weather service instead.
Far-fetched? Not at all.
Nefarious? You bet.
That doesn't mean that, starting tomorrow, your phone company is going to start
tracking who you call, how long your calls last, and who calls you. However,
they could do it if they wanted to. And, based on past experience, some of
them probably will do so at one point or another.
That's because the protest of gaining an unfair edge over the competition --
companies that have no choice but to depend upon the Bells' wires -- is just
too tantalizing a temptation for the Bells to ignore.
As you might expect, the Bells claim that these fears are totally unfounded and
that strict regulations are in place to prevent them from abusing your
telephone privacy.
However, there simply aren't enough regulators in the world to control the
monopolistic tendencies and practices of the Bells. Every single one of the
seven Bells has already abused its position as a regulated monopoly. There is
no reason to believe they won't in the future.
For example, the Georgia Public Service Commission recently found that
BellSouth had abused its monopoly position in promoting its MemoryCall voice
mail system. Apparently, operators would try to sell MemoryCall when customers
called to arrange for hook-up to competitors' voice-mail services. Likewise,
while on service calls, BellSouth repair personnel would try to sell MemoryCall
to people using competitors' systems. BellSouth even used competitors' orders
for network features as sales leads to steal customers.
In February 1991, US West admitted it had violated the law by providing
prohibited information services, by designing and selling telecommunications
equipment and by discriminating against a competitor. The Justice Department
imposed a $10 million fine -- 10 times larger than the largest fine imposed in
any previous anti-trust division contempt case.
In February 1990, the Federal Communications Commission found that one of
Nynex's subsidiaries systematically overcharged another Nynex company $118
million for goods and services and passed that extra cost on to ratepayers.
The abuses go on and on.
In this brave new world, however, it's just not consumers who will suffer.
Besides invading your privacy, the Bells could abuse their position as
monopolies to destroy the wide range of useful information services already
available.
Right now, there are some 12,000 information services providing valuable news,
information, and entertainment to millions of consumers. Every one of these
services depends on lines owned and controlled by Bell monopolies.
This makes fair competition with the Bells impossible.
It would be like saying that Domino's Pizzas could only be delivered by Pizza
Hut.
It would be like asking a rival to deliver a love note to your sweetheart.
It would be a disaster.
If the Bells aren't stopped, they will make it difficult -- if not impossible
-- for competitors to use Bell wires to enter your home.
They could deny competitors the latest technological advances and delay the
introduction of new features. They could even undercut competitor's prices by
inflating local phone bills to finance the cost of their own new information
services.
In the end, the Bells could drive other information services out of business,
thereby dictating every bit of information you receive and depriving the
American public out of the diversity of information sources it deserves and
that our form of government demands.
Can something be done to stop the Bells?
Yes, absolutely.
You can take several immediate steps to register your views on this issue.
Those steps are described in the attached "Action Guidelines" sheet. Please
act right away.
In the meantime, on behalf of our growing coalition of consumer groups,
information services providers, and newspapers, thank you for your interest in
this important issue.
Sincerely,
Cathleen Black
President and Chief Executive Officer
American Newspaper Publishers Association
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ACTION GUIDELINES
Something is very wrong when a monopoly is put into the position where it can
abuse your privacy, drive competitors from the market, and even force you, the
captive telephone ratepayer, to subsidize the costs of new information services
ventures.
Can something be done to stop this potential abuse?
Absolutely.
WHAT YOU CAN DO. The first step is to call or write your local telephone
company to assert your right to privacy.
The second step is to write your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and urge
them to support House bill 3515 and Senate bill 2112.
Since the purpose of both HR 3515 and S 2112 is to prevent the Bells from
abusing their monopoly position, not to prevent legitimate competition, the
Bells would be free to sell information services in any area of the country
where they do not have a monopoly -- in other words, 6/7 of the country.
However, the bills would delay entry of the Bell companies into the information
services industry in their own regions until they no longer held a monopoly
over local phone service. As soon as consumers were offered a real choice in
local phone service -- whether it be cellular phones, satellite communications,
or other new technology -- the Bells would be free to offer any information
services they wanted.
Both bills are fair to everyone. They protect consumer privacy and ensure that
the thriving information services industry will remain competitive.
Quick action is need to pass these bills. A hand-written letter stating your
views is the most effective way of reaching elected officials. It is proof
positive that you are deeply concerned about the issue.
POINTS TO MAKE IN YOUR LETTER
You may wish to use some or all of the following points:
A phone call should be a personal and private thing -- not a sales
marketing tool for the phone company.
The Bells should not be allowed to take unfair advantage of information
they can obtain about you by virtue of owning and controlling the wires
that come into homes.
The Bells must not be allowed to abuse their position as monopolies to
drive existing information services out of business.
The Bells should not be permitted to engage in activities that would
deprive Americans of the information diversity they deserve and that our
form of government demands.
The Bells should not be permitted to finance information services ventures
by inflating the phone bills of captive telephone ratepayers.
AFTER YOU'VE WRITTEN YOUR LETTER
After you've written your letter or made your phone call, please send us a
letter and tell us. By sending us your name and address, you'll receive
occasional updates on the massive effort underway to prevent the Bells from
invading your privacy and turning into the monopolistic monsters that Judge
Greene warned about.
There's one more thing you can do. Please ask your friends, relatives,
neighbors, and co-workers to urge their U.S. Representatives and Senators to
support HR 3515 and S 2112. We need everyone's help if we're going to stop the
Bells.
1-800-54-PRIVACY
444 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite #900
Chicago, Illinois 60611
* * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Support HR 3515 and S 2112
by Toby Nixon
tnixon@hayes.com
February 7, 1992
DISCLAIMER: The following is my personal position on this matter, and not
necessarily that of my employer.
I am appalled at the RBOC's disinformation regarding HR 3515/S 2112, which
propose to limit RBOC entry into information services until fair competition is
possible. Every time one of the RBOC ads has played on the TV or radio,
appeared in the newspaper, and now in the information they mailed to me, I
can't help but stand up out of my chair and scream because of the contemptible
lies.
Clearly, all of the services they claim are being held back are, or could be,
available TODAY. We are IN the Information Age; where have they been? It's
HERE, not "just over the horizon." We don't need the RBOCs to provide these
services; all the RBOCs need to do is continue to provide the transmission
services, which they do today. Unfortunately, the majority of the citizens of
the USA don't know that these services are already available WITHOUT RBOC HELP
-- and the RBOCs are taking advantage of this lack of knowledge to try to gain
popular support for their positions.
What would happen if the RBOCs were to enter these markets? It is clear to me,
based on their past performance in similar situations (such as voicemail) that
they would leverage their monopoly on local telephone service to force
competitors out of the market. They will use their guaranteed return on
investment income from their monopoly on POTS to subsidize their information
services (even providing co-location with central office switches is a
subsidy), thereby indeed providing the "affordability" they talk about -- until
the competition is driven out of the marketplace. Then the RBOCs will be free
to raise the rates as high as they wish! With their monopoly on access, they
could easily sabotage access to competitive services and make the RBOC services
look better (just being co-located will provide better circuit quality and
response times). While all of the competition would have to pay exorbitant
rates for ONA services (to obtain ANI information, billing to phone accounts,
etc.), the phone company has this free. Free competition? Hardly!
Many of you know that I am a Libertarian, and strongly oppose government
regulation of business. The logical position for a Libertarian might appear to
be to support the RBOC's fight against further regulation. But the fact is
that they've enjoyed this GOVERNMENT-IMPOSED monopoly for decades; in too many
ways, the RBOCs function as though they were an arm of the government. They
have effectively no competition for local access. Every competitive service
MUST use the RBOCs' facilities to reach their customers. This places the RBOCs
in the position of being able to effectively control their competition --
meaning there would be no effective competition at all.
Despite their protestations that the proposed legislation would limit "consumer
choice" and "competition", the reality is that provision of such services by
RBOCs, so long as they remain the sole provider of local telephone service in
most of the country, would be anti-choice and anti-competitive, plain and
simple. It would be ABSOLUTELY UNFAIR for the government to turn them loose to
use their monopoly-guaranteed income to try to put independent information
services (even BBSes) out of business, when it is the government that has
permitted (required!) them to get the monopoly in the first place.
It absolutely disgusts me that in their printed materials the RBOCs go so far
as to forment class warfare. They talk about "the spectre of 'information
rich' versus 'information poor'". They say that minorities, the aged, and the
disabled support their position, to raise liberal guilt and stir up class envy
(but without disclosing what have certainly been massive contributions to these
groups in return for their support). They further stir up class envy by making
the point that Prodigy and CompuServe customers are "... highly educated
professionals with above average incomes, owning homes valued above national
norms ... the world's most affluent, professional, and acquisitive people," as
though this were somehow evil! They attack, without stating any evidence, the
alleged "reality" that the only reason this legislation is proposed is to prop
up newspaper advertising revenues (the whole attitude of "evil profits" is so
hypocritical coming from those for whom profits are guaranteed, and whom never
mention the fact that they're not entering information services out of altruism
but only because they seek to expand their own profits!). They invoke
jingoistic fervor by talking about services "already being enjoyed by citizens
of other countries" (but at what incredible cost?).
The materials are packed with this politically-charged rhetoric, but completely
lacking in facts or reasonable explanation of the basis for the positions of
either side. Their letter isn't written for a politically and technologically
aware audience, but for those who are attuned to the anti-capitalistic culture
of envy and redistribution. It isn't written for those trying to make an
informed decision on the issues, but is intended simply to rally the ignorant
into flooding Congressional offices with demands for services that most of the
writers wouldn't know the first thing to do with, and which the writers don't
realize are available without the RBOCs.
They talk about some supposed "right" of individuals to participate in "the
Information Age", regardless of, among other things, INCOME. Does all of this
appeal to the plight of the poor and disadvantaged mean that these services
will be available regardless of ability to pay? Hardly! WE, the taxpayers,
WE, the RBOC customers, without any choice of who provides our local phone
service, will pay -- through the nose -- either in the form of cross-
subsidization of "lifeline" (!) information services by those of us paying
"full" residential rates or business rates, or by tax-funded government
subsidies or credits going directly to the RBOCs. Does anybody really think
that the RBOCs will cover the cost of providing these services to the
"information poor" out of their profits? What a ridiculous idea!
The fact that the RBOC position is supported by groups like the NAACP and the
National Council on Aging -- representing the most politically-favored, most
tax-subsidized groups in America -- make it clear that they fully intend for
the cost of such services to be born by the middle class and small business-
people of America. Once again, the productive segments of society get screwed.
Once again, private businesses which have fought to build themselves WITHOUT
any government-granted monopoly will be forced out, to be replaced with
politically-favored and politically-controllable socialized services. Once
again, America edges closer to the fascist system which has been so soundly
rejected elsewhere. When will we ever learn?
We SHOULD all write to our Congressmen and Senators. We should demand that
they pass HR 3515 and S 2112, and keep them in force unless and until the RBOCs
give up their local telephone monopolies and allow truly free competition --
which means long after the monopolies are broken up, until the lingering
advantages of the monopoly are dissipated. Of course, the RBOCs could spin off
entirely independent companies to provide information services -- with no
common management and no favored treatment in data transmission over the other
independent information services -- and I would cheer. But so long as they
have a chokehold on the primary _delivery vehicle_ for information services in
America, their protestations for "free competition" ring incredibly hollow.
Toby Nixon | Voice +1-404-840-9200 Telex 151243420
2595 Waterford Park Drive | Fax +1-404-447-0178 CIS 70271,404
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30244 | BBS +1-404-446-6336 AT&T !tnixon
USA | Internet tnixon@hayes.com
_______________________________________________________________________________
RHC Tactics Blamed For Failure Of Information Services Bill April 1, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Communications Daily (Page 4)
Rep. Cooper (D-Tenn.) said that his legislation to put conditions on RHC
provision of information services (HR-3515) didn't have much chance of success
>from time bill was introduced. At panel discussion in Washington sponsored by
National Press Forum, he said outlook for bill was "pretty grim," and that only
hope for success would be if powerful committee chairman came to rescue. That's
unlikely, he said.
Cooper said he has about 48 co-sponsors for bill and Senate version (S-2112)
has none. In strong attack on RHCs, he said RHCs were responsible for lack of
support and said members of Congress were intimidated by ad campaign against
sponsors and co-sponsors of HR-3515 -- what he termed "a $150,000 penalty" for
sponsoring legislation. Cooper also criticized RHCs for sponsoring
organizations without letting the public know of their interest, naming
specifically Small Business for Advertising Choice, with headquarters in
Washington. He said he didn't mind legitimate "grass-roots" campaigns, but
objected to "Astroturf campaigns."
Disputes with RHCs broke into the open dramatically during Cooper's intense
exchange with Southwestern Bell Vice-President Horace Wilkins, head of RHC's
Washington office. Cooper said that if RHCs were truly interested in providing
information services, they would push for sponsorship of amendment to cable
reregulation legislation to allow telco entry. But Bells were "AWOL" on issue,
Cooper said, even though there are members of House Telecom Subcommittee who
would introduce such amendment if RHCs asked. Wilkins said one House chairman,
whom he declined to name, had told RHCs not to participate by pushing telco
entry amendment. Cooper responded: "Who told you?" He told Wilkins: "You
have the opportunity of a lifetime."
Wilkins challenged Cooper: "Why don't you take the lead" and introduce
amendment? Cooper replied he would do so if SWB would promise its support.
Wilkins responded: "If it's the right thing, we'll be with you." Cooper
replied that RHCs reportedly had been told not to push for such amendment, and
neither he nor Wilkins would say which powerful House figure was against telco
entry. Without RHC backing, any introduction of telco entry amendment "would
have zero support," Cooper said. He said RHCs have backed away from active
support of legislation to lift the MFJ manufacturing bar because they're afraid
his measure might be attached to it. Wilkins disagreed, saying RHCs were
backing the bill.
Mark MacCarthy, Cap/ABC vice-president, said the strongest argument against RHC
entry into information services is that there's no evidence that "new and
better information" would be provided to public. RHCs could provide more
efficient network architectures and distribution, he said, but "not better
programming." There's a historical example of "dark side of diversity" in
which radio programmers once supported live symphony orchestras and provided
quality content, MacCarthy said, but now, in an era in which there are many
competitors, most stations obtain most of their programming free, on tape from
record companies.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 11 of 15
The Digital Telephony Proposal
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Phone Tapping Plan Proposed March 6, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Associated Press
Law Enforcement Agencies Would Have Easier Access
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration wants you to pay a little more for
telephone service to make it easier for the FBI or local police to listen in on
the conversations of suspected criminals.
The Justice Department is circulating a proposal in Congress that would force
telephone companies to install state-of-the-art technology to accommodate
official wiretaps. And it would authorize the Federal Communications
Commission to grant telephone companies rate increases to defray the cost.
A copy of the legislation was obtained by The Associated Press.
Attorney General William Barr discussed the proposal last week with Senator
Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which
oversees the FCC according to congressional sources who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Justice Department spokesman Paul McNulty refused to comment on the proposal.
The bill was drafted by the FBI and the Justice Department in response to
dramatic changes in telephone technology that make it difficult for traditional
wiretapping methods to pick up conversations between two parties on a telephone
line.
The Justice Department's draft proposal states that the widespread use of
digital transmission, fiber optics and other technologies "make it increasingly
difficult for government agencies to implement lawful orders or authorizations
to intercept communications in order to enforce the laws and protect the
national security."
The FBI has already asked Congress for $26.6 million in its 1993 fiscal year
budget to help finance a five-year research effort to help keep pace with the
changes in telephone technology.
With the new technology that is being installed nationwide, police can no
longer go to a telephone switching center and put wiretap equipment on
designated lines.
The advent of so-called digital transmission means that conversations are
broken into bits of information and sent over phone lines and put back together
at the end of the wire.
The bill would give the FCC 180 days to devise rules and standards for
telephone companies to give law enforcement agencies access to conversations
for court-ordered wiretapping.
The attorney general would be empowered to require that part of the rulemaking
proceedings would be closed to the public, to protect the security of
eavesdropping techniques used by law enforcement.
Phone companies would have 180 days to make the necessary changes once the FCC
issues the regulations.
The bill would prohibit telephone companies and private exchanges from using
equipment that doesn't comply with the new FCC technology standards.
It would give the attorney general power to seek court injunctions against
companies that violate the regulations and collect civil penalties of $10,000 a
day.
It also would give the FCC the power to raise telephone rates under its
jurisdiction to reimburse carriers. The FCC sets interstate long distance
rates and a monthly end-user charge -- currently $2.50 -- that subscribers pay
to be connected to the nationwide telephone network.
Telephone companies will want to examine the proposal to determine its impact
on costs, security of phone lines and the 180-day deadline for implementing the
changes, said James Sylvester, director of infrastructure and privacy for Bell
Atlantic.
Though no cost estimates were made available, Sylvester estimated it could cost
companies millions of dollars to make the required changes. But rate hikes for
individual customers would probably be quite small, he said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
As Technology Makes Wiretaps More Difficult, F.B.I. Seeks Help March 8, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Anthony Ramirez (New York Times)(Page I12)
The Department of Justice says that advanced telephone equipment in wide use
around the nation is making it difficult for law-enforcement agencies to
wiretap the phone calls of suspected criminals.
The Government proposed legislation requiring the nation's telephone companies
to give law-enforcement agencies technical help with their eavesdropping.
Privacy advocates criticized the proposal as unclear and open to abuse.
In the past, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies could
simply attach alligator clips and a wiretap device to the line hanging from a
telephone pole. Law-enforcement agents could clearly hear the conversations.
That is still true of telephone lines carrying analog transmissions, the
electronic signals used by the first telephones in which sounds correspond
proportionally to voltage.
But such telephone lines are being steadily replaced by high-speed, high-
capacity lines using digital signals. On a digital line, F.B.I. agents would
hear only computer code or perhaps nothing at all because some digital
transmissions are over fiber-optic lines that convert the signals to pulses of
light.
In addition, court-authorized wiretaps are narrowly written. They restrict the
surveillance to particular parties and particular topics of conversation over a
limited time on a specific telephone or group of telephones. That was
relatively easy with analog signals. The F.B.I. either intercepted the call or
had the phone company re-route it to an F.B.I. location, said William A. Bayse,
the assistant director in the technical services division of the F.B.I.
But tapping a high-capacity line could allow access to thousands of
conversations. Finding the conversation of suspected criminals, for example,
in a complex "bit stream" would be impossible without the aid of phone company
technicians.
There are at least 140 million telephone lines in the country and more than
half are served in some way by digital equipment, according to the United
States Telephone Association, a trade group. The major arteries and blood
vessels of the telecommunications network are already digital. And the
greatest part of the system, the capillaries of the network linking central
telephone offices to residences and businesses, will be digital by the mid-
1990s.
Thousand Wiretaps
The F.B.I. said there were 1,083 court-authorized wiretaps -- both new and
continuing -- by Federal, state, and local law-enforcement authorities in 1990,
the latest year for which data are available.
Janlori Goldman, director of the privacy and technology project for the
American Civil Liberties Union, said she had been studying the development of
the F.B.I. proposal for several months.
"We are not saying that this is not a problem that shouldn't be fixed," she
said, "but we are concerned that the proposal may be overbroad and runs the
risk that more information than is legally authorized will flow to the F.B.I.
In a news conference in Washington on Friday, the F.B.I. said it was seeking
only to "preserve the status quo" with its proposal so that it could maintain
the surveillance power authorized by a 1968 Federal law, the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act. The proposal, which is lacking in many details
is also designed to benefit state and local authorities.
Under the proposed law, the Federal Communications Commission would issue
regulations to telephone companies like the GTE Corporation and the regional
Bell telephone companies, requiring the "modification" of phone systems "if
those systems impede the Government's ability to conduct lawful electronic
surveillance."
In particular, the proposal mentions "providers of electronic communications
services and private branch exchange operators," potentially meaning all
residences and all businesses with telephone equipment.
Frocene Adams, a security official with US West in Denver is the chairman of
Telecommunications Security Association, which served as the liaison between
the industry and the F.B.I. "We don't know the extent of the changes required
under the proposal," she said, but emphasized that no telephone company would
do the actual wiretapping or other surveillance.
Computer software and some hardware might have to be changed, Ms. Adams said,
but this could apply to new equipment and mean relatively few changes for old
equipment.
_______________________________________________________________________________
FBI Wants To Ensure Wiretap Access In Digital Networks March 9, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Communications Daily (Page 1)
Proposed legislation being floated by Justice Dept. and FBI would require RHCs
and equipment manufacturers to reengineer their products so that federal, state
and local law enforcement agencies could wiretap digital communications systems
of all types, Bureau said. The proposal is a "collaborative effort" at
"highest levels" involving law enforcement officials, government agencies,
telephone executives and equipment manufacturers, said John Collingwood of
FBI's office for legislative affairs. It seeks to authorize FCC to grant
telcos rate increases to defray the cost of reengineering the network to bring
it into compliance.
Associated Press reported Attorney General William Barr discussed the proposal
last week with Sen. Hollings (D.-S.C.), chairman of Senate Commerce Committee;
however, Committee staffers wouldn't comment. Sources at FCC said they hadn't
heard of the proposal, and neither had several RHCs we contacted.
The bill was drafted by FBI and Department in response to what FBI Director
William Sessions said were dramatic changes in telephone technology that have
"outpaced" government ability to "technologically continue" its wiretapping
activities. James Kallestrom, FBI's chief of technical services section, said
the bill wouldn't extend the Bureau's "court-authorized" electronic
surveillance authority, but would seek simply to maintain status quo with
digital technology. New legislation is needed because law enforcement agencies
no longer can go into a switching center and place a tap on single phone line,
owing to complex digital multiplexing methods that often route number and voice
signals over different channels. Kallestrom said digital encoding also doesn't
allow specific wiretap procedures, unlike analog systems, which use wave forms.
Bureau wants telephone companies and equipment manufacturers to "build in" the
ability to "give us what we want." He said legislation wouldn't mandate how
companies comply, only that they do. William Bayse, chief of FBI's Technical
Services Division, said the reengineering process would be "highly complex" but
could be done at the software level.
The FBI said it has been in contact with all telcos and "several" equipment
manufacturers to get their input to determine feasibility. Bayse said FBI had
done preliminary cost analysis and estimated changes would run into "tens of
millions," declining to narrow its estimates further. The bill would give FCC
the authority to allow RHCs to raise rates in order to make up the costs of
implementing the new procedures. Although FBI didn't have any specifics as to
how FCC would go about setting those rates, or whether state PUCs would be
involved in the process, they speculated that consumer telephone rates wouldn't
go up more than 20 cents per month.
The bill would give FCC 120 days to devise rules and standards for telcos to
bring the public network into compliance. However, the Commission isn't a
standards-making body. When questioned about the confusing role that the bill
would assign to FCC, FBI's Collingwood said: "The FCC is the agency that deals
with phone companies, so we put them in charge." He acknowledgedn that the
bill "needs work" but said the FBI was "surprised" by the leak to press.
However, he said that the language was in "very early stages" and that FBI
wasn't averse to any changes that would bring swifter passage.
Other confusing aspects of proposal: (1) Short compliance time (120 days)
seems to bypass FCC's traditional rulemaking procedures, in which the public is
invited to submit comments; (2) No definition is given for "telecommunications
equipment or technology;" (3) Provision that the attorney general direct that
any FCC proceeding concerning "regulations, standards or registrations issued
or to be issued" be closed to the public again would violate public comment
procedures.
FBI said legislation is the "least costly alternative" in addressing the issue.
It said software modifications in equipment now would save "millions of
dollars" over making changes several years from now. However, the agency
couldn't explain how software programming changes grew more expensive with
time. FBI's Kallestrom said: "Changes made now can be implemented easier over
time, rather than having to write massive software changes when the network
gets much more complicated." FBI already has asked Congress for $26.6 million
in its proposed 1993 budget to help finance a 5-year research effort to help
keep pace with changes in telephone technology. Asked why that money couldn't
be used to offset the price of government-mandated changes as the bill would
require, FBI declined to comment, saying: "We may look at having government
offset some of the cost as the bill is modified."
_______________________________________________________________________________
CPSR Letter on FBI Proposal March 9, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By David Banisar (CPSR) <banisar@washofc.cpsr.org>
CPSR and several other organizations sent the following letter to Senator
Patrick Leahy regarding the FBI's recent proposal to undertake wire
surveillance in the digital network.
If you also believe that the FBI's proposal requires further study at a public
hearing, contact Senator Hollings at the Senate Committee on Commerce. The
phone number is (202)224-9340.
Dave Banisar,
CPSR Washington Office
====================================================
March 9, 1992
Chairman Patrick Leahy
Senate Subcommittee on Law and Technology
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Leahy,
We are writing to you to express our continuing interest in communications
privacy and cryptography policy. We are associated with leading computer and
telecommunication firms, privacy, civil liberties, and public interest
organizations, as well as research institutions and universities. We share a
common concern that all policies regarding communications privacy and
cryptography should be discussed at a public hearing where interested parties
are provided an opportunity to comment or to submit testimony.
Last year we wrote to you to express our opposition to a Justice
Department sponsored provision in the Omnibus Crime Bill, S. 266, which would
have encouraged telecommunications carriers to provide a decrypted version of
privacy-enhanced communications. This provision would have encouraged the
creation of "trap doors" in communication networks. It was our assessment that
such a proposal would have undermined the security, reliability, and privacy of
computer communications.
At that time, you had also convened a Task Force on Privacy and Technology
which looked at a number of communication privacy issues including S. 266. The
Task Force determined that it was necessary to develop a full record on the
need for the proposal before the Senate acted on the resolution.
Thanks to your efforts, the proposal was withdrawn.
We also wish to express our appreciation for your decision to raise the
issue of cryptography policy with Attorney General Barr at his confirmation
hearing last year. We are pleased that the Attorney General agreed that such
matters should properly be brought before your Subcommittee for consideration.
We write to you now to ask that you contact the Attorney General and seek
assurance that no further action on that provision, or a similar proposal, will
be undertaken until a public hearing is scheduled. We believe that it is
important to notify the Attorney General at this point because of the current
attempt by the administration to amend the Federal Communications Commission
Reauthorization Act with provisions similar to those contained in S. 266.
We will be pleased to provide assistance to you and your staff.
Sincerely yours,
Marc Rotenberg,
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
David Peyton,
ITAA
Ira Rubenstein,
Microsoft
Jerry Berman,
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Michael Cavanaugh,
Electronic Mail Association
Martina Bradford,
AT&T
Evan Hendricks,
US Privacy Council
Professor Dorothy Denning,
Georgetown University
Professor Lance Hoffman,
George Washington University
Robert L. Park,
American Physical Society
Janlori Goldman,
American Civil Liberties Union
Whitfield Diffie,
Sun Microsystems
John Podesta,
Podesta and Associates
Kenneth Wasch,
Software Publishers Association
John Perry Barlow,
Contributing Editor, Communications of the ACM
David Johnson,
Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
cc: Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr
Senator Hank Brown
Senator Ernest F. Hollings
Senator Arlen Specter
Senator Strom Thurmond
Representative Don Edwards
Attorney General Barr
Chairman Sikes, FCC
_______________________________________________________________________________
FBI, Phone Firms in Tiff Over Turning on the Taps March 10, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By John Mintz (Washington Post)(Page C1)
Technology Has Made Eavesdropping Harder
The FBI says technology is getting ahead of taps.
The bureau says the digital technology in new telephone networks is so
complicated -- it translates voices into computerized blips, then retranslates
them into voices at the other end -- that agents can't capture conversations.
So the FBI wants a law requiring phone companies to re-engineer their new phone
networks so the taps work again.
But the phone companies warn that the proposal could raise ratepayers' monthly
bills.
And civil liberties groups say the technological changes sought by the FBI
could have an unintended effect, making it easier for criminals, computer
hackers and even rogue phone company employees to tap into phone networks.
"We have grave concerns about these proposals," said Jim McGann, a spokesman
for AT&T. "They would have the effect of retarding introduction of new
services and would raise prices."
Bell Atlantic Corporation, owner of Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company
here, said the changes could cost its own ratepayers as much as hundreds of
millions of dollars.
The cause of the FBI's concern is a new generation of digital technologies in
which phone conversations are translated into the computer language of zeroes
and ones, then bundled with other conversations for speedy transmission, and
finally retransformed into voices.
Another problem for the FBI is fiber-optic technology, in which conversations
are changed into pulses of light zapped over hair-thin strands of glass. The
U.S. government has delayed sales of fiber-optic equipment to the former Soviet
Union because of the difficulty of tapping it.
The FBI proposed a law requiring phone companies to modify their networks to
make wiretaps easier. The agency would still have to obtain a court order to
tap a line, as it does now. It also proposed allowing the Federal
Communications Commission to let the phone companies pass the costs on to
consumers and letting the FCC consider the issues in closed-door hearings to
keep secret the details of phone system security.
"Without an ultimate solution, terrorists, violent criminals, kidnappers, drug
cartels and other criminal organizations will be able to carry out their
illegal activities using the telecommunications system without detection," FBI
Director William S. Sessions said in a prepared statement. "This proposal is
critical to the safety of the American people and to law enforcement officers."
In the past, investigators would get the phone company to make adjustments at
switching facilities, or would place taps at junction boxes -- hard metal
structures on concrete blocks in every neighborhood -- or even at telephone
junction rooms in the basements of office and apartment buildings.
But sometimes tappers get only bursts of electronic blipping. The FBI said the
new technologies have defeated wiretap attempts on occasion -- but it declined
to provide details.
To get the blips retranslated back into conversation, tappers have to place
their devices almost right outside the targeted home or office. Parking FBI
trucks outside targets' houses "could put agents in danger, so it's not
viable," said Bell Atlantic spokesman Kenneth A. Pitt.
"We don't feel our ratepayers should pay that money" to retool networks, said
Bill McCloskey, spokesman for BellSouth Corporation, a major phone company
based in Atlanta.
Since there are 150 million U.S. phone lines, a cost of $ 1 billion that's
passed on to ratepayers could translate into about $ 6.60 per consumer,
industry officials said.
Rather than charge ratepayers, Pitt said, the government should pay for the
changes. Bell Atlantic prefers continued FBI and industry talks on the subject
to a new law.
The FBI proposes that within 120 days of enactment of the law it seeks, the FCC
would issue regulations requiring technological changes in the phone system and
that the modifications be made 60 days after that. The FCC rarely moves on
even the simplest matter in that time, and this could be one of the most
complex technological questions facing the government, congressional and
industry sources said.
Given the huge variety of technologies that could be affected -- regular phone
service, corporate data transmissions, satellite and microwave communications,
and more -- one House staffer said Congress "will have to rent RFK Stadium" to
hold hearings.
Marc Rotenberg, a lawyer who has attended meetings with FBI and phone company
officials on the proposal, said the FBI, by taking the issue to congressional
communications committees, is trying to make an end run around the judiciary
committees.
Last year, the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to civil libertarians'
protests, killed an FBI proposal to require that encrypted communications --
such as banks' secret data transmissions -- be made available in decoded form.
Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who chairs the House subcommittee
handling the latest FBI proposal, said the plan has troubling overtones of "Big
Brother" about it.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Let's Blow the Whistle on FBI Phone-Tap Plan March 12, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editorial taken from USA Today (Page 6A)
OUR VIEW - Congress should disconnect this unneeded and dangerous eavesdropping
scheme as soon as possible
The FBI -- lambasted in the past for wiretapping and amassing files on
thousands of "subversives" such as Martin Luther King -- seems determined to
prove that consistency is a virtue.
The Bureau wants phone companies to make costly changes that critics say could
let agents eavesdrop on your phone calls without detection -- and boost your
phone bill to pay for it.
The FBI says that this new law is needed because it can't wiretap all calls
transmitted with the new digital technology. It also wants the public barred
when it explains all this to Congress.
Wisely, lawmakers show signs of balking. They're already preparing for high-
profile hearings on the proposal.
Congress, though, should go much further. It should pin the FBI's wiretap plan
to the wall and use it for target practice. Here are just a few of the spots
at which to take aim:
*Rights: The FBI says it is still would get court approval before
tapping, but experts say if the agency gets its way, electronic
eavesdropping would be far easier and perhaps untraceable. The
FBI's plan, they say, could make a mockery of constitutional
rights to privacy and against unreasonable searches.
*Need: Some phone companies say they are already meeting FBI wiretap
requirements and question whether the agency really needs a new
law -- or just would find it convenient. The FBI says it can't
tap some digital transmissions -- but it hasn't given any
specifics.
*Honesty: The FBI tried to evade congressional review by financing its
plan with a charge to phone users.
The bureau must have realized the reception this shady scheme could expect: It
tried to slip it though Congress' side door, avoiding the committees that
usually oversee FBI operations.
Over the decades, wiretaps have proved invaluable in snaring lawbreakers. Used
selectively and restrained by judicial oversight, they're a useful weapon,
especially against organized crime.
But if catching gangsters never should take precedence over the rights the
Constitution guarantees the citizens who try to follow the law, not break it.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Back to Smoke Signals? March 26, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An editorial from The Washington Post
The Justice Department spent years in court breaking up the nation's
telecommunications monopoly in order to foster competition and technological
advances. Now the same department has gone to Congress asking that
improvements in telecommunications technology be halted, and in some cases even
reversed, in the name of law enforcement. The problems facing the FBI are
real, but the proposed solution is extreme and unacceptable on a number of
grounds.
Wiretaps are an important tool in fighting crime, especially the kind of
large-scale, complicated crime -- such as drug conspiracies, terrorism and
racketeering -- that is the responsibility of the FBI. When they are installed
pursuant to court order, taps are perfectly legal and usually most productive.
But advances in phone technology have been so rapid that the government can't
keep up. Agents can no longer just put a tap on phone company equipment a few
blocks from the target and expect to monitor calls. Communications occur now
through regular and cellular phones via satellite and microwave, on fax
machines and computers. Information is transmitted in the form of computer
digits and pulses of light through strands of glass, and none of this is easily
intercepted or understood.
The Justice Department wants to deal with these complications by forbidding
them. The department's proposal is to require the Federal Communications
Commission to establish such standards for the industry "as may be necessary to
maintain the ability of the government to lawfully intercept communications."
Any technology now in use would have to be modified within 180 days, with the
costs passed on to the rate payers. Any new technology must meet the
suitable-for-wiretap standard, and violators could be punished by fines of
$10,000 a day. As a final insult, commission proceedings concerning these
regulations could be ordered closed by the attorney general.
The civil liberties problems here are obvious, for the purposeful designing of
telecommunications systems that can be intercepted will certainly lead to
invasions of privacy by all sorts of individuals and organizations operating
without court authorization. Further, it is an assault on progress, on
scientific endeavor and on the competitive position of American industry. It's
comparable to requiring Detroit to produce only automobiles that can be
overtaken by faster police cars. And it smacks of repressive government.
The proposal has been drafted as an amendment rather than a separate bill, and
there is some concern that it will be slipped into a bill that has already
passed one house and be sent quietly to conference. That would be
unconscionable. We believe, as the industry suggests, that the kind of
informal cooperation between law enforcement agencies and telecommunications
companies that has always characterized efforts in the past, is preferable to
this stifling legislation. But certainly no proposal should be considered by
Congress without open and extensive hearings and considerable debate.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The FBI's Latest Idea: Make Wiretapping Easier April 19, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Anthony Ramirez (New York Times)(Section 4, Page 2)
Civil libertarians reacted quickly last month when the Federal Bureau of
Investigation proposed new wiretapping legislation to cope with advanced
telephone equipment now being installed nationwide.
The FBI, which has drafted a set of guidelines, but has as yet no sponsor in
Congress, said the latest digital equipment was so complicated it would hinder
the agency's pursuit of mobsters, terrorists and other criminals. But civil
liberties groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, joined by several
major telephone companies like American Telephone and Telegraph Company,
described the proposal as unclear, open to abuse and possibly retarding the
pace of technological innovation.
Civil libertarians fear a shift from a world where wiretaps are physically
onerous to install, therefore forcing the FBI to think twice about their use,
to a world where surveillance is so easy that a few pecks on an FBI key pad
would result in a tap of anyone's telephone in the country.
The inventive computer enthusiasts who call themselves hackers are also calling
the legislation unnecessary. If teenagers can quickly cope with such equipment,
they argue, so can the FBI.
"The easier it is to use, the easier it is to abuse," said Eric Corley, editor
of 2600 magazine, a quarterly publication "by and about computer hackers."
According to the FBI, in 1990, the latest year for which data are available,
there were 1,083 court-authorized wiretaps -- both new and continuing -- by
Federal, state and local law-enforcement authorities. Robert Ellis Smith,
publisher of Privacy Journal, said the relatively small number of wiretaps
reflects the difficulty of obtaining judicial permission and installing the
devices. Moreover, he said, many cases, including the John Gotti case, were
solved with eavesdropping devices planted in rooms or on an informant.
Besides, Mr. Smith said, complicated digital equipment shares similarities with
obstacles free of technology. "Having a criminal conversation on a digital
fiber-optic line," he said, "is no different from taking a walk in the park and
having the same conversation." And no one, he added, would think of requiring
parks to be more open to electronic surveillance.
At issue are the latest wonders of the telecommunications age -- digital
transmission and fiber-optic cables. In the standard analog transmission,
changes in electrical voltage imitate the sound of a human voice. To listen
in, the FBI and other agencies attach a device to a line from a telephone pole.
A Computer Hiss or Nothing
Today phone systems are being modernized with high-speed, high-capacity digital
lines in which the human voice is converted into computer code. Moreover, a
fiber-optic line in digital mode, which carries information as pulses of light,
carries not only clear conversations but a myriad of them. Using a wiretap on
a digital line, FBI agents would hear only a computer hiss on a copper cable,
nothing at all on a fiber-optic line.
There are at least 140 million telephone lines in the country, and more than
half are served in some way by digital equipment, according to the United
States Telephone Association, a trade group. However, less than 1 percent of
the network is fiber optic.
The legislation proposed by the FBI would, in effect, require the licensing of
new telephone equipment by the Federal Government so the agency could wiretap
it. Telephone companies would have to modify computers and software so that
agents could decipher the digital bit stream. The cost of the modification
would be passed on to rate payers.
"Phone companies are worried about the sweep of this legislation," said Jerry
Berman, director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who solicited the
support of the phone companies for a protest letter to Congress. By requiring
the FCC to clear new technology, innovation could be slowed, he said. "We're
not just talking about just local and long-distance calls," Mr. Berman said.
"We're talking about CompuServe, Prodigy and other computer services,
electronic mail, automatic teller machines and any change in them."
Briefcase-Size Decoders
One telecommunications equipment manufacturer said he was puzzled by the FBI
proposal. "The FBI already has a lot of technology to wiretap digital lines,"
he said, on condition of anonymity.
He said four companies, including such major firms as Mitel Corporation, a
Canadian maker of telecommunications equipment, can design digital decoders to
convert computer code back into voice. A portable system about the size of a
large briefcase could track and decode 36 simultaneous conversations. A larger
system, the size of a small refrigerator, could follow up to 1,000
conversations. All could be done without the phone company.
James K. Kallstrom, the FBI's chief of technology, acknowledged that the agency
was one of Mitel's largest customers, but said the equipment hackers and others
describe would be "operationally unfeasible."
The FBI was more worried about emerging technologies like personal
communications networks and services like call forwarding. "Even if we used
the equipment the hackers say we should use," Mr. Kallstrom said, "all a
criminal would have to do is call-forward a call or use a cellular telephone or
wireless data transfer to defeat me."
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 12 of 15
PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ { CFP-2 } ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN
^*^ ^*^
PWN P h r a c k W o r l d N e w s PWN
^*^ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ^*^
PWN Special Edition Issue Six PWN
^*^ ^*^
PWN Computers, Freedom, & Privacy II PWN
^*^ ^*^
PWN March 18-20, 1992 PWN
^*^ ^*^
PWN Written by Max Nomad PWN
^*^ ^*^
PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ { CFP-2 } ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN
Computers, Freedom, & Privacy II
Random Notes and Mission X Telegraphs from the Nation's Capitol
by Max Nomad
Originally, when I read the brochure on the second "Computers, Freedom, and
Privacy Conference," I saw opportunity knocking at my door: Three days at the
Loew's L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. stalking around a series of
meetings all geared toward telecommunications, as well as the high potential
for mischief; techno-gurus, privacy advocates, computer outlaws, corporate
bigwigs, and lastly feds, a few of which who were casually walking around with
automatic weapons disguised as black tote-bags. There was no telling what
those hackers were capable of, I'm sure, so the beefed up security was
necessary.
Upon learning that Basil Rouland, Inc., an information systems security firm,
had secured a press pass and transportation, my excitement grew. I wasn't sure
what kind of story I would bring back from the trip, or if I would find a
unique story at all. Fortunately, the conference topics provided dozens of
angles to take on, more than I care list. My previous article and notes alone
on the event were upwards of 25k, mostly filled with mundane excerpts and
quotes from various panelists. If you're interested in a blow-by-blow account
of CFP-2, it's available on VHS; contact bkoball@well.sf.ca.us for more
details.
For the readers of PHRACK, a different perspective was in order. The following
commentary has been taken strictly from my notes and thoughts on the
underground showing.
Overall, this year's CFP was a success. The panel discussions on everything
>from the issues of privacy to Internet to cryptography and security were
informative, even enlightening. After three days of non-stop conferences on
these subjects I realized just how much of a runaway horse technology is to our
federal government. Big Brother is definitely out there, but he's got fast
competition coming up from the private sector. And special thanks to CRAIG
NEIDORF, who graciously donated his name to modern science and the EFF. This
individual's case was referred to more times than Roe v. Wade; personally,
Craig, if I were you, I'd put a trademark on it and charge by the usage. In
any case, this year's CFP conference was a success. Congrats are in order for
the organizers and volunteers. Anyone who is seriously interested in computer
networks, security, and what the big fish are up to should attend. Also,
members of the press are welcome.
Daily, in the aftermath of the conferences, "Birds of a Feather" sessions were
held in the meeting rooms. At best, these were well structured discussions for
people of similar interests. At worst, they were lame farces, such as the "Why
Don't They Understand" discussion, where unofficial representatives of the
underground were given a forum to supposedly voice their opinions.
The panel consisted of Glen Tenney (organizer of the annual Hacker's
conference), Knight Lightning (founder of Phrack, abused civil rights poster
child for the EFF), Dispater (current publisher of Phrack), Emmanuel Goldstein
(editor/publisher of 2600 magazine, host of "Off the Hook" [WBAI radio, New
York]), Phiber Optik (hacker/phreak currently receiving a great deal of "fan
harassment" by the authorities), Steven Levy (MacWorld, author of _Hackers_),
Dorothy Denning (Computer Science Department, Georgetown University), and the
panel chair was John McMullen of McMullen & McMullen. Aside from a few hackers
and law officials in the audience, the curious and uninformed filled the
meeting room to capacity. There was definitely a sense of anticipation prior
to the start of the discussion; it didn't take a private eye to know that one
way or the other, this was going to be a show.
And it was.
Steven Levy gave a neutral dissertation to the meaning of the word "hacker" as
it was when he published his book by the same name back in 1986: programmers
and electronics hobbyists supposedly with purer intentions, many of which that
went on to make revolutionary waves in the computer industry. Hackers and
phone phreaks like Wozniak and Jobs are two of those heroes of yesteryear's
underground. But as with the rest of society, nostalgia always casts a darker
tint on the present. Those heroes would be considered the maniacal high-tech
terrorists of today, thanks to a combination of media sensationalism, a few
malicious idiots on both sides of the law, and the general public opinion that
hackers are to be feared like hardened outlaws -- all of which stems from
varying degrees of ignorance.
Dorothy Denning appended Levy's statement with an objective view, pointing out
the fact that neither side seems to fully understand what it's like to walk in
the other's shoes, befitting the title of the next session. Another perfect
neutrality. Tenney interjected with a somewhat polished speech about what it
was to be a hacker (i.e. programmer) back in his day, uttered a few slants
directed at certain people, both of which smoothly establishing the slight
anti-hack tone that would end up carrying on until this session ended. Upon
finding out this man is supposedly running for Congress in some state, I was
even less surprised. It was as if he smelled what the crowd wanted to hear,
then cooked it up enough to feed everyone. He's pretty good. He'll probably
get the seat he's shooting for.
In his best radio voice, Emmanuel Goldstein immediately returned the volley to
previous statements, also adding a few interpretations of his own: the feeling
of learning and exploring, even in forbidden regions, how it is unhealthy to
put restrictions on thought and discovery, and how it is the complacency of the
other side that the underground is making use of. He also brought up a very
good point concerning the Dutch and how many of the system administrators over
there are making use of hackers in the bullet-proofing of their systems. The
distrust of most American sysadmins along with the level of arrogance in some
cases almost makes such cooperation ludicrous over here in the states. Shame.
Each underground member of the panel eventually made his or her statement,
including Phiber Optik's tale of how a certain New York State Police officer
and gang rolled up on his home like the DEA and awakened him from his sleep at
gun point. Whether by coincidence or not, the officer in charge of the arrest
was standing in the back of the room. Of course, the voice of authority had to
make a statemental come-back on the topic. In that instant it became obvious
that having hacks and law enforcement in the same room wasn't the best vehicle
for accurately portraying views. Neither side was prone to be open and honest
with the other watching with anticipation. Any hack who was not under
investigation wouldn't dare open up and speak, and any hack currently under
investigation couldn't speak honestly; no one wants to speak his piece bad
enough to get indicted. The feds were in the same boat, since they couldn't
openly discuss any pending cases, as well as keeping a lid on any of their
trade secrets; a catch-22 that further solidified the misconceptions of those
in the middle: the image of hackers as chaotic compu-hoodlums and law
enforcement officials as determined yet uninformed trackers.
In all honesty, this session came off like a side show, and the hackers like
circus freaks. With two prominent underground publishers, an ex-hack/publisher
turned representative of the EFF, and a hack/phreak currently under
investigation, there was no alternative but to stutter and give vague answers
to delicate questions and even then that only applied to those occasions where
they could speak their minds uninterrupted. Self-preservation and the
felonious core of this topic made every answer a forfeited one before it was
given. Any well-informed spectator knew this. So did the feds, who were
probably chuckling to themselves the entire time. Absolutely no resolutions
were made either way. Truthfully, the feds gained brownie points on this one.
The hacker perspective wasn't accurately presented and the masses would
continue to live ignorance of the underground.
The next night, random reports of strange activity churned through the rumor
mill shortly after the hackers hijacked one of the meeting rooms for Knight
Lightning's "Frank" Party, the kind of talk most people weren't bold enough to
investigate or so "unthinkable" that no one wanted their name attached. The
room itself was easy to identify -- "Fire Line Do Not Cross" tape covered the
front doors, as well as a chaotic chatter that roared from within. There was
no agenda to speak of. Most of the hackers I've met during my travels were
leaders and rugged individualists and here was no different. None wanted to
take charge -- to do so would have been useless. Each generally did his own
thing and, if it looked interesting enough, others would follow. Some of the
name-tagged feds would have probably wandered in if they weren't already having
a session of their own. Speculatively, they were discussing matters about
targeted individuals present at our gathering.
The evening's entertainment was an old cult-classic tape, Frank & The Phunny
Phone Call, the hilarious and unexpurgated recordings of an old man driven to
aggravated dementia by some anonymous phone phreaks making his phone "go
berzerk." Earlier at one of the literature tables, free promotional 2-in-1
screwdrivers were given away (a gift from Hayes Modem Corporation) and it
seemed that every hack in here had at least one or two. Granted, these tools
are handy for any computer buff, but a room full of hacks and phreaks with them
was almost as unpredictable as handing out matches at a Pyromaniacs Anonymous
meeting. Soon, RJ-11 phone jacks were being unscrewed from the wall and
studied. Lineman's Test Phones appeared, soon followed by a small expedition
stalking around the service hallways and finding the unlocked telephone closet
for the hotel. The rest is, shall we say, up to reader interpretation as to
what happened after that, ironically ten yards and a set of double doors away
>from a room full of state cops and feds.
The Last Day
Instead of rushing the microphone during the final statements in the main
conference room, our rogue gang had coagulated in the hall (next to the
payphones no less) around an Air Force special investigator and Phiber Optik.
At first the mood resembled that of a James Bond movie, where Bond and an arch
nemesis would meet and chat, each anticipating the downfall of the other
beneath polite exteriors. This seemed to be the sublime tension between all
the feds and hacks who talked at the conference, but it was especially delicate
in this case -- Phiber was high on the priority list this agent's department
was currently investigating. Eventually the mood lightened, and an impromptu
Q&A pow-wow session between the hacks and the agent broke out, spawning all
sorts of conversations that seemed much more interesting than the finale taking
place inside. And, like clockwork, a little mischief came into play. As a
show of good faith and a sign that the hackers would be returning for next
year's conference, several prominent organizers found that the answer messages
on their hotel voice mailboxes had been mysteriously "changed." Sources say
the culprit was described as an old Yiddish, but all reports on this matter
were unconfirmed. Shortly after this impromptu gathering, it was apparent that
the conference had finally adjourned. Except for the underground types and a
few observers, the halls were thinning out, and eventually we all wandered our
separate ways. And once again, this environment began to take the look of a
hotel.
To The Underground At Large:
This was just one conference; the feds will continue to do what they do and so
will we. After the hacker panel fiasco, I overheard John Markoff (New York
Times reporter and co-author of the book _Cyberpunk_) and Steve Levy talking
about how topics like this were being discussed in conferences like this ten
years ago. Only the names and circumstances had changed -- the song and dance
steps remained the same. Chances are, ten years from now these same subjects
will share some portion of the limelight in regard to growth and development of
cyberspace. As society becomes more technologically complex, the bugs,
loopholes, and defaults will exist and the underground will thrive. Whether
the masses choose to acknowledge this or not, we are a subculture of and to
ourselves, much like the Grateful Dead followers. Some will move on, die off,
or fade away, and others will stream in to fill the empty spaces. A few words
of interpretive advice to the newbees: study everything you touch carefully,
covet and respect the knowledge you gain like a gun, and never drive faster
than you can think. The feds are out there and, trust me, these motherfuckers
didn't come to play.
To The Feds And Hacker Trackers Present At The Conference:
There isn't much that can be said. You have a much better understanding of the
computer underworld than most, even than by some of those in it. By virtue of
the job you do, this is a given. Respect is due to you for your showing at
CFP-2, how you presented yourselves, and the subtle way you furthered the
brainwashed concepts of "the hacker" in the public eye. You knew the
presentations would be slanted in your favor, and probably took great pride in
this. Smooth. Very smooth.
To The Uninformed:
Don't blindly believe the hype. Whether you wish to face it or not, hackers
and phone phreaks are an integral part of this technological revolution.
Advancement cannot come without the need for change and to improve, both micro-
and macroscopically. Positive direction is the result of an equal but opposite
force that presses it forward. Because of the hackers (old, new, and even the
malicious), software and hardware developers have made radical improvements on
the networks and supermachines that are undeniably molding the foundation of
tomorrow's world. Our society is based on complacency. And any social
institution or machinery that seems to work without weight to tip the scales of
change simply goes unchecked, eventually to become a standard. The hijinx that
Congress gets away with and how little the public truly reacts is a perfect
example. If hackers didn't truly love computers and telecommunications or have
an unnatural need to explore and learn, the technological growth curve would be
stunted. Long after these embryotic times have faded into our grandchildren's
history books, hackers will exist, and the bulk of high-tech crimes will
continue to be perpetrated by minions of the people in power, the elite white-
collar.
Regardless of the long-term insight, computer intrusion is still an illegal art
and science.
There is no rationale for why hackers hack, at least nothing that will
withstand the scrutiny of the unenlightened masses or one's inner beliefs.
"Hackers," like any other subculture, yield a range of personalities and
perspectives from the careful explorer to the callous marauder. Inexperienced
sociologists would probably try to classify this underground sect as a
movement, possibly even subversive in its intentions. The problem with this
lies in the fact that a movement needs a leader or spokesman. Aside from the
individual nature of these people, anyone who becomes a mouthpiece for this
culture cannot rightly be a hacker, or at least hacking around with anything
unlawful. Chances are, others would shy away from such a person, seeing him as
either an informant or too dangerous to be around; the feds would pursue him
passionately, like tracking a trophy-sized bull in a deer hunt. Hackers cannot
be categorized as a movement, fad, or pre-packaged subculture like bubble-gum
rock music or the pseudo-hippies of the 90's. Most hackers have their own
directions and forward momentum. It is a shared mindset, ironically
paralleling that of the feds that chase them. One group has no rules or set
channels to adhere to. The other is backed by the establishment and a badge.
This statement was not intended to rationalize their actions, only give insight
to the uninitiated. To summarize the spectrum of motives with the hacker
intellect, I give this analogy: the need to come onto someone else's property,
some for peaceful exploration, others to inhabit, and in some instances to
misuse or destroy is not a new phenomena. The early settlers of this country
did the same thing to the Native Americans.
I\/Iax I\Iomad
[Mission X Tribe Out]
[---------]
Thanks and respect are due to:
Basil Rouland Inc. (for getting me there) and URban Lividity, Jet Heller,
Silkworm, and the rest of the "In The Flesh" (804-489-7031) posse that couldn't
make the trip. mXt.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 13 of 15
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Phrack World News PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Issue XXXVIII / Part One of Three PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Compiled by Dispater & Friends PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Special Thanks to Datastream Cowboy PWN
PWN PWN
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
Warning: Multiplexor/The Prisoner Tells All April 10, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On approximately April 3, 1992, Multiplexor (a/k/a The Prisoner) illegally used
credit card information obtained from CBI/Equifax to purchase an airline ticket
to San Diego, California from his home in Long Island, New York. Upon his
arrival, MP was met by several agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
After his apprehension, MP was taken first to a computer store where agents
allegedly picked up a computer from the store manager who is a friend of either
one of the agents or a federal prosecutor involved in the case.
At the taxpayer's expense, Multiplexor was put up for at least a week at a
Mariott Hotel in San Diego while he told all that he ever knew about anyone to
the FBI. It is believed that "Kludge," sysop of the San Diego based BBS
Scantronics has been implicated, although reportedly his board does not contain
ANY illegal information or other contraband.
It is widely known that card credit abusing scum like Multiplexor are
inherently criminal and will probably exaggerate, embellish and otherwise lie
about other people in order to escape prosecution themselves. If you have ever
come into contact with Multiplexor -- beware. He may be speaking about you.
Incidentally, Multiplexor had this year submitted a poorly written and ill-
conceived article to Phrack about voice mail hacking. His article was denied
publication.
And now this is the final result...
Nationwide Web of Criminal Hackers Charged April 20, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen (Newsbytes)
San Diego -- According to a San Diego Union-Tribune report, San Diego police
have uncovered "an electronic web of young computer hackers who use high-tech
methods to make fraudulent credit card charges and carry out other activities."
The Friday, April 17th story by Bruce V. Bigelow and Dwight C. Daniels quotes
San Diego police detective Dennis Sadler as saying that this informal
underground network has been trading information "to further their political
careers." He said that the hackers know how to break computer security codes,
create credit card accounts, and make fraudulent credit card purchases. Sadler
estimated that as many as 1,000 hard-core hackers across the United States have
shared this data although he said that it's unclear how many have actually used
the information to commit crimes.
Sadler added that he estimated that illegal charges to credit cards could total
millions of dollars.
While the police department did not release details to support the allegations,
saying that the investigation is continuing, Sadler did say that cooperation
>from an "out-of-state hacker," picked up in San Diego, provided important
information to the police and the FBI. Although police would not release the
identity of this individual or his present whereabouts, information gathered
by Newsbytes from sources within the hacker community identifies the so-called
hacker as "Multiplexer", a resident of Long Island, NY, who, according to
sources, arrived in San Diego on a airline flight with passage obtained by
means of a fraudulent credit card purchase. The San Diego police, apparently
aware of his arrival, allegedly met him at the airport and took him into
custody. The same sources say that, following his cooperation, Multiplexer was
allowed to return to his Long Island home.
The Union-Tribune article linked the San Diego investigation to recent federal
search and seizures in the New York, Philadelphia and Seattle areas. Subjects
of those searches have denied to Newsbytes any knowledge of Multiplexer,
illegal credit card usage or other illegal activities alleged in the Union-
Tribune story. Additionally, law enforcement officials familiar with on-going
investigations have been unwilling to comment, citing possible future
involvement with the San Diego case.
The article also compared the present investigation to Operation Sun-Devil, a
federal investigation into similar activities that resulted in a massive search
and seizure operation in May 1990. Although individuals have been sentenced in
Arizona and California on Sun Devil related charges, civil liberties groups,
such as the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, have been
critical about the low number of criminal convictions resulting from such a
large operation.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Sun-Devil Becomes New Steve Jackson Game March 25, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Steve Jackson
It couldn't have been more than a week after the initial raid when people
started saying, "Hey, why don't you make a game out of it?" The joke wore thin
quickly, as I heard it over and over and over during the next year. Then I
realized that I was in serious danger of losing my sense of humor over this...
and that actually, it would be possible to do a pretty good game about hacking.
So I did.
In 1990, the Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games when a "hacker hunt"
went out of control. Loss of our computers and unfinished game manuscripts
almost put this company out of business.
It's been two years. We're back on our feet. And ever since the raid, fans
have been asking, "When are you going to make a game out of it?"
Okay. We give up. Here it is.
The game has enough fanciful and pure science-fiction elements that it's not
going to tutor anyone in the arcane skills. Neither is it going to teach the
sysadmin any protective tricks more sophisticated than "don't leave the root
set to default." But it is, I think, a good simulation of the *social*
environment of High Hackerdom. You want to outdo your rivals -- but at the
same time, if you don't share knowledge with them, you'll never get anywhere.
And too many wannabes on the same system can mess it up for everybody, so when
you help somebody, you ask them to try it out *somewhere else* . . . and
occasionally a hacker finds himself doing the sysadmin's housecleaning, just to
preserve his own playground against later intruders. I like the way it plays.
In HACKER, players compete to invade the most computer systems. The more
systems you crack, the more you learn, and the easier the next target is. You
can find back doors and secret phone lines, and even crash the systems your
rivals are using. But be careful. There's a Secret Service Raid with your
name on it if you make too many enemies.
Designed by Steve Jackson, the game is based on the award-winning ILLUMINATI.
To win at HACKER requires guile and diplomacy. You must trade favors with your
fellow hackers -- and get more than you give away. But jealous rivals will try
to bust you. Three busts and you're out of the game. More than one player can
win, but shared victories are not easy!
HACKER is for 3-6 players. Playing time is under an hour for the short game
and about 2 hours for the regular game. Components include a rule book, 110
cards, marker chips, 6 console units, system upgrades, Bust markers, and Net
Ninja marker, two dice and a Ziplock bag.
Hacker began shipping March 30, and has a suggested retail price of $19.95.
_______________________________________________________________________________
"Peter The Great " Had An Overbyte January 10, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Kay Kusumoto (The Seattle Times)(Page B1)
"Teenage Hacker Ring Bigger Than Thought"
Bellevue, Washington -- Imagine you're a 17-year-old computer whiz who has
figured out how to get into the phone-company computer to make long-distance
calls for free.
Imagine finding at the tip of your fingers step-by-step instructions on how to
obtain credit-card numbers.
And imagine once more the name you use to log on to a computer system isn't
really your own, but actually a tag, or moniker -- like, say, that of a Russian
czar.
Bellevue police say that's the name an Issaquah teenager used when sending
messages to fellow hackers all over the country.
They first arrested "Peter the Great" a month ago for investigation of
attempted theft in using an unauthorized credit-card number to try to purchase
a $4,000 computer from a store in Bellevue.
But now police, who are still investigating and have not yet filed charges,
believe they're on to something much larger than first suspected. They say
they are looking for one or two additional youths involved with the 17-year-old
in a large computer-hacking ring that uses other people's credit-card numbers
to purchase computers and software.
In the youth's car, police say, they found another $4,000 computer obtained
earlier that day from a Seattle computer store. They also claim to have found
documents suggesting the youth had used credit information illegally.
Police Lt. Bill Ferguson of Bellevue's white-collar crime unit said detectives
don't know how many people are involved in the scam or how long it has been
going on. And police may never know the dollar loss from businesses and
individuals, he said.
"You can guess as high as you want," Ferguson said. "He had connections clear
across the country."
After the youth was arrested, police say, he admitted to being a hacker and
using his parents' home computer and telephone to call boards.
An elaborate type of e-mail -- the bulletin boards offer the user a electronic
messaging -- system, one may gain access to a "pirate" bulletin directory of
"how to" articles on ways of cracking computer systems containing everything
>from credit records and phone accounts to files in the University of
Washington's chemistry department.
Once the youth decided which articles he wanted most, he would copy them onto
his own disk, said Ferguson. Now police are poring over hundreds of disks,
confiscated from his parents' house, to see just how much information he had.
The parents knew nothing of what was going on, police say. Ferguson said
police also seized a copy of a New York-based magazine called 2600, aimed at
hackers. Like the bulletin boards, the magazine provides readers with a
variety of "how to" articles.
The teenager, who was released to his parents' custody the day of his December
3 arrest, told police the magazine taught him how to use a device that can
imitate the sound of coins dropping into a pay phone. With that, he could dial
outside computers for free.
Police confiscated the device.
"Hackers are difficult to trace because they don't leave their name on
anything," Ferguson said, adding that a federal investigation may follow
because detectives found copies of government documents on the youth's disks.
"This kid (copied) hundreds of pages of articles, left messages and shared
(computer) information with other hackers," said Ferguson.
"What's common about the hacker community is that they like to brag about their
accomplishments -- cracking computer systems. They'll tell each other so
others can do it."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hotel Credit Doesn't Compute January 22, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Stephen Clutter and Kay Kusumoto (The Seattle Times)(Page D1)
"Kirkland Police Suspect Hacker"
Kirkland, Washington -- Police are investigating yet another potential computer
hacking case, this one at the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland.
Someone, according to hotel officials, got into the Woodmark's computer system
and gave themselves a $500 credit for a hotel room earlier this month.
Police say a 19-year-old Bellevue man is the main suspect in the case, although
no arrests have been made.
The incident surfaces at the same time as Bellevue police press their
investigation into their suspicions that a 17-year-old Issaquah youth, using
the computer name "Peter the Great," got access to credit-card numbers to
purchase computers and software. That suspect was arrested but is free pending
charges.
"The deeper we get into Peter's files, the more we're finding," Bellevue police
Lt. Bill Ferguson said.
After arresting the youth last month on suspicion of trying to use an
unauthorized credit-card number to purchase a $4,000 computer from a Bellevue
store, police confiscated hundreds of computer disks and have been searching
the electronic files for evidence.
"We've been printing one file out for three hours now -- and it's still
printing," Ferguson said yesterday.
The file, Ferguson estimated, contains at least 10,000 names of individuals,
with credit-card numbers and expiration dates, addresses, phone numbers and
Social-Security numbers.
Detectives will meet with the Bellevue city prosecutor later this week to
discuss charges.
In the Kirkland incident, the 19-year-old Bellevue man stayed in the hotel the
night of January 11, according to Kirkland Detective Sgt. Bill O'Brien.
The man apparently made the reservation by phone a few days earlier and was
given a confirmation number. When he went to check into the hotel on January
11, the receptionist found that a $500 credit had been made to his room
account, O'Brien said.
Woodmark officials, fearing they had a hacker problem, contacted Bellevue
police last week after reading news accounts of the arrest of "Peter the
Great."
"The hotel said they had read the story, and discovered what appeared to be a
break-in to their computer system," said Ferguson. "They wanted to know if
maybe it was related to our "Peter the Great" case."
Police don't know, Ferguson said -- and that's one of the things under
investigation.
The main suspect in the Woodmark case had worked at the hotel for five days in
1990, police say, and may have had access to the hotel's computer access code.
Hotel officials suspected they had a hacker on their hands because phone
records indicate that the $500 credit was made via a telephone modem and not by
a keyboard at the hotel, Ferguson said. The problem was discovered after an
audit showed the $500 was never paid to the hotel.
So what happened during the free night at the Woodmark?
"They partied and made various phone calls, including nine to the University of
Washington," O'Brien said.
The calls to the university went to an answering machine at the Medical Center,
police say, and there is no indication the men were able to hack their way into
the university's computer system.
They were up to something, though, and police want to know what. "We're going
to start with the (19-year-old Bellevue) kid, and start from there," O'Brien
said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hacker Charged With Fraud February 14, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Kay Kusumoto (The Seattle Times)(Page F3)
"Teen Computer Whiz May Be Part Of A Ring"
"Peter the Great" played courier for "Nighthawk."
He was supposed to pick up a couple computers purchased with an unauthorized
credit-card number from a computer store in Bellevue, Washington last December.
He never finished the transaction. A suspicious clerk called police and
"Peter" was arrested for attempted theft.
But that was only the beginning.
The Issaquah teenager who went by the computer name "Peter the Great" was
charged yesterday in King County Juvenile Court with attempted theft,
possession of stolen property, telephone fraud and computer trespass..
The arrest of the 17-year-old computer whiz led Bellevue police on an
investigation into the underground world of computer hacking.
Police are still investigating the case and say they believe it involves
members of a large computer-hacking ring who use other people's credit-card
numbers to purchase computers and software.
Court documents allege the youth was after two $1,800 computers on December 3,
1991, the day he walked into a Bellevue computer store to pick up an order for
an unknown associate who went by the hacker moniker "Nighthawk."
The computers had been ordered with a credit-card number given over the phone
by a man identifying himself as Manuel Villareal. The caller told the clerk
that another man named Bill Mayer would pick up the order later in the day.
But a store clerk became suspicious when the youth, who said he was Bill Mayer,
"appeared very nervous" while he was inside the store, court papers state.
When the youth couldn't provide enough identification to complete the
transaction, the clerk told him to have Villareal come into the store and sign
for the computers himself.
After the youth left, the clerk called police, and "Peter" was arrested later
that day.
A search of his car revealed a torn up VISA card, several computer disks, two
more computers, a receipt from a computer store in Seattle and several pieces
of paper with credit-card numbers on them, court papers state.
The youth also had in his possession a red box, a device that simulates the
sound of coins dropping into a pay phone.
After his arrest, the youth told police that "Nighthawk" had telephoned the
computer store and used Villareal's name and credit-card number to make the
purchase in Bellevue.
The teen admitted to illegally using another credit-card number to order a
computer from a store in Seattle. The computer was picked up later by another
unknown associate.
The youth also told police that another associate had hacked his way into the
computer system of a mail-order house and circulated a list of 14,000 credit
card numbers through a computer bulletin board.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Computer Hackers Nabbed January 29, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Michael Rotem (The Jerusalem Post)
Four computer hackers were arrested and their equipment seized in raids by
police and Bezek security officers on four homes in the center and north of the
country. They were released on bail yesterday after questioning.
The four, two minors and two adults, are suspected of purloining passwords and
then breaking the entry codes of international computer services and toll-free
international telephone switchboards, stealing thousands of dollars worth of
services.
The arrests were made possible after National Fraud Squad officers joined
Bezek's efforts to discover the source of tampering with foreign computer
services.
A Bezek source told The Jerusalem Post that all four suspects had used personal
computers and inexpensive modems. After fraudulently obtaining several
confidential passwords necessary to enter Isranet -- Israel's national computer
network -- the four reportedly linked up to foreign public data banks by
breaking their entrance codes.
This resulted in enormous bills being sent to the password owners, who had no
idea their personal secret access codes had been stolen.
The four are also suspected of illegally obtaining secret personal credit
numbers used by phone customers to call abroad. The suspects reportedly made
numerous telephone conversations abroad worth thousands of shekels.
A police spokesman said cooperation between Bezek's security department and the
police National Fraud Squad will continue, in order to "fight these felonies
that cause great financial damage." Bezek spokesman Zacharia Mizrotzki said
the company is considering changing the secret personal passwords of network
users on a frequent basis.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Hackers Get Free Credit February 24, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Doug Bartholomew (Information Week)(Page 15)
Banks and retail firms aren't the only ones peeking at consumers' credit
reports. Equifax Inc., one of the nation's three major credit bureaus admitted
that some youthful computer hackers in Ohio had penetrated its system,
accessing consumers' credit files. And if it wasn't for a teenager's tip, they
would still be at it.
"We do not know how the hackers obtained the access codes, but we do know the
confidentiality requirements for membership numbers and security pass-codes
were breached," says a spokesman at Equifax. The company, which had revenue of
$1.1 billion in 1991, possesses a database of some 170 million credit files.
A customer number and access code must have been given to the teenagers, or
stolen by them, adds the spokesman, who says Equifax "plans to increase the
difficulty of accessing the system." Theft of computer access codes is a
federal crime.
Virtually No Protection
Critics of the credit agencies say such breaches are common. "There is
virtually no protection for those systems," says a spokesman for the Computer
Professionals for Social Responsibility, a Washington association. "If some
car salesman leaves the information sitting on his desk, someone could just
pick up the codes."
As of last week, Dayton police had made no arrests. But they searched the
homes of two young men, age 18 and 15, confiscating half a dozen PCs and
numerous floppy disks.
The two are thought by police to be part of a group of up to 50 hackers
believed to be behind the systems break-in. The group is also under
investigation for allegedly making $82,000 worth of illegal phone calls using
an 800 number provided to business customers of LDDS Communications Inc., a
long-distance service in Jackson, Mississippi. LDDS was forced to disconnect
the 800 number on November 15, 1991.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Two Cornell Students Charged In Virus Attacks February 26, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Grant Buckler (Newsbytes)
Also see Phrack 37, File 11 -- Phrack World News
Ithaca, New York -- Charges have been laid against two Cornell University
students accused of planting a virus that locked up Apple Macintosh computers
at Cornell, at Stanford University in California, and in Japan.
David S. Blumenthal and Mark Andrew Pilgrim, both aged 19, were charged in
Ithaca City Court with one count each of second-degree computer tampering, a
Class A misdemeanor. The investigation is continuing and additional charges
are likely to be laid, said Cornell University spokeswoman Linda Grace-Kobas.
Both students spent the night in jail before being released on bail February
25, Grace-Kobas added.
The MBDFA virus apparently was launched February 14 in three Macintosh computer
games: Obnoxious Tetris, Tetriscycle, and Ten Tile Puzzle. Apparently, a
computer at Cornell was used to upload the virus to the SUMEX-AIM computer
archive at Stanford University and an archive in Osaka, Japan.
MBDFA is a worm, a type of computer virus that distributes itself in multiple
copies within a system or into connected systems. MBDFA modifies systems
software and applications programs and sometimes results in computer crashes,
university officials reported.
Reports of the MBDFA virus have been received from across the United States and
>from around the world, including the United Kingdom, a statement from the
university said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Judge Orders Hacker To Stay Away From Computers March 17, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Jim Mallory (Newsbytes)
DENVER, COLORADO -- A computer hacker who pleaded guilty to breaking into space
agency computer systems was ordered to undergo mental health treatment and not
use computers without permission from his probation officer.
The 24 year-old man, a resident of suburban Lakewood, was sentenced to three
years probation in what is said to be one of only five prosecutions under the
federal computer hacker law.
The man pleaded guilty last year to one count of breaking into a National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) computer, after NASA and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents tracked him down in 1990. Prosecutors
said the man had spent four years trying to get into computer systems,
including those of some banks.
Prosecutors said the man had gained access to a Defense Department computer
through the NASA system, but declined to give any details of that case. The
indictment did not explain what had occurred.
In the plea bargain agreement, the man admitted he gained access to NASA's
computers "by exploiting a malfunction in a public access NASA computer
bulletin board service."
The man was described as an unemployed loner who had spent most of his time
using a computer at home. The prosecutor was quoted as saying the man needed
counselling "on a social level and for personal hygiene."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hacker Journeys Through NASA's Secret World March 24, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Scripps Howard (Montreal Gazette)(Page A5)
"It became more like a game. How many systems can you break into?"
While tripping through NASA's most sensitive computer files, Ricky Wittman
suddenly realized he was in trouble. Big trouble.
He had been scanning the e-mail, electronic messages sent between two
scientists at one of NASA's space centers. They were talking about the
computer hacker who had broken into the system. They were talking about
Wittman.
Curiosity collapsed into panic.
"Logoff now!" 24-year-old Wittman remembers thinking as he sat alone in his
apartment, staring at his computer screen, in May 1990. "Hang up the phone.
Leave the house."
By then it was too late. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
computer detectives were on the trail. After 400 hours of backtracking phone
records, they found the Sandpiper Apartments in Westminster, Colorado.
And they found the inconspicuous third-floor apartment where Wittman -- using
an outdated IBM XT computer -- perpetrated the most massive hacking incident in
the history of NASA.
Last week a federal judge sentenced Wittman to three years' probation and
ordered him to undergo psychiatric counselling.
But perhaps the most punishing aspect to Wittman was the judge's order that he
not use computers without permission from a probation officer.
"That's going to be the toughest part," Wittman said. "I've become so
dependent on computers. I get the news and weather from a computer."
In his first interview since a federal grand jury indicted him in September,
Wittman expressed regret for what he had done.
But he remained oddly nonchalant about having overcome the security safeguards
designed by NASA's best computer minds.
"I'll level with you. I still think they're bozos," Wittman said. "If they had
done a halfway competent job, this wouldn't have happened."
Prosecutors didn't buy Wittman's argument.
"No software security system is foolproof," wrote assistant U.S. attorney
Gregory Graf. "If a thief picks the lock on the door of your home, is the
homeowner responsible because he didn't have a pick-proof lock on the front
door?"
Breaking into the system was just that easy, Wittman said, so much so that it
took him a while to realize what he had done.
He had been fooling around inside a public-access NASA computer bulletin-board
service in 1986, looking for information on the space-shuttle program. He
started toying with a malfunction.
"The software went blooey and dumped me inside," Wittman said. "At first, I
didn't know what happened. I pressed the help key. I realized after a while
that I was inside."
Somehow, Wittman -- then 18 -- had found a way to break out of the bulletin
board's menu-driven system and into a restricted-access area full of personal
files.
Once past the initial gate, it didn't take Wittman long to find the file of a
security manager. Wittman picked up a password for another system, and the
romp began.
"Then I started looking around, and it became more like a game," he recalled.
"How many systems can you break into?"
By the federal government's count, Wittman eventually hacked his way into 115
user files on 68 computer systems linked by the Space Physics Analysis Network.
His access extended as far as the European Southern Observatory in Munich,
Germany.
Given the chance, Wittman could have gone even farther, prosecutors contend. In
an interview with the FBI, Wittman told agents he accidently had come across
the "log on" screen for the U.S. controller of the currency. Wittman said he
didn't try to crack that password.
"The controller of the currency is a little out of my league," he said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Georgia Teenage Hacker Arrested March 19, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Jim Mallory (Newsbytes)
LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA -- A Georgia teenager has been arrested on charging of
illegally accessing data files of several companies in a attempt to inject a
computer virus into the systems.
The alleged computer hacker, who was originally charged with the illegal access
charges two weeks ago, was re-arrested on felony charges at his high school
this week on the additional charges of attempting to infect the computer
systems.
The 18-year old boy allegedly broke into computers of BellSouth, General
Electric Company, IBM, WXIA-TV in Atlanta, and two Gwinnett County agencies,
who were not identified.
The boy's 53-year-old mother was also arrested, charged with attempting to
hinder her son's arrest by trying to have evidence against him destroyed.
Computer users' awareness of computer viruses was heightened recently over the
so-called Michelangelo virus, which some computer security experts thought
might strike tens of thousands of computers, destroying data stored on the
system's hard disk. Perhaps due to the massive publicity Michelangelo
received, only a few hundred PCs in the US were struck.
Hackers access computers through telephone lines. Passwords are sometimes
obtained from underground bulletin boards, are guessed, or can be obtained
through special software programs that try thousands of combinations, hoping to
hit the right one.
A recent Newsbytes story reported the conviction of a Denver area resident, who
was sentenced to three years probation and ordered not to use computers without
permission after attempting to break into a NASA (National Aeronautics and
Space Administration) computer.
Officials and victims are usually reluctant to give details of computer break-
ins for fear of giving other would-be hackers ideas.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Hacker Surveillance Software March 21, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Susan Watts, Technology Correspondent for The Independent (Page 6)
"Hacker 'Profiles' May Curb Computer Frauds"
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is dealing with computer hackers as it
would rapists and murderers -- by building "profiles" of their actions.
Its computer researchers have discovered that, in the same way that other
offenders often favour the same weapons, materials or times of day to
perpetrate their crimes, hackers prefer to use trusted routines to enter
computer systems, and follow familiar paths once inside. These patterns can
prove a rich source of information for detectives.
The FBI is developing a modified version of detection software from SRI
International -- an American technology research organization. Teresa Lunt, a
senior computer scientist at SRI, said hackers would think twice about breaking
into systems if they knew computer security specialists were building a profile
of them. At the very least, they would have to constantly change their hacking
methods. Ms. Lunt, who is seeking partners in Britain to help develop a
commercial version of the software, believes hackers share with psychotic
criminals a desire to leave their hallmark.
"Every hacker goes through a process peculiar to themselves that is almost a
signature to their work," she said. "The FBI has printed out long lists of the
commands hackers use when they break in. Hackers are surprisingly consistent
in the commands and options they use. They will often go through the same
routines. Once they are in they will have a quick look around the network to
see who else is logged on, then they might try to find a list of passwords."
SRI's software, the development of which is sponsored by the US Defense
Department, is "intelligent" -- it sits on a network of computers and watches
how it is used. The software employs statistical analysis to determine what
constitutes normal usage of the network, and sets off a warning if an
individual or the network behaves abnormally.
A more sophisticated version of the program can adapt itself daily to
accommodate deviations in the "normal" behavior of people on the network. It
might, for example, keep track of the number of temporary files created, or how
often people collect data from an outside source or send out information.
The program could even spot quirks in behavior that companies were not
expecting to find.
The idea is that organizations that rely on sensitive information, such as
banks or government departments, will be able to spot anomalies via their
computers. They might pick up money being laundered through accounts, if a
small company or individual carries out an unusually large transaction.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 14 of 15
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Phrack World News PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Issue XXXVIII / Part Two of Three PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Compiled by Dispater & Friends PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Special Thanks to Datastream Cowboy PWN
PWN PWN
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
What's Wrong With The Computer Crime Statute? February 17, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Thomas A. Guidoboni (ComputerWorld)(Page 33)
"Defense and prosecution agree the 1986 Computer Fraud
and Abuse Act is flawed but differ on how to fix it."
It has become an annual ritual, since the birth of the Internet worm, for
Congress to consider amendments to the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. At
this point, the U.S. Department of Justice can be expected to advocate three
things: an expansion of the federal role in the investigation and prosecution
of computer crimes, the creation of new categories of offenses, and harsher
penalties, including perhaps the current darling of the department, forfeiture
of property.
Since the law is of recent origin, was substantially revised in 1986 and proved
more than adequate to prosecute and convict Robert T. Morris, there seems
little justification for expansion of its coverage.
Nevertheless, if Congress is determined to review and revise the provisions of
the act, there are several narrow, but significant, amendments that are clearly
warranted. Of primary importance is the definition of terms. The core of the
law suffers from a lack of clarity. Offenses are described by reference to
"authorized" or "unauthorized access," yet these terms are not defined
anywhere.
Perilously Vague
In a universe that consists of broad computer networks, bulletin boards, E-mail
and anonymous file-transfer protocols, and one in which permissions and rights
are established by custom, usage and private understandings, a person is left
to speculate at his peril as to what conduct is permitted and what is
prohibited by this vague language.
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act should be amended to give precise content to
the concepts of "access" and "authorization," thereby providing fair warning of
illegal conduct.
A second change for the better regarding the act would be to create a
distinction between those computer intruders who unintentionally cause a
monetary loss and those who maliciously cause such harm.
The present law, as interpreted in the Morris case, recognizes no such
distinction. This is contrary to long-standing notions of fairness in our
system of criminal law, which acknowledges that between two persons who cause
the same harm, the one who intended that result is more culpable than the one
who did not.
A third part of the statute that needs revision relates to computerized medical
records. It is too broad because it includes as felonious conduct the
unauthorized access to such records that "potentially modifies or impairs"
medical treatment or care. Virtually every unauthorized access to computers
containing medical records carries this potential. A better solution would be
simply to make any "unauthorized access" of computerized medical records data a
misdemeanor, with the intentional modification or destruction of such data
designated as a felony.
Amend, But Don't Expand
These slight but important amendments would serve to clarify and improve a
basically sound law without stifling the creativity of persons akin to those
who have been responsible for many of the advances in computer technology in
this country. More expansive revisions are ill-advised, as they may
unnecessarily encroach on evolving privacy and free-expression interests.
A broadening of federal involvement is also inappropriate. Nearly every state
has enacted laws against computer fraud and abuse and, as Congress recognized
in 1986, federal jurisdiction should be limited to cases where there is a
compelling federal interest. This might include instances where computers
belonging to the federal government or to financial institutions are involved,
or cases where the crime itself is interstate in nature. Furthermore, other
computer crimes should be left to prosecution by the individual states, as is
presently the case.
In sum, the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act would benefit from some
clarification, but expansion of its coverage and wholesale revisions are both
ill-advised and unnecessary.
Note: Thomas A Guidoboni is an attorney with Bonner & O'Connell in Washington,
D.C. He represented Robert T. Morris in the Internet virus case.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Private Social Security Data Sold to Information Brokers February 29, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By R.A. Zaldivar (San Jose Mercury News)
Washington, D.C. -- The privacy of 200 million Americans with records at the
Social Security Administration is threatened by an illegal trade in pilfered
computer files. Computerization has dramatically improved our ability to serve
the public," Social Security Deputy Commissioner Louis Enoff told a Senate
panel. "However, it has also made confidentiality more difficult."
Two executives of Nationwide Electronic Tracking, a Tampa, Florida, company,
pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in January for their part in a national
network selling Social Security records. Twenty-three people, including agency
employees and police officials, have been indicted in the case -- the largest
known theft of government computer data. "Information brokers" will pay Social
Security employees $25 for a person's earnings history and then sell the data
for as much as $300. Their growing list of customers includes lawyers, private
investigators, employers, and insurance companies.
Social Security records contain a mother lode of information that includes not
only a person's past earnings but names of employers, family history and even
bank account numbers of people who receive benefits by direct deposit. The
information can be used to find people or to make decisions on hiring, firing,
suing or lending, said Larry Morey, deputy inspector general of the Health and
Human Services Department.
"Here we have a large-scale invasion of the Social Security system's
confidentiality," said Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, D-N.Y., chairman of the
Social Security subcommittee.
Information from other government data bases with records on individuals --
such as the FBI's National Criminal Information Center -- is also available on
the underground market. All a broker needs is the cooperation of a clerk at a
computer terminal.
Congress may revise privacy laws to increase penalties for illegally disclosing
information in the private files of individuals.
Enoff said Social Security is studying ways to improve computer security, as
well as keeping closer tabs on employees with access to files, and stressing to
its workers that unauthorized disclosure of information is a federal crime.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Related articles can be found in Phrack World News, Issue 37, Part One:
Indictments of "Information Brokers" January 1992
Taken from The Privacy Journal
SSA, FBI Database Violations Prompt Security Evaluations January 13, 1992
By Kevin M. Baerson (Federal Computer Week)(Pages 1, 41)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Back to Act I March 3, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Communications Daily (Page 2)
"Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling That FCC Ban On Indecency Is Unconstitutional"
FCC's 24-hour ban on indecent programming is unconstitutional, U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in refusing to consider unanimous U.S. Appeals Court, D.C.,
decision. Supreme Court action also effectively overruled December 1988 rider
to Senate appropriations bill directing FCC to ban all indecent programming.
Last summer, en banc Appeals Court had refused to reconsider May decision by
unanimous 3-judge panel that FCC ban is unconstitutional.
FCC, with support of Justice Department, had asked Supreme Court to reconsider
case. Coalition of 14 intervenors, including Action for Children's TV (ACT),
had opposed FCC in Appeals Court and Supreme Court. En banc Appeals Court said
that none of 13 judges who participated "requested the taking of a vote" on
whether to rehear case. On Supreme Court, Justices Sandra O'Connor and Byron
White voted to reconsider case. FCC's definition of indecency: "Language or
material that depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by
contemporary community standards . . . sexual or excretory activities or
organs." Agency has fined several stations for indecent programming in the
last year.
With loss in Supreme Court, FCC official told us "we don't have any choices
left" but to permit such programming to be broadcast. "We're back to Act I."
Source predicted, and other FCC officials agreed, that agency soon will issue
rulemaking to make a ban on indecent programming later than 8 p.m. Same
sources expect Congress once again to take up issue.
ACT President Peggy Charren said: "It's very exciting for ACT to have won one
for the First Amendment. We always knew it's preposterous for the FCC to try
to ban speech at 3 o'clock in the morning to protect children . . . It's very
satisfying to have this particular [conservative] Supreme Court agree with us."
NAB (which also was intervernor in case) Associate General Counsel Steve
Bookshester said Supreme Court "correctly" acted in not reviewing lower court
decision: "Now, it's up to the Commission to adopt new procedures to determine
when such material is permitted to be broadcast." Washington attorney Timothy
Dyk, who represented intervenors, said: "I think it's a very happy result . . .
The Court of Appeals decision is exactly where it should be in terms of a safe
harbor."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Drug Enforcement Data Are Vulnerable Through Phone Lines March 4, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Communications Daily (Page 5)
Classified information in computers of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is
at risk, General Accounting Office (GAO) said in a report. It said DEA doesn't
provide adequate protection of classified information because too many people
have access to computers that store data, and computers with classified
information are hooked into nonsecure telephone lines, making them vulnerable
to outside intrusion.
Report, Computer Security: DEA Is Not Adequately Protecting National Security
Information (GAO/IMTEC-92-31), said it found several instances of lax physical
and electronic security at DEA computers in several locations. Although there
are no known instances of security breaches, "these disturbing security
weaknesses pose serious risks that could potentially hinder DEA's mission and
threaten the lives of federal agents," the report said. The report found that
DEA isn't complying with standard security guidelines outlined by National
Security Agency.
In preliminary findings, GAO was so concerned with security weaknesses that it
called in Department of Justice on January 9 and furnished it with a "limited
official use" version of its report to give DEA time to correct problems, said
Rep. Wise (D-W.Va.), chairman of House Government Operations Subcommittee, who
ordered the investigation. He said other government agencies should be wary of
sharing information with DEA until security problems have been eliminated.
Calls to DEA on progress of follow-up security procedures weren't returned.
Findings are "indicative" of typical "apathetic security attitude" that the
government has, said David Banisar, security expert for Computer Professionals
for Social Responsibility.
GAO investigators found DEA couldn't adequately identify what computers used
classified information. "DEA cannot ensure that adequate safeguards are in
place for protecting national security information," report said. In spite of
federal guidelines, GAO found that DEA hasn't "completed a risk analysis" of
computer system. Some classified computers were found to be operated in areas
where contractors -- with no security clearances -- moved around with no
restrictions. No computers were found to be "tempest" hardened, meaning
electronic emissions from keyboards can't be picked up.
In light of concern on outside intrusion from "hackers," GAO found several DEA
computers were connected by phone lines "that are not encrypted" -- which it
described as clear violation of national security guidelines. The report said
"unauthorized individuals can intercept or monitor information emanating from
and transmitted by" the agency without being detected. Classified information
was found to be stored on hard disks in an "inadvertent" manner, allowing for
the possibility that computers, when resold, still might hold data. One such
occurrence, recorded by GAO in its report, occurred last year when sensitive
grand jury information on informants was left on surplus computers sold by DoJ
at a public auction.
The report said that DEA has acknowledged weaknesses "and is taking action to
correct them."
_______________________________________________________________________________
BBS Controversy Brews Close To Home March 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Puget Sound Computer User
Special Thanks: Peter Marshall in Telecom Digest
In a case before the Public Utility Commission of Oregon, US West is
maintaining three phone lines connected to a free-access BBS in a residence
should be billed at business rates. Because of the similarities in tariffs
>from state to state and US West's position in the case, many are predicting
that if US West prevails, the company will be authorized to raise all Oregon
BBS lines to business rates and try to raise rates for BBS lines in US West's
remaining 13 states.
The case started when Tony Wagner, a Portland system operator, received a
letter from US West in October, 1991. In the letter, Communications Consultant
Sandi Ouelette said "Bulletin board services are considered a business,
therefore, subject to business rates ..."
One Seattle attorney interested in telecommunications said these attempts by
the phone companies to raise rates for BBSes are "just another attempt to swipe
people's communication."
_______________________________________________________________________________
1-800-54-PRIVACY March 10, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Communications Daily
American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA) President Cathleen Black asked
American Paper Institute to support the newspaper industry's fight against
RHCs, warning that the market for paper could drop if phone companies are
allowed to expand activities into information services. Increased electronic
classified ads and other services could lead to cutbacks in demand for
newsprint, Black said. Newspaper producers, traditionally allied with ANPA,
said they would study the matter.
Meanwhile, full-page newspaper ads placed by ANPA and allied Consumer
Federation, Graphic Communications International Union, National Newspaper
Association, and Weatherline have generated thousands of calls to an 800 number
>from readers concerned about potential invasions of privacy by telephone
companies. The latest ad ran in the March 7 Washington Post, under the
headline: "Unless they're stopped, the Bells will know more about you than
even the IRS." The ad advised callers to dial 1-800-547-7482, referred to in
the telephone message as "1-800-54-privacy."
Gary Slack, of the Chicago PR firm Slack, Brown & Myers, which is coordinating
the 800 campaign, said that the angle in the ad has become an effective weapon
against RHCs because "there are a lot of people concerned about privacy."
Callers are sent a 4-page letter signed by Black and "action guidelines" for
asking legislators to support bills by Representative Cooper (D-Tenn.)
(HR-3515) and Senator Inouye (D-Hawaii) (S-2112) that would restrict RHC entry
into information services. ANPA has argued that, through data on telephone
bills, information can be collected about callers.
RHCs didn't have the incentive to use that data before, but now with the
ability to offer information services, they do, ANPA said. ANPA generally
doesn't pay for ads, but offers them to newspapers to run when they have space,
a spokesman said. Pacific Telesis Vice-President Ronald Stowe said ANPA ads
"show desperation and questionable ethics." He said ANPA is using some of same
tactics it has accused RHCs of using, including collecting information on
subscribers. ANPA ads are "really sewer-level stuff," Stowe said: "There are
enough legitimate issues that ought to be debated."
*** Editor's Note: For more information on this story, please see "Standing Up
To Fight The Bells" by Knight Lightning in this issue of Phrack.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Missouri Bulletin Board Case Settled March 24, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Communications Daily (Page 6)
Southwestern Bell in Missouri has filed a new tariff with the Missouri Public
Service Commission (PSC) to allow computer bulletin board (BBS) operators to
use residential lines. The tariff would take effect April 10 if there are no
complications. Under proposal, the BBS operators at homes would be allowed to
continue to use residence lines if they don't "solicit or require any
remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for access" and use 4 or
fewer residential lines priced at flat rates.
BBSes that don't meet those requirements would be required to use business
lines. The tariff, negotiated between SWB and representatives of BBS
operators, defines a BBS as "a data calculating and storage device(s) utilized
as a vehicle to facilitate the exchange of information through the use of
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company facilities." BBS language is part of a
high-grade Information Terminal Service originally aimed at business users with
computers, but interpreted by BBS operators as targeted at them. SWB
originally had wanted to make the new service mandatory for computers with
modems, but the new proposal, submitted March 11, makes it optional.
*** Editor's Note: For more information, please see the numerous articles on
this topic in Phrack World News, Issue 37, Part 3.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In a surprising turn of events, the April 14, 1992 issue of Communications
Daily reports that U.S. West in the state of Washington has decided not to
follow the example of Oregon attempt to raise rates for electronic bulletin
board (BBS) hobbyists.
Patsy Dutton, consumer affairs manager for Washington Utilities &
Transportation Commission (WUTC), asked U.S. West about its policy after
receiving request from BBS operators.
In a letter dated March 31 to system operator Bruce Miller, Dutton said she had
reviewed U.S. West tariff and had talked with company representatives as to
current and future plans for BBS service: "The company indicates it has no
intention of changing its current procedure." Residential service would be
available for hobbyists, with business rates applying under other conditions.
An Oregon PUC law judge is currently considering complaint against U.S. West
for raising rates of bulletin board operators there.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Congress Explores Dropping Subsidy of Federal Science Network March 13, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from Communications Daily (Page 6)
"Fairness For All Is Urged"
In hearing, Representative Boucher (D-Va.) questioned National Science
Foundation (NSF) on its management policies and future direction of NSFnet,
national research network. He said it's "essential" that NSFnet be structured
so all commercial providers of network services "receive equal treatment" and
that government policy for managing the network "not favor any provider" or set
of providers.
The current process of using federal money to subsidize NSFnet is "obsolete"
said Mitchell Kapor, representing Commercial Internet Exchange (CIX)
Association, a consortium of commercial network services suppliers. Although
federal money was necessary in the "early stages," when technology for building
the network still was "experimental," now that the network is in place,
government subsidy should stop, Kapor said. He said CIX members can provide
"any level of service" needed by the same community served by NSFnet --
research and education. Kapor said CIX members could build and service
national backbones with "off-the-shelf" technology; however, he said, because
federal money goes to support the current network backbone, NSFnet users are
allowed on the network free and don't have an incentive to use commercial
services.
William Schrader, president of Performance Systems International (PSI), said
government could level the playing field by providing money directly to
individual universities and letting them choose, on a "free-market" basis,
which network service provider to use. That system, he said, would provide
incentive for several suppliers to upgrade networks in efforts to corral most
customers. Kapor said it also would "push the envelope" of technology to an
even greater level. With the current system in place, the technological level
of the network will evolve more slowly because there would be no incentive to
provide a higher level of service, he said.
Current users of NSFnet spoke against changing the status quo. Michael
Roberts, VP-networking for Educom, a task force of 48 universities, said that
removing funding for the network would be "horrendous." By requiring
individual universities to seek out their own service providers, he said,
government would have to institute another level of bureaucracy, creating
"thousands of entitlements," which would be impossible logistically. Douglas
Van Houweling, speaking for NSFnet manager Merit, said removal of funding most
likely would upset the networks' level of stability, leading to disruption in
service that "millions of users" have become accustomed to. By letting "any
number" of commercial providers supply network services, there would be no
guarantee of level of service, which is a "vital" mission of research labs,
universities and federal agencies now using the network, Van Houweling said.
Federal agencies would rather have a stable network than improved service, said
Stephen Wolff, director of NSF's Networking & Communications Division. He told
Boucher that federal agencies didn't want the network open to competition
because they feared it would degrade the quality of service. Wolff said NSF
would proceed with its plan to commercialize network "within 5 years" as
requested under the recently voted High-Performance Computing Act. He also
said he had presented to universities the idea of providing them with federal
money and letting them purchase network services in the free market. The
proposal was "soundly rejected," he said, because universities didn't feel they
were able to make such decisions. Instead, they supported NSF's current
proposal of rebidding network management so that 2 network providers would be
in place. The new system would operate on model of government's FTS 2000
program. NSF would grant awards for network services to 2 companies and have an
independent 3rd party act as "traffic manager" to ensure one network provider
wasn't favored over another.
_______________________________________________________________________________
MCI and Sprint Take Steps To Cut Off Swindlers April 1, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Kent Gibbons (The Washington Times)(Page C1)
MCI and Sprint are cracking down on telephone fraud.
The two long-distance carriers are tackling different kinds of swindles,
though:
* MCI said it will stop sending out bills for pay-per-call operators who
promise help getting a loan, credit, a credit card or a job.
* Sprint said it will offer large business customers a form of liability
insurance against unauthorized use of corporate switchboard lines.
MCI Communications Corporation of the District said it wanted to protect
consumers who might be gulled into overpaying for some "900-number" services
during economic troubles.
But long-distance carriers are also guarding their own bottom lines by
tightening up pay-per-call standards, said telecommunications analyst James
Ivers.
"They're acting fiscally responsibly because traditionally, these were the
types of programs that created a high level of uncollectible" bills when
ripped-off consumers refused to pay, said Mr. Ivers, senior analyst with
Strategic Telemedia, a consulting firm in New York.
Last September, Sprint Corporation, of Kansas City, MO, told more than 90
percent of its 900-number customers it would no longer do their billing. Long-
distance firms cannot refuse to carry pay-per-call services, but most 900-
number operators do not want the expense and trouble of doing their own
collections.
American Telephone & Telegraph Co., of New York, said it has set up strict
guidelines for all 900-number firms, such as disclosing in advertising any fees
charged for credit processing.
AT&T spokesman Bob Nersesian said: "We still think there are legitimate
providers of this kind of service and our guidelines keep the dishonest guys
off the network."
Sprint's switchboard-fraud liability protection is aimed at big customers,
whose Sprint bills are more than $30,000 per month.
For an installation fee (up to $5,000) and a monthly charge (also up to
$5,000), Sprint will absorb fraudulent phone charges above $25,000 per
switchboard. The customer pays the first $25,000. Sprint's liability ends at
$1 million.
Large and medium-sized companies can rack up huge bills if their private
switches, known as private branch exchanges or PBXes, are broken into and used
to make calls to other countries.
In a recent case, more than 20,000 calls were made on a company's PBX over a
weekend, with the charges estimated at more than $1 million, said M.R. Snyder,
executive director of Communications Fraud Control Association, a Washington
trade group.
"It is certainly a fraud target that is ripe for being abused," Ms. Snyder
said, especially since telephone carriers have improved their ability to spot
unauthorized credit-card calls more quickly.
Overall, telecommunications fraud costs phone carriers and customers an
estimated $1.2 billion per year, although the figure is really just a
"guesstimate," Ms. Snyder said.
Company PBXes often have features that allow traveling employees, or distant
customers, to call in and tap an outgoing line. With computer programs,
hackers can randomly dial numbers until they hit security codes.
Sometimes the codes are only four digits, so hackers don't even need a
computer, said Bob Fox, Sprint's assistant vice president of corporate
security.
Along with the fees, customers must agree to take certain precautions. Those
include using security codes at least eight digits long and eliminating the
ability to tap outside lines through voice mail. In return, Sprint will also
monitor PBX use every day, instead of the five days per week currently done
free for customers, Mr. Fox said.
MCI spokesman John Houser said his company will be watching Sprint to see if
the program is a success. Spokesman Andrew Myers said AT&T offers fraud
protection to some corporate customers, but is not considering extending that
to cover PBX abuse.
AT&T is currently involved in several lawsuits over disputed PBX charges that
total "many millions" of dollars, Mr. Myers said. Sprint officials said they
have not sued any customers to collect on PBX fraud bills.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Sprint Offers Liability Limit For Corporate Phone Fraud April 1, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Edmund L. Andrews (New York Times)(Page D4)
The Sprint Communications Company, the nation's third-largest long-distance
carrier, said that it would limit the liability of large corporate customers
for the huge bills rung up by phone-service thieves who manipulate a company's
telephone switching equipment and voice-mail systems.
Typically, such thieves call into a company on one of its toll-free "800"
numbers and then figure out the codes necessary to obtain an outgoing line that
can be used to call anywhere in the world. These telephone "hackers" often
sell plundered telephone codes to illegal operators who then sell overseas
calls to hundreds of people at a time. Sprint officials said this sort of
fraud approached $1 billion a year.
The new Sprint plan would be available to companies that signed two-year
contracts to buy at least $30,000 of international long-distance service a
month and agreed to adopt a series of protective measures. These include
installing longer telephone codes that are harder for thieves to crack and new
limits on the ability of voice-mail systems to obtain outgoing lines.
In exchange, customers would be held responsible for no more than $25,000 in
stolen calls for each round of break-ins, and a maximum limit of $1 million a
year. Although that is still a substantial sum, it is much less than many
companies have lost in recent years from theft of service by telephone hackers.
A Point of Contention
Thieves broke into the switchboard of Mitsubishi International in New York in
1990, for example, and ran up $430,000 in overseas telephone calls. Procter &
Gamble lost $300,000 in a similar incident in 1988. Had either company been
operating under the new Sprint plan, its liability would have been limited to
$25,000.
Long-distance carriers and their corporate customers have long argued over who
should bear responsibility for the huge bills caused by service theft. The
carriers have maintained that their customers are responsible for these bills,
even if fraud is undisputed, arguing that the thieves took advantage of
weaknesses in the customers' equipment, rather than in the weaknesses of the
long-distance network itself.
But some corporate victims have argued that they had no idea their systems were
vulnerable, while others contend that they incurred big losses even after
adopting special security procedures.
MCI Moves Against '900' Fraud
In a separate issue involving telephone fraud, MCI Communications Corporation
said it would no longer provide billing services for companies that use "900"
numbers to offer credit cards, and that it would place tough new restrictions
on the use of 900 numbers to sell job-placement services, contests and
sweepstakes.
The long-distance company said its decision was based on numerous complaints
about abusive and fraudulent sales practices. Companies that provide
information through the use of telephone numbers with the 900 area code charge
callers a fee each time they call the number. MCI and other long-distance
companies carry these calls and bill customers on behalf of the company that
provides the information service.
Pam Small, an MCI spokeswoman, declined to say how much revenue the company
would lose because of the suspension. But she said the 900 services that would
be affected represented a small part of its pay-per-call business.
_______________________________________________________________________________
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 15 of 15
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Phrack World News PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Issue XXXVIII / Part Three of Three PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Compiled by Dispater & Friends PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Special Thanks to Datastream Cowboy PWN
PWN PWN
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
CFP-2: Sterling Speaks For "The Unspeakable" March 25, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen (Newsbytes)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Bruce Sterling, the prime luncheon speaker at the 2nd
Annual Conference On Computers Freedom & Privacy (CFP-2), fulfilled his program
billing as "Speaking for the Unspeakable" by taking on three separate persona
and delivering what might have been their messages.
Sterling, best known as a science fiction writer, spoke for three characters, a
"a malicious hacker," a Latin American police official, and a Hong Kong
businessman, who were, in his words, "too venal, violent, treacherous, power-
mad, suspicious, or meanspirited to receive (or accept) an invitation to
attend."
Sterling began his speech by introducing himself and then saying, "When the CFP
committee asked me if I might recommend someone to speak here at CFP-2, I had
an immediate candidate. I thought it would be great if we could all hear from
a guy who's been known as Sergei. Sergei was the KGB agent runner for the
Chaos Computer Club group who broke into Cliff Stoll's computer in the famous
Cuckoo's Egg case. Now Sergei is described as a stocky bearded Russian
espionage professional in his mid-40s. He's married, has kids and his hobby
is fishing, in more senses than one, apparently. Sergei used to operate out of
East Berlin, and, as far as I personally know, Sergei's operation was the
world's first and only actual no-kidding, real-life case of international
computer espionage. So I figured -- why not send Yelsin a fax and offer Sergei
some hard currency; things are pretty lean over at KGB First Directorate these
days. CFP could have flown this guy in from Moscow on a travel scholarship and
I'm sure that a speech from Sergei would be far more interesting than anything
I'm likely to offer here. My proposal wasn't taken up and instead I was asked
to speak here myself. Too bad!
"This struck me as rather a bad precedent for CFP which has struggled hard to
maintain a broad universality of taste. Whereas you're apparently willing to
tolerate science fiction writers, but already certain members of the computer
community, KGB agents, are being quietly placed beyond the pale. But you know,
ladies and gentlemen, just because you ignore someone doesn't mean that person
ceases to exist -- and you've not converted someone's beliefs merely because
you won't listen. But instead of Comrade Sergei, here I am -- and I am a
science fiction writer and, because of that, I rejoice in a complete lack of
any kind of creditability!
"Today I hope to make the best of that anomalous position. Like other kinds of
court jesters, science fiction writers are sometimes allowed to speak certain
kinds of unspeakable truth, if only an apparent parody or metaphor. So today,
ladies and gentlemen, I will exercise my inalienable civil rights as a science
fiction writer to speak up on behalf of the excluded and the incredible. In
fact, I plan to abuse my talents as a writer of fiction to actually recreate
some of these excluded, incredible unspeakable people for you and to have them
address you today. I want these people, three of them, to each briefly address
this group just as if they were legitimately invited here and just as if they
could truly speak their mind right here in public without being arrested."
Sterling then went on to assure the crowd that he was not speaking his personal
conviction, only those of his characters, and warned the group that some of the
material might be offensive. He then launched into the delivery of his
characters' speeches -- speeches which had the hacker talking about real damage
-- "the derailing of trains"; the Latin police official, a friend and admirer
of Noriega, discussing the proper way of dealing with hackers; and the
businessman explaining way, in the age of high speed copiers, laser printers
and diskette copying devices, the US copyright laws are irrelevant.
Often intercepted by laughter and applause, Sterling received a standing
ovation at the conclusion of the speech. Computer Press Association newsletter
editor Barbara McMullen was overhead telling Sterling that he had replaced
"Alan Kay as her favorite luncheon speaker," while conference chair Lance
Hoffman, who had received an advance copy of the speech a few weeks before,
described the speech as "incredible and tremendous".
Sterling, relaxing after the talk with a glass of Jack Daniels, told Newsbytes
that the speech had been fun but a strain, adding, "Next time they'll really
have to get Sergei. I'm going back to fiction."
Sterling's non-fiction work on computer crime, "The Hacker Crackdown" is due
out from Bantam in the fall and an audio tape of the CFP-2 speech is available
>from Audio Archives. He is the author of "Islands In The Net" and is the co-
author, with William Gibson, of the presently best-selling "The Difference
Engine."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Bruce Sterling luncheon video tape is now available, sizzling, and
affordable to the Phrack readers.
$19.95 + $4 (shipping and handling)
Call now: (800)235-4922
or
CFP Video Library Project
P.O. Box 912
Topanga, CA 90290
Tell them you heard about it from The WELL and you'll get the above price.
_______________________________________________________________________________
CFP-2 Features Role-Playing FBI Scenario March 25, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Barbara E. McMullen (Newsbytes)
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- As part of the "Birds-of-a-Feather" (BOF) sessions featured
at the 2nd Conference on Computers, Freedom & Privacy (CFP-2), FBI Agent J.
Michael Gibbons, acting as a live gamemaster, orchestrated the play-acting of
an investigation by federal agents into allegations of computer intrusion and
criminal activity.
The scenario, set up by Gibbons to show the difficulties faced by investigators
in balancing the conducting of an investigation with a protection of the rights
of the individual under investigation, was acted out with non-law enforcement
officials cast in the role of investigators; New York State Police Senior
Investigator Donald Delaney as "Doctor Doom," the suspected ringleader of the
computer criminals; Newsbytes New York Bureau Chief John McMullen as a
magistrate responsible for considering the investigators' request for a search
warrant; and author Bruce Sterling as a neighbor and possible cohort of Doctor
Doom.
Gibbons, in his role of Gamemaster, regularly intercepted the action to involve
the audience in a discussion of what the appropriate next step in the scenario
would be -- "Do you visit the suspect or get a search warrant or visit his
school or employer to obtain more information? Do you take books in the search
and seizure? Printers? Monitors? etc." During the discussion with the
audience, points of law were clarified by Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier
Foundation in-house counsel, and Alameda County Assistant District Attorney
Donald Ingraham.
The role-playing session immediately followed a BOF panel, "Hackers: Why Don't
They Understand" which attempted to present a hacker view of on-line ethics.
The panel, moderated by McMullen, was composed of Steven Levy, MacWorld
columnist and author of "Hackers"; Dorothy Denning, Chair of Computer Science
at Georgetown University; Glenn Tenney, California Congressional candidate and
chair of the annual "Hacker's Conference"; Craig Neidorf, defendant in a
controversial case involving the electronic publishing of a stolen document;
"Dispater," the publisher of the electronic publication "Phrack"; Emmanuel
Goldstein, editor and publisher of "2600: The Hacker Quarterly," and hacker
"Phiber Optik."
During the panel discussion, Levy, Denning and Tenney discussed the roots of
the activities that we now refer to as hacking, Goldstein and Dispater
described what they understood as hacking and asked for an end to what they see
as overreaction by the law enforcement community, Neidorf discussed the case
which, although dropped by the government, has left him over $50,000 in debt;
and Phiber Optik described the details of two searches and seizures of his
computer equipment and his 1991 arrest by Delaney.
In Neidorf's talk, he called attention to the methods used in valuing the
stolen document that he published as $78,000. He said that it came out after
the trial that the $78,000 included the full value of the laser printer on
which it was printed, the cost of the word processing system used in its
production and the cost of the workstation on which it was entered. Neidorf's
claims were substantiated by EFF counsel Godwin, whose filing of a motion in
the Steve Jackson cases caused the release of papers including the one referred
to by Neidorf. Godwin also pointed out that it was the disclosure by
interested party John Nagle that the document, valued at $78,000, was
obtainable in a book priced at under $20.00 that led to the dropping of the
charges by the US Attorney's office.
SRI security consultant Donn Parker, one of the many in the audience to
participate, admonished Phiber and other hackers to use their demonstrated
talents constructively and to complete an education that will prepare them for
employment in the computer industry. Another audience member, Charles Conn,
described his feeling of exhilaration when, as a 12-year old, he "hacked" into
a computer at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken. Conn said "It was wonderful. It
was like a drug. I just wanted to explore more and more."
Parker later told Newsbytes that he thought that it was a mistake to put
hackers such as Phiber Optik and those like Craig Neidorf who glorify hackers
on a panel. Parker said, "Putting them on a panel glorifies them to other
hackers and makes the problem worse."
The Birds-of-a-Feather sessions were designed to provide an opportunity for
discussions of topics that were not a part of the formal CFP-2 program.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Computer Revenge A Growing Threat March 9, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld (Dallas Morning News)
Article in the Chicago Tribune, Page C3
The "downsizing" of corporate America is not only making companies lean and
mean.
It's doing the same thing to employees losing their jobs, said Thomas F. Ellis,
a partner in Arthur Andersen & Co.'s Computer Risk Management Services.
He looks at the latest form of revenge by employee against former employer.
Fraud, embezzlement and theft of secrets are no longer the only forms of
frustrated payback. The calling card in the digital age is computer sabotage.
It's an invisible epidemic that corporations don't like to talk about while
they're trying to convince banks and creditors they are becoming more efficient
by downsizing, said Ellis and William Hugh Murray, information systems security
consultant to Deloitte & Touche, another of the Big Six accounting firms.
"A lot of the business trends in the U.S. are really threatening data
security," said Sanford M. Sherizen, a Natick, Massachusetts computer security
consultant. "Corporations are paying a huge price for it," without disclosing
it.
The downsizing has led to inadequate attention to security precautions, argues
Sherizen. The underlying trend: Fewer and fewer people are being given more
and more responsibility for information systems.
That breeds opportunity for revenge, said Sherizen. No longer does only the
supposedly misfit hacker, gulping down Cokes and Fritos in the middle of the
night, merit watching. Sherizen's worldwide set of clients have found that the
middle manager wearing the white shirt and tie in the middle of the day also
deserves scrutiny, he says.
Those managers, if mistreated, find it inviting to strike back creatively. The
VTOC, for example.
This is jargon for the Volume Table of Contents. This is a directory a
computer compiles to keep track of where programs and data are stored. A large
Andersen client was paralyzed recently when a VTOC in its information system
was scrambled by a downsizing victim, Ellis said.
"If you destroy the VTOC in a mainframe system, then you destroy the computer's
ability to go out and find programs and data, so you can pretty effectively
devastate a computer installation by destroying the VTOC, without ever touching
the programs and data," he said.
But those bent on revenge are not above leaving time bombs in computer systems
that will go off after their departure, destroying programs and data.
They also are appropriating information from magnetic memories and selling it
at hefty prices in the burgeoning field known euphemistically as "commercial
business intelligence," said Sherizen.
Most companies hush up these cases, because they fear copycat avengers will
strike when their vulnerability is exposed. They also don't like to be
publicly embarrassed, the security experts say.
Technical safeguards don't hold a candle to human safeguards, said Murray.
The best way to protect against sabotage is to prevent disaffection in the
first place. Treat as well as possible those who are being fired. Compensate
fairly those who are staying.
Show appreciation, day in and day out. Most revenge is slow to boil and comes
>from employees who finally conclude that their contributions are going
unrecognized, said Murray.
"Saying 'please' and 'thank you' are an incredibly important control" against
sabotage, he said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Computer Crime Problem Highlighted March 9, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Oscar Rojo (Toronto Star)(Page B3)
With the growing corporate dependence on computers, "information crimes" have
become easier to commit but harder to detect, says a Toronto-based security
company.
"Electronic intrusion is probably the most serious threat to companies that
rely on computerized information systems," Intercon Security Ltd. says in its
Allpoints publication.
Allpoints cited a study of 900 businesses and law enforcement agencies in
Florida showing that one of four businesses had been the victim of some form of
computer crime.
"While most of the media attention has focused on "hackers," individuals who
deliberately and maliciously try to disrupt business and government systems,
one estimate indicates that 75 per cent plus of electronic intrusion crimes may
be "insider attacks" by disgruntled employees," the publication said.
In Intercon's experience, vice-president Richard Chenoweth said the company is
as likely to find a corporate crime committed by a disgruntled employee as one
perpetrated by an outsider.
Intercon said the technology exists to guard against most electronic
intrusions. "The problem is that many information managers still don't believe
there is a risk, so they are not making the best possible use of what is
available."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Criminals Move Into Cyberspace April 3, 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Mick Hurrell (The Times)(Features Section)
The hacker and the virus programmer embodied the popular notion of computer
crime in the 1980s, and they are still the most widely known criminal acts in
computer technology.
The advent of new technologies over the past decade has created a whole new
casebook of serious crimes, but they have yet to gain the notoriety of computer
viruses such as Friday 13th or Michelangelo.
More then 3,000 computer crimes around the world in the past 20 years have now
been documented by SRI International (SRII), a Californian information security
consultancy. They include attempted murder, fraud, theft, sabotage, espionage,
extortion, conspiracy and ransom collection.
Against this disturbing background, Donn Parker, SRII's senior international
security consultant, is telling businesses they will be under increasing attack
>from sophisticated criminals using computer technology and from others intent
on causing disruption.
"New technology brings new opportunities for crime," he says. "We must
anticipate future types of crime in our security efforts before they become
serious problems."
His prospective list ranges from the annoying to the fraudulent, and includes
small computer theft, desktop forgery, digital imaging piracy, voice and
electronic mail terrorism, fax graffiti attacks, electronic data interchange
fraud, and placement of unauthorized equipment in networks.
Some of these crimes are more obvious than others. The advanced digital
imaging systems now being used in the television and film industry to create
spectacular special effects, for example, could become a new target for crime.
As digital imaging can alter video images seamlessly, the possibilities for
sophisticated fraud are numerous.
The theft of small computers and components has already increased. "I think
it will be worse than the typewriter theft problem of the 1970s and 1980s," Mr.
Parker says. "We are now teaching information-security people that they have
to learn how to protect small objects of high value. The content of the
computers could be more valuable than the hardware itself.
"I do not think the criminal community is yet aware of a computer's value other
than on the used equipment market, but ultimately some are going to figure out
that the contents the data are more valuable, which could lead to information
being used for extortion."
Desktop forgery is another crime that looks certain to boom and plague
businesses of all types. Desktop publishing software, combined with the latest
color laser printers and photocopiers, is proving an ideal forger's tool. Gone
is the dingy cellar with printing plates and press: Forgers can work from
comfortable offices or their own homes and produce more accurate fakes than
ever before.
Original documents can be fed into a computer using a scanner, then subtly
altered before being printed out. Business documents such as purchase orders
and invoices are obvious targets for the forgers, as are checks. The quality
of a forgery is now limited only by the paper on which it is printed.
Mr. Parker says: "As the technology gets cheaper and more available, this is
something that could flourish."
But although many of these new forms of computer crime bring with them the
possibility of increased business losses, one threat overshadows them all. "The
big security issues are going to involve networks and the connection of
computers to many others outside an organization," says Rod Perry, a partner
with Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte, the consultants.
The fear is that sophisticated criminals will take advantage of a clash between
the desire for system flexibility and the constraint necessarily imposed by
security. Mr. Perry adds: "The business need is paramount, and people will
accept the risk up to a point."
Networks are attractive because they allow information to be easily transferred
between users, and give free and easy access to data bases from many locations
within an organization that can extend across countries and continents. Making
them secure against interference from both outside and within is difficult.
Mr. Parker says: "Today's microcomputers and local and global networks have
left information security far behind. We are dealing with what we call
cyberspace. We are connecting our networks so that we now have a single
worldwide network of data communications.
"We have inadvertently freed the criminal from proximity to the crime. A
criminal can be anywhere in the world, enter cyberspace by computer, and commit
a crime anywhere else. The criminal is free to choose the jurisdiction area
>from which he works, to minimize the punishment if he gets caught."
The great concern, he says, is if technological advances result in an "anarchy
of conflicting security efforts. Consistent security practices should be
applied uniformly as well as globally.
"When organizations in different countries with different national laws,
different ways of valuing information assets, and different national ethical
customs, use equipment from different manufacturers in their networks, they
face the problem of matching their levels of security. They use the lowest
common denominator, which in some instances may be practically non-existent."
Some computer security consultants believe that network security headaches will
involve some restriction in how they are used. All agree that passwords no
longer offer appropriate forms of security.
Professor Roger Needham, of the University of Cambridge computing laboratory,
says: "At the moment, there is a lot of shoddy computer use, but it will
become more usual to take security seriously. In the world of doing business
with paper, there are a tremendous number of rules of practice and conduct that
are second nature; security procedures in the electronic medium will also have
to become second nature."
SRII is developing software for what it says will be the world's most
sophisticated detection system, designed to identify criminal users as they
commit their crime.
Called IDES (Intruder Detection using Expert Systems), it works on the basis
that a system intruder is likely to show a different behavior pattern from that
of a legitimate user. IDES is programmed with a set of algorithms that build
up profiles of how particular employees typically use the system. It can then
inform the company's security division if it identifies any significant
deviation.
IDES also monitors the whole system for failed log-in attempts and the amount
of processor time being used, and compares this with historical averages.
A future refinement will allow the system to profile groups of subjects so that
it can tell, for example, when a secretary is not behaving like a "typical"
secretary.
Business crime and computer crime will increasingly become one and the same,
Mr. Parker says. Security will be increasingly built in to systems and
"transparent" to the user.
"I think the overall loss to business from computer crime will decrease," he
says. "But the loss per incident will increase because the risks and the
potential gains will be greater."
_______________________________________________________________________________
PWN QuickNotes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. New Law Enforcement Bulletin Board (Government Technology, January 1992,
Page 17) -- St. Paul, Minnesota -- The International Association of Chiefs
of Police (IACP) and LOGIN Information Services has announced IACP NET, a
new computer network that will link law enforcement professionals
nationwide. The network uses advanced computer capabilities to foster and
empower IACP's belief that strength through cooperation is the key to the
success of law enforcement endeavors.
Communications services will be the interaction focus. An electronic mail
feature allows private messaging among IACP NET members. Exchange of ideas
will be encouraged and facilitated through electronic bulletin boards on
general subject areas and computer conferencing on specific topics.
Anchoring the communications service is the Quest-Response Service, a
service created and proven successful by LOGIN that allows members to post
and respond to requests for information in a formatted and accessible
manner.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. ATMs Gobble Bankcards In Colorado (Denver Post, February 19, 1992) -- About
1,000 Colorado ATM users had their Visas and Mastercards abruptly terminated
in February by an out-of-control computer system.
For 90 minutes during the President's Day weekend, the Rocky Mountain
Bankcard System software told ATMS around the state to eat the cards instead
of dishing out cash or taking deposits. The "once-in-a-decade" glitch went
unnoticed because it occurred as programmers were patching in a correction
to a different problem.
The company is rushing new plastic and letters of apology to customers who
got terminated.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. Minister Denies Hackers Tampered With Licence Records (Chris Moncrieff,
Press Association, January 27, 1992) -- Allegations that computer experts
hacked into the records of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in
Swansea are without substance and are to be retracted, Roads and Traffic
Minister Christopher Chope said.
He was responding in a Commons-written reply to Donald Anderson (Lab Swansea
East), who had asked what investigations had been made following a report
that hackers had been able to erase driving convictions from DVLA computer
files. Mr. Chope said, "The Agency has discussed the recent allegations
about unauthorized access to its computer records with the author of the
original Police Review article, who has confirmed that there is no substance
to them. "The author has agreed to retract the allegations in his next
article." Mr. Anderson commented, "The importance of this reply is that it
underlines the integrity of the system of driver-licence records held in
Swansea in spite of the allegations."
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. Software Virus Found At INTEL (New York Times News Service, March 3, 1992)
-- Intel Corporation said it had stopped shipping a computer network
software program because some units were found to be infected with the
"Michelangelo" virus, a program that infects IBM and compatible personal
computers and can potentially destroy data.
A division of Intel in Hillsboro, Oregon, said it had shipped more than 800
copies of the program, called LANSpool 3.01, which inadvertently contained
the virus. The virus is designed to activate on March 6, Michelangelo's
birthday, and can erase data and programs if it is not detected with
antiviral software.
The company said it had checked its software with a virus-scanning program
before shipping it, but that it had failed to detect the virus.
A number of computer makers and software publishers have issued similar
alerts about the Michelangelo program and a variety of companies are now
offering free software to check for the virus.
There are more than 1,000 known software viruses that can copy themselves
from computer to computer by attaching to programs and files.
_______________________________________________________________________________
5. Army Wants Virii (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, December 1991, Page 5)
"Attention Hackers, Uncle Sam Wants You!"
The U.S. Army has caught the computer virus bug and is now expanding its
interest in germ warfare to include electronic germs.
The Army Center for Signal Warfare is soliciting proposals for the
development of a "weaponized virus" or a piece of "malicious software" that
could destroy an enemy's computers or software (_Technology Review_, October
1991). As project engineer Bob Hein explained, "This is the army. We're in
the weapons business."
Hein said the army first became interested in the potential of computer
viruses as offensive weapons after Myron Cramer's 1989 article in _Defense
Electronics_ suggested that computer viruses offered "a new class of
electronic warfare." But Gary Chapman, director of Computer Professionals
for Social Responsibility, thinks it is more likely that the army's interest
was piqued by a French science fiction novel, _Soft War_, describing army
infiltration of Soviet computers.
Chapman, who called that army's plan to design killer computer viruses a
"stupid policy," said that any viruses the army comes up with are more
likely to paralyze the heavily networked U.S. computer system than to
infiltrate enemy computers.
Hein insisted that the army will develop only controllable and predictable
bugs that will not threaten U.S. computer users. Chapman pointed out that,
like the biological agents they are named for, computer viruses are, by
their very nature, uncontrollable.
_______________________________________________________________________________
6. BellSouth's MobilComm and Swiss watchmaker Swatch said they will form joint
venture to market wristwatch pager. The watch will cost about $200 and will
be sold in department stores. It will bear name of "Piepser," the German
word for "beeper," using 4 tones to signal the wearer. Each signal is
activated by a telephone number that owner assigns. In the 4th quarter of
year, Swatch said it plans to introduce a model that can display telephone
numbers. (Source: Communications Daily, March 5, 1992, Page 4)
_______________________________________________________________________________
7. U.S. District Judge Harold Greene denied several new motions by Nynex in a
criminal case being brought by the Justice Department, charging the phone
company with violating MFJ (Modified Final Judgment) through subsidiary
Telco Research. The government also filed a new motion of its own, later
denied, requesting Greene to hold a pretrial hearing to look into "actual or
potential conflicts of interest" resulting from individuals to be called as
witnesses for prosecution being represented by Nynex's law firm, Davis, Polk
& Wardwell. DoJ said: "It appears that Davis, Polk represents present and
former employes of Nynex in addition to the corporation." Nynex issued a
statement saying it's "confident" that the trial would "confirm to our
customers," shareholders, and the public that it has fully met its
responsibilities under MFJ. Greene, having dismissed Nynex motions, set
an April 6 trial date. (Communications Daily, March 24, 1992, Page 5)
_______________________________________________________________________________
8. US West has formed a subsidiary, US West Enhanced Services, that launched
its first product, Fax Mail. The subsidiary will develop other products for
the enhanced-services market, including voice, fax and data applications,
the company said. Test marketing of Fax Mail was conducted in Boise and was
product-introduced in Denver. US West described its new product as "voice
mail for faxes," in that it stores incoming faxes until the subscriber calls
in and instructs the service to print the waiting fax. Each fax mail
subscriber is supplied with a personal fax telephone number. When a fax is
received, Fax Mail can notify the subscriber automatically by depositing a
message in voice mail or beeping a pager. The service costs $19.95 per
month, US West said. (Communications Daily, March 24, 1992, Page 6)
_______________________________________________________________________________
9. Hacker Insurance -- Worried about the integrity of your bank's data network?
Relax. Commercial banks and other depository institutions can now obtain up
to $50 million in coverage for losses due to computer-related crime. A new
policy from Aetna Casualty and Surety Co. offers insurance against computer
viruses, software piracy, and toll-call fraud, among other high-tech rip-
offs. The Hartford, Connecticut insurer will also cover liabilities due to
service bureau and communications failures with Aetna Coverage for Computer
and Electronic Network Technology. Paul A. Healy, VP of Aetna's fidelity
bond unit, says "the policy will help institutions manage the risk
associated with the changing technology." (Information Week, March 30,
1992, Page 16)
_______________________________________________________________________________
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