344 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
344 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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THE SYNDICATE REPORT
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Information Transmittal No. 20
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(Part 2 of 2)
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Released January 31, 1989
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Featuring:
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Editor's Note
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How to Tap Fiber-Optic Cable
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Toll Fraud Literally on the Home
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Cracker's Love a Challenge
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Modems Annexed, ISDN In
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Briefs notes from The Report
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"CLID Going National"
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by The Sensei
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Editor Syndicate Report Magazine
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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EXPOSITION: TSR
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Once again, The Report accepts outside sources. Anybody can write/provide
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information to The Syndicate Report. Articles/Information may be provided
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through RADIO WAVES Bulletin Board System 612-471-0060. Any info such as
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Busts, Phreaking, Hacking, Data / Telecommunications, and new developments
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on any the previous mentioned specialties will be: accepted, labeled, and
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given full actual credit to the article/info provider(s), or writer(s). --
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** All articles have been presented by me unless shown at the end of the
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article as the information provider(s), or writer(s). **
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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HOW TO TAP FIBER-OPTIC CABLE: TSR (i.w 1\21)
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Fiber Optic networks, long touted for their immunity from snooping by
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foreign governments or local competitors, no longer offer the total security
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they once did, according to the experts who say that, given enough resources,
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any network can now be tapped.
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"Five years ago, I would have said that FO networks were totally secure,
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but that's no longer true," stated Northern Telecom. According to Northern
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Telecom, tapping a FO cable requires stripping the cable's plastic outer
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sheathing and gaining access to the glass fibers within. "When we enter a
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fiber bundle, we have instruments that detect whether a given fiber is carrying
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a signal before we cut it," North Telecom stated. "A tap could be
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accomplished in much the same way."
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Tapping an optical fiber relies on a macrobending effect. Bending a
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fiber 180 degrees around an 1/8-inch radius forces the contained light signal
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to go around a tighter bend than it's capable of traversing without some loss
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of light. This light loss can be detected and, given the right equipment,
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demultiplexed and decoded.
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"Our test instruments that clamps on the fiber show the escaping signal
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has a 30-dB dynamic range," Telecom said. "That's a signal level a thousand
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times stronger than background noise and easily capable of being demultiplexed.
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It's not an easy task, but it can be done."
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Given the reality that fiber can be tapped, Telecom said one security
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effort could be to detect the 3-dB signal loss on the fiber bundle that would
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typically accompany such a tapping. "Most fiber systems have a 10-dB window
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before an alarm sounds, so you either have to preattenuate the system so that a
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3-dB loss causes the alarm to sound or get some finer method of measurement."
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Other security measures suggested by Telecom include the use of air-core
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cables, which have pressurized air inside them. "If they cut through the cable
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to get to the fiber, air pressure is lost and an alarm sounds," Telecom says.
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Even steel or iron pipes ought to be pressurized for true security, and anyone
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who goes to the trouble of tapping fiber isn't going to be deterred by a little
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iron."
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There is a significant security advantage to fiber over other media,
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according to Northern Telecom. With coax (Coaxial Cable), or twisted pair
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(Normal Tele-lines), you can take the signals right out of the air. Sure you
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can tap a fiber-optic cable, but it's hard to do and fairly easy detected.
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First the bad guys have to get to the cable, which is usually in a secure run,
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and then they have to get the data, which is nearly always encrypted.
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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TOLL FRAUD LITERALLY ON THE HOME: TSR (z.b 1\25)
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According to Dennis E. Love, a northern California inventor and
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entrepreneur, telephone utility companies throughout the United States are
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unwittingly promoting telephone toll fraud by installing a new telephone line
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demarcation device on all new construction and every time a service is made.
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Love said the new device has an easily accessible standard phone jack
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that is located on the outside of the home and provides the opportunity for
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anyone to plug in a standard telephone and make calls that would be charged to
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the phone bill of the person whose phone line was attached to the new device.
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Love said he has evidence that this toll fraud is already occurring in
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California and that Pacific Bell, California's largest phone utility, is
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attempting to minimize the situation by denying that the problem exists.
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It should be noted that by California law, it is not against the law to
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engage in this toll fraud activity. If a person engaging in toll fraud were
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caught red-handed, he could only be charged with trespassing, even if the cost
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of the phone call was as great as that amount set to delineate grand theft.
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the only recourse for the victim would be a civil suit.
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Love said the whole thing started when the Federal Communications
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Commission deregulated portions of the telephone industry and broke up AT&T.
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At that time the FCC ruled that the first standard phone jack would serve as
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the demarcation point separating customer and phone utility responsibility.
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The device that the phone utilities are using, and that has been
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installed on about 400,000 homes in California to date, is manufactured by
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SIECOR U.S.A. and has a standard modular jack that serves as the first
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modular jack in the house. Unfortunately, it also provides a convenient way
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to commit telephone toll fraud.
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The FCC said that the SIECOR device submitted to the FCC meets the
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required specifications. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC),
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ordered Pacific Bell to go ahead with the SIECOR device. At that time the
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CPUC had not considered the toll fraud issue in making that order.
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Love said he has developed a device, the Station Release Breaker, or SRB,
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which satisfies all of the FCC requirements. In addition, it is well
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protected from the weather and does not allow for toll fraud.
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Love said he presented his device to the CPUC but has been waiting for
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over two years for a decision while the SIECOR device is being installed at an
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alarming rate.
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Love is currently forming a nationwide coalition, among consumer advocacy
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groups, against the installation of any device that uses a modular jack
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accessible to anyone that desires to use it.
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TURN, a San Francisco-based consumer group headed by Silvia Siegle, has
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thrown their support in Love's corner, as has UCAN, a San Diego-based consumer
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group headed by Mike Shames.
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In an effort to save the phone customers astronomical costs in toll fraud
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as well as the $1.1 billion that it will cost to retrofit the state of
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Calif., Love and his new-found supporters intend to file an emergency motion
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with the CPUC enjoining Pacific, General, and other utilities in the state
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from further installation of this "bothersome jack" until a decision is
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reached by the CPUC on the toll fraud issues.
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Love said it is not important to him that his device be the one used but
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that some device that allows the customers to test, diagnose, and re-establish
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their own phone service without the encouragement of toll fraud be approved.
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Love asked, "What would it be like to have every home in America with a jack
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on the outside so that whoever desired to do so could walk right up and plug
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in? Think about it."
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::::::::::::::: Information provided by Euclidean Wave / 415 :::::::::::::::
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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CRACKER'S LOVE A CHALLENGE: TSR (i.w 1\28)
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The only truly secure network is on that's locked up and physically
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isolated from the rest of the world. Short of that, "network security" becomes
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a relative term rather than an absolute one -- trading off the advantage of
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security against the problems it brings. In some cases, organizations
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deliberately limit the amount of system security, saying that having too much
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security simply sets up a challenge for hackers.
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The organizations most likely to use such a minimalist approach are
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universities. Universities have a large number of hackers as users -- the type
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of user most likely to look upon breaking through a security system as a
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problem to be solved, without malicious intent. And universities are dedicated
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to spreading information and thus have a philosophical difficulty with keeping
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it locked up. While such openness is less common in a nonacademic environment,
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it nevertheless exists. "Anyone in the world can dial in and get on my
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system," David Parks (AKA) Tom E Hawk who runs four BBS's California.
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"The more open my systems have been, the fewer problems I've had with hackers."
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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MODEMS ANNEXED, ISDN IN: TSR (fbs 1\30)
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When Dennis Hayes started his Atlanta-based Hayes Microcomputer Products
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in 1977 on a borrowed dining room table, the future seemed boundless. Hayes
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and his partner, Dale Heatherington, spent their evenings soldering together
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personal computer modems -- devices that allow computers to communicate via
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telephone lines. By 1984 privately held Hayes Microcomputer Products was
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commanding 55% of the personal computer modem market, with sales of more than
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100$ million. The expression "Hayes compatible" is now as standard in the PC
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modem as "IBM compatible" in the PC business.
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Hayes didn't invent modems. They date back to the '60s, as complicated,
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cranky devices that had to be taken apart and rewire every time their phone
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numbers and software changed. Hayes, who started his career installing these
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models all over rural Georgia for electric utility cooperatives, knew he could
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do better. He changed data communications forever by giving users the ability
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to control a modem with their software instead of a screwdriver.
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What about the danger that the so-called Integrated Services Digital
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Network (ISDN) will obviate the need for modems? Hayes swears he isn't going
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to sit back and watch modems turn into the buggy whips of the 21st Century.
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Instead, he is working on an ISDN circuit board that will plug into a PC,
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enabling it to support a telephone call, data communications and video
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transmission all at the same time. Explains Hayes: "Soon a modem will come to
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mean any device which connects a computer to the phone line - analog or
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digital." And he expects to remain "king of modems" in the broader sense, as
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he did of modems in the narrower sense.
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:::::::::::::::::: Information provided by The Teknition :::::::::::::::::::
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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THOMAS COVENANT CRACKED BY
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THE FEDERAL COMPUTER CRIME UNIT:
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Recently, about 3 weeks ago, the infamous Thomas Covenant was cracked by
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the FBI Computer Crime Unit. Apparently, the FBI caught TC completely off
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guard, thus found some sensitive information including: Hacking documents,
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PW's and Accounts, and other lists of information.
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In response, Digital Logic's Data Service and Phoenix Project will down
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for approximately 1-2 months to wait for the scene to blow over. The Ronz, who
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is another witnessed hacker, tells that Digital Data Logic Service (DLDS) has
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been packed up and buried inside of a Nuclear Waste Dumping Ground.
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As for Phoenix Project, its been taken down, but TSR is not sure of the
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total details. Anyways, it is hoped that this bust won't take too many systems
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down. From what The Ronz says, the FBI and "other" government agencies are
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going on a mass crackdown (as usual) in late January, which happens to be
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happening now according to sources. So far nothing has happened to TC, but
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only time will tell...
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-- UPDATE! ON TC BUST --
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Well about the Thomas Covenant bust, the whole ordeal is featured in
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Phrack Issue #23. This is the current story...
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TC was busted boxing (wire tapping) on his junction box in his apartment
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basement. He hooked into a certain line and, and he over heard a guy arguing
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with his wife. Unfortunately, this guy was a dangerous NSA (National Security
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Agency) employee. The NSA Agent had a measurable amount of equipment on his
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line to detect if it was being tapped. The NSA Agent prompted the police to
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catch Thomas Covenant in the fraudulent act. In turn, the cops turned upside
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down his apartment and seized PW files and other unknown bits of information.
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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THE WASP - BUSTED BY FEDS
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The WASP- who was hacking government computers (Defense related items) was
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caught by a line trace. The Federal Agents picked him up along with some
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highly illegal information. The Feds were also are looking for LOD namely Lex
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Luthor, and Phase Jitter relating to the bust. Lex talked with the Feds
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via code, and the air was cleared with the Feds, and with LOD.
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:::::::::::::::: Source on Busts by Professor Falken / 612 :::::::::::::::::
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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::::::::::::::::::::::::SYNDICATE REPORT BRIEF NOTES::::::::::::::::::::::::
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... TID BITS ON BELL ...
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// Service Tells 'Who is Ringin' //
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New Jersey Bell Telephone has decided to offer a service that will allow
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customers to determine if a phone call is for them - without picking up the
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phone. How to know: Different ring patterns. The service may start next month.
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Monthly fee: $4.50 for homes, 6.50$ for offices.
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_____________________________________________________________
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// Service Helps Social Security //
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MCI has created an 800 toll-free number program to help the Social Security
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Administration add about 6 million more beneficiaries by the 21st century. IN
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magazine says the MCI Advanced 800 Service and Menu Routing Service will take
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an estimated 50 million calls this year from people in the USA and Canada.
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_____________________________________________________________
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// New Jersey Bell - CLID //
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New Jersey Bell is introducing Caller ID, CLID, which produces an output of
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the callers Telephone Number on LCD Screens. The customer may block out phone
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prankers or annoying advertisers via CLID. The callers get a central-office
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recording telling them to buzz off. Currently 6 calls maybe blocked at one
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time only, with a price. If a 60.00$ device can capture phone number data from
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the phone line for display, another device could sit between a telephone line
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and a personal computer, trapping and storing incoming phone numbers.
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Both NJ Bell, and Nynex offer are offering the services nationally.
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::::::::::::: Information provided by The Sensei ::::::::::::
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_____________________________________________________________
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// Frequent Fliers Phone Flagging //
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An MCI-Northwest Airlines promotion started last September "has met and
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exceeded our expectations," says MCI's Brian Thompson. MCI and Northwest
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offered frequent fliers one mile for every $1 of calls. But other long-
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distance companies aren't rushing in. Sprint says the company is looking into
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the idea. AT&T says it has no plans for a similar program.
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____________________________________________________________________________
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::: TSR "Quote of the Month" ::::::::::::::::::::::::
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"Watch that 'sed' editor - it can invoke a chain reaction"
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- SysAdmin, New York
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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TSR will accept additional sponsor/support Systems. If you have a certain
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interest in the Report, and wish to provide support to TSR -- Leave your BBS
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number -- also any other information on RADIO WAVES Bulletin Board System.
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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The End System TSR :: 915-821-1856 --------- Lunatic Labs :: 415-278-7421
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At Login: Any UNIX Default PW P/H System
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PlaydoLand Systems :: 612-522-3959 --------- The Outlet @ :: 313-261-6141
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P/H-Files BBS Private P/H Newuser:Kenwood
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Radio Waves System :: 612-471-0060
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* #1 Syndicate Support BBS *
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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This concludes this Transmittal No. 20
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(Part 2 of 2)
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Released January 31st, 1989
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by The Sensei
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Editor of The Syndicate Report
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
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