==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Two, Issue 24, File 13 of 13
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
PWN PWN
PWN P h r a c k W o r l d N e w s PWN
PWN ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ PWN
PWN Issue XXIV/Part 3 PWN
PWN PWN
PWN February 25, 1989 PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Created, Written, and Edited PWN
PWN by Knight Lightning PWN
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The Judas Contract Fulfilled! January 24, 1989
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...the other thing that made me mad was that I consider myself, at
least I used to consider myself, a person who was pretty careful
about who I trust, basically nobody had my home number, and few
people even knew where I really lived..."
-The Disk Jockey
The following story, as told by The Disk Jockey, is a prime example of the
dangers that exist in the phreak/hack community when sharing trust with those
who have made The Judas Contract.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Let me briefly explain how I got caught...
A hacker named Compaq was busted after someone turned him in for using Sprint
codes. While executing the search warrant, the state police noticed that he
had an excessive amount of computer equipment which had origins that Compaq
could not explain.
After checking around (I imagine checking serial numbers that Compaq had not
removed), the police found that the equipment was obtained illegally. Compaq
then proceeded to tell the police that I, Doug Nelson (as he thought my name
was) had brought them to him (true).
Meanwhile, Compaq was talking to me and he told me that he was keeping his
mouth shut the entire time. Keep in mind that I had been talking to this guy
for quite a long time previously and thought that I knew him quite well. I
felt that I was quite a preceptive person.
As time went by, little did I know, Compaq was having meetings again and again
with the state police as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
concerning finding out who I was. He gave them a complete description of me,
and where I (correctly) went to school, but again, he was SURE my name was
Douglas Nelson, and since my phone had previously been in that name, he felt
assured that he was correct. The Police checked with Illinois and couldn't
find license plates or a driver's license in that name. He had remembered
seeing Illinois license plates on my car.
They were stuck until Compaq had a wonderful: He and I had went out to dinner
and over the course of conversation, I mentioned something about living in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
After telling the state police this information, they wrote to Bloomfield Hills
and gave a description and asked for any pictures in their files that fit that
description.
The problem was that several years ago, some friends and I were arrested for
joyriding in a friend's snowmobile while he was on vacation. The neighbors
didn't know us and called the police. Charges were dropped, but our prints and
pictures were on file.
Bloomfield Hills sent back 12 pictures, which, according to the police report,
"Kent L. Gormat (Compaq) without hesitation identified picture 3 as the
individual he knows as Douglas Nelson. This individuals name was in fact
Douglas..."
A warrant was issued for me and served shortly afterwards by state, local and
federal authorities at 1:47 AM on June 27, 1988.
Lucky me to have such a great pal. In the 6 months that I was in prison, my
parents lived 400 miles away and couldn't visit me, my girlfriend could come
visit me once a month at best, since she was so far away, and Compaq, who lived
a whole 10 miles away, never came to see me once. This made me rather angry as
I figured this "friend" had a lot of explaining to do.
As you can see I am out of prison now, but I will be on probation until
December 15, 1989.
-The Disk Jockey
_______________________________________________________________________________
Bogus Frequent Flyer Scheme February 13, 1989
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>From Associated Press
An airline ticket agent piled up 1.7 million bonus air miles via computer
without leaving the ground, then sold the credits for more than $20,000,
according to a published report.
Ralf Kwaschni, age 28, was arrested Sunday when he arrived for work at Kennedy
International Airport and was charged with computer tampering and grand
larceny, authorities said.
Kwaschni, a ticket agent for Lufthansa Airlines, used to work for American
Airlines. Police said he used his computer access code to create 18 fake
American Airline Advantage Accounts - racking up 1.7 million bonus air miles,
according to the newspaper.
All 18 accounts, five in Kwaschni's name and 13 under fake ones, listed the
same post office box, according to the newspaper.
Instead of exchanging the bonus miles for all the free travel, Kwaschni sold
some of them for $22,500 to brokers, who used the credits to get a couple of
first class, round trip tickets from New York to Australia, two more between
London and Bermuda, and one between New York and Paris. It is legal to sell
personal bonus miles to brokers Port Authority Detective Charles Schmidt said.
Kwaschni would create accounts under common last names. When a person with one
of the names was aboard an American flight and did not have an Advantage
account, the passengers name would be eliminated from the flight list and
replaced with one from the fake accounts.
"As the plane was pulling away from the gate, this guy was literally wiping out
passengers," Schmidt said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Massive Counterfeit ATM Card Scheme Foiled February 11, 1989
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Douglas Frantz (Los Angeles Times)
The U.S. Secret Service foiled a scheme to use more than 7,700 counterfeit ATM
cards to obtain cash from Bank of America automated tellers. After a
month-long investigation with an informant, five people were arrested and
charged with violating federal fraud statutes.
"Seized in the raid were 1,884 completed counterfeit cards, 4,900 partially
completed cards, and a machine to encode the cards with Bank Of America account
information, including highly secret personal identification numbers for
customers."
The alleged mastermind, Mark Koenig, is a computer programmer for Applied
Communications, Inc. of Omaha, a subsidiary of U.S. West. He was temporarily
working under contract for a subsidiary of GTE Corporation, which handles the
company's 286 ATMs at stores in California. Koenig had access to account
information for cards used at the GTE ATMs. According to a taped conversation,
Koenig said he had transferred the BofA account information to his home
computer. He took only Bank Of America information "to make it look like an
inside job" at the bank. The encoding machine was from his office.
Koenig and confederates planned to spread out across the country over six days
around the President's Day weekend, and withdraw cash. They were to wear
disguises because some ATMs have hidden cameras. Three "test" cards had been
used successfully, but only a small amount was taken in the tests, according to
the Secret Service.
The prosecuting US attorney estimated that losses to the bank would have been
between $7 and $14 million. Bank Of America has sent letters to 7,000
customers explaining that they will receive new cards.
_______________________________________________________________________________
STARLINK - An Alternative To PC Pursuit January 24, 1989
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STARLINK is an alternative to PC Pursuit. You can call 91 cities in 28 states
during off-peak hours (7pm-6am and all weekend) for $1.50 per hour. All
connections through the Tymnet network are 2400 bps (1200 bps works too) with
no surcharge and there are no maximum hours or other limitations.
There is a one time charge of $50 to signup and a $10 per month account
maintenance fee. High volume users may elect to pay a $25 per month
maintenance fee and $1.00 per hour charge.
The service is operated by Galaxy Telecomm in Virginia Beach, VA and users may
sign up for the service by modem at 804-495-INFO. You will get 30 minutes free
access time after signing up.
This is a service of Galaxy and not TYMNET. Galaxy buys large blocks of hours
from TYMNET. To find out what your local access number is you can call TYMNET
at (800) 336-0149 24 hours per day. Don't ask them questions about rates,
etc., as they don't know. Call Galaxy instead.
Galaxy says they will soon have their own 800 number for signups and
information.
The following is a listing of the major cities covered. There are others that
are a local call from the ones listed.
Eastern Time Zone
Connecticut: Bloomfield Hartford Stamford
Florida: Fort Lauderdale Jacksonville Longwood Miami Orlando Tampa
Georgia: Atlanta Doraville Marietta Norcross
Indiana: Indianapolis
Maryland: Baltimore
Massachusetts: Boston Cambridge
New Jersey: Camden Englewood Cliffs Newark Pennsauken Princeton South
Brunswick
New York: Albany Buffalo Melville New York Pittsford Rochester
White Plains
North Carolina: Charlotte
Ohio: Akron Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Pittsburgh
Rhode Island: Providence
Virginia: Alexandria Arlington Fairfax Midlothian Norfolk Portsmouth
Central Time Zone
Alabama: Birmingham
Illinois: Chicago Glen Ellyn
Kansas: Wichita
Michigan: Detroit
Minnesota: Minneapolis St. Paul
Missouri: Bridgeton Independence Kansas City St. Louis
Nebraska: Omaha
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Tulsa
Tennessee: Memphis Nashville
Texas: Arlington Dallas Fort Worth Houston
Wisconsin: Brookfield Milwaukee
Mountain Time Zone
Arizona: Mesa Phoenix Tucson
Colorado: Aurora Boulder Denver
Pacific Time Zone
California: Alhambra Anaheim El Segundo Long Beach Newport Beach
Oakland Pasadena Pleasanton Sacramento San Francisco
San Jose Sherman Oaks Vernon Walnut Creek
Washington: Bellevue Seattle
STARLINK is a service of Galaxy Telecomm Division, GTC, Inc., the publishers of
BBS Telecomputing News, Galaxy Magazine and other electronic publications.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Suspended Sentences For Computer Break-In February 20, 1989
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>From Personal Computing Weekly
"Police Officers Sentenced For Misuse Of Police National Computer"
Three police officers hired by private investigators to break into the Police
National Computer received suspended prison sentences at Winchester Crown
Court. The private investigators also received suspended (prison) sentences,
ranging from four to six months.
The police officers were charged under the Official Secrets Act of conspiring
to obtain confidential information from the Police National Computer at Hendon.
One of the police officers admitted the charge, but the other two and the
private investigators pleaded Not Guilty.
The case arose out of a Television show called "Secret Society" in which
private investigator Stephen Bartlett was recorded telling journalist Duncan
Campbell that he had access to the Police National Computer, the Criminal
Records Office at Scotland Yard and the DHSS (Department of Health & Social
Security).
Bartlett said he could provide information on virtually any person on a few
hours. He said he had the access through certain police officers at
Basingstoke, Hampshire. Although an investigation proved the Basingstoke
connection to be false, the trail led to other police officers and private
detectives elsewhere.
Most of the information gleaned from the computers was used to determine who
owned certain vehicles, who had a good credit record -- or even who had been in
a certain place at a certain time for people investigating marital infidelity.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Of course, the actions for which the officers and others were sentenced, were
not computer break-ins as such, but rather misuse of legitimate access.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Virus Hoax Caused As Much Panic As The Real Thing February 20, 1989
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>From Popular Computing Weekly
"A Virus Is Up And Running"
Michael Banbrook gave his college network managers a scare when he planted a
message saying that a virus was active on the college system.
Banbrook's message appeared whenever a user miskeyed a password; the usual
message would be
"You are not an authorized user."
It was replaced by the brief but sinister:
"A Virus is up and running."
When the message was discovered by the college network manager, Banbrook was
immediately forbidden access to any computers at the St. Francix Xavier College
at Clapham in South London.
Banbrook, 17, told "Popular Computing Weekly" that he believed the college
has over-reacted and that he had, in fact thrown a spotlight on the college's
lackluster network security. The college has a 64 node RM Nimbus network
running MS-DOS.
"All any has to do is change a five-line DOS batch file" says Banbrook.
"There is no security at all"
Banbrook admits his motives were not entirely related to enhancing security:
"I was just bored and started doodling and where some people would doodle with
a notepad, I doodle on a keyboard. I never thought anyone would believe the
message."
Banbrook was suspended from computer science A-level classes and forbidden to
use the college computers for a week before it was discovered that no virus
existed. Following a meeting between college principal Bryan Scalune and
Banbrook's parents, things are said to be "back to normal."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Phrack World News -- Quicknotes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those interested in the 312/708 NPA Split, the correct date for this
division is November 11, 1989. However, permissive dialing will continue until
at least February 9, 1990.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone who is wondering what Robert Morris, Jr. looks like should have a look
at Page 66 in the January 1989 issue of Discover Magazine.
_______________________________________________________________________________
d telecommunications and
the increasing reliance on this equipment by American and
international business create a potential for serious harm," he
said.
Authorities said they discovered the scheme last December after a
Rolling Meadows real estate broker reported that hackers had
invaded his company's voicemail system and changed passwords.
Authorities said they traced the calls into the Rolling Meadows
voicemail system to telephones in private homes in Chicago,
Columbus, Ohio, and suburban Detroit, Atlanta and Boston.
Checks on those phones led them to voicemail systems in companies
around the country, they said.
[For more information see Phrack World News XXVII/Part One and
the article entitled, "Computer Intrusion Network in Detroit,"
dated as May 25, 1989 --KL]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Phreaks Abuse East St. Louis Phone Card
September 24, 1989 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ East
St. Louis, IL, a dirt-poor minority suburb of the larger Missouri
city by the same name was victimized for several months by
phreaks without realizing it until the phone bills for a one year
period were audited recently.
According to a recent story in the Belleville, IL
(News-Democrat), the city is being billed for phone calls to
dial-a-porn services and from points as far flung as Florida and
Texas.
The monthly phone bill for the city of East St. Louis averages
$5000, and over the past year it has included calls to nearly
every state as well as to "900" area adult talk lines. City
Treasurer Charlotte Moore said the number of questionable calls
in each month's phone bill, which is usually two inches thick,
shows the "need for better policing of phones."
No kidding! The (News-Democrat) obtained copies of the phone
bill for several months under the Freedom of Information Act, and
set about reviewing the places and people called. For example,
from March through May of this year, hundreds of dollars in calls
were made from places in Texas, Florida and elsewhere, and
charged to a Calling Card number assigned to the city.
In one instance, a caller in northern Florida made a 288-minute
call to Miami that cost East St. Louis $39.27. The
(News-Democrat) called the Miami number, and reached a man named
John, who refused to give his last name, and claimed he "...had
never even heard of East St. Louis..."
Calls from one certain number in Houston to places all over the
United States accounted for more than $1000 in charges over
several months. A man who answered the phone at the Houston
number refused to give his name and refused to discuss the
matter, or explain how his phone might have been used for the
fraudulent calls.
Prior to intervention by the newspaper, the city had done
nothing. Apparently they were not even aware of the abuse. On
notification, the local telco cancelled all outstanding PINS, and
issued new ones. Meanwhile, the city of East St. Louis continues
to plead poverty. They are barely able to meet payroll for city
employees, and have skipped a couple of paydays at that. The
city has an extremely poor tax base, and will likely file
bankruptcy in the near future.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Cuckoo's Egg
October 1, 1989 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer
Espionage by Cliff Stoll, Doubleday, 1989, ISBN
0-385-24946-2 ($19.95)
Book Review by Louise Bernikow, Cosmopolitan, October
1989
Here is a first -- the true story of a man who notices a
seventy-five cent discrepancy in a computer's accounting system
and runs the error down until it leads to a real live spy ring.
Even if you don't know a byte from a bagel, this book will grip
you on page one and hold you as ferociously as the best mystery
stories.
It is astrophysicist-turned-systems-manager Cliff Stoll's first
week on the job at a lab in Berkeley, California. The error
turns up, and he tries to figure out why, partly as an exercise
in learning about the computer system he's going to be working
with. Almost immediately, he discovers that somebody had been
breaking into the computer network using a fake password. That
discovery leads him to other break-ins in other computers,
including some in military installations. He alerts the FBI,
which, since he has lost neither half a million dollars nor any
classified information, says, "Go away, kid."
Stoll presses on, sleeping under his desk at night, monitoring
the system -- a hound waiting for the fox to come out in the
open. There is suspense aplenty, but it's the intensely human,
often funny voice of the man on the trail that makes this book so
wonderful. Stoll's girlfriend, Martha, a law student, seems like
one smart and delightful cookie, and she puts up with his
obsession pretty well. In the end, Stoll becomes a national
hero. The play-by-play is nothing short of fascinating.
[I wonder if anyone got those cookies --KL]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Hackwatch Spokesman Charged
October 2, 1989 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taken from Computing
Australia
Self-styled computer security expert Paul Dummett, alias Stuart
Gill, has been charged with making false reports to the Victoria
Police following an investigation into claims he made in the
daily media late in 1988 and early this year. The articles often
quoted Gill, introducing himself as a spokesman for either
"Hackwatch" or the "DPG monitoring service".
Gill claimed hackers in Australia had gained access codes from
others in the US and lifted $500,000 (US) from the International
Citibank, United States. Other claims include credit card
numbers had been posted on bulletin boards for BBS users' access;
drugs, including steroids, were being sold using bulletin boards;
evidence of this had been given to the police by informers; and
in response, the police had raided several hackers' homes. The
police, including the Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Fraud
Squad's Computer Section, repeatedly denied the claims.
Gill had disappeared, but returned again on September 22 and was
charged in the Frankston Magistrates' Court under his real name,
Paul Dummett. According to court documents, police investigating
Dummett's claims allegedly found Citibank's computer network had
not been illegally accessed on its New York number as Dummett had
claimed. When Dummett appeared in court his legal aid counsel
Serge Sztrajt applied successfully to adjourn the case until
October 20. Dummett did not enter a plea.
_______________________________________________________________________________
PWN Quicknotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1.
Hire A Hacker? -- "Some very
notable people in the computer
industry started out as hackers tinkering around in a
mischievous fashion," Ron Gruner, president of Alliant
Computer Systems Corporation told Computerworld why he would
probably hire Robert T. Morris Jr., of Cornell and creator of
Internet worm. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2. Computer Hackers Rip
Off Corporate 800 Lines -- Computer hackers pride themselves
on never having to pay for long distance calls. How do they
do it? Sam Daskam, president of Information Security
Association (ISA), explains: Hackers call corporate numbers
until they find one with an automated switchboard. The
fingers do not do the walking. Automatic caller software is
used. Then they link their computer to try all combinations
of three or four-digit numbers until they find one which
connects them to the company's outside toll or 800 line.
Once they get a dial tone, they can make calls anywhere at
the firm's expense. Taken from the Security Letter 1989. -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - 3. 900 Service Considered -- There has been
talk among some companies about switching from using the 800
toll free numbers to 900 numbers since the ease of use of the
900 numbers has been shown so vividly. This would save the
corporations a large degree of money. - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4.
Grocery Store "Hackers" Sell Drugs And Women -- The VMB
(voice mailbox) system of a wholesale grocer in Los Angeles
was commandeered to a small band of "hackers," who used the
system to run a prostitution ring and disseminate data about
drugs. Finally, valid VMB users complained that they could
not use the service since their passwords were invalidated.
An investigation disclosed that the "hackers" overrode
security features and acquired 200 VMBs for their own use. -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - 5. Phone Phreaks Busted In Upstate New York
-- Once again it seems that Syracuse, New York is ripe for
the picking for law officials to grab hackers involved
computer related crimes. In August the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) put a local area police
sergeant in charge of contacting a list of local computer
users that were using a local long distance service that
offered national and international calling.
It seems that one user of the service contacted the company
about a large bill, $10,000, that he received. The company
then put a trap on the code and accumulated a list of
unauthorized users to that code. So far the local
authorities, the state police, and the FBI have been brought
in on the case. They have been interviewing those on the
list and so far most have cooperated fully with the police
(most offenders are underage). One user called Gunter has
even allowed the police to use his computer bbs accounts.
The service used by those caught (25 people) where to place
long distance calls to France, Dominican Republic, Kenya, and
Germany. The callers also used the service to call locally
in Syracuse, as one person said that it cleaned up the line
noise. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - 6. Bulletin Board Scanning Saves
Boy (August 24, 1989) --Undercover police in San Jose,
California, have been watching bulletin boards for several
years, looking for computer users who boast about their
criminal exploits. It was such activity that led them to
Virginians Dean Ashley Lambey, 34, and Daniel T. Depew, 28,
who have been accused of conspiring to kidnap a young boy to
be filmed as they molested him and then killed him. (Article
by Tracie L. Thompson of the San Francisco Chronicle.) - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - 7. German Hackers Attempt To End Smoking (August
29, 1989) -- On Saturday, August 26, 1989, ZDF (the second
German television station and one of the 2 nationwide
television channels) asked their viewers whether they thought
smoking should be banned in public areas. The viewers could
reply by telephone, dialing one telephone number for "yes"
and another telephone number for "no." Within a time frame
slot of 14 minutes, 52,942 telephone calls came in, with a
ratio of 54:46 in favor of prohibiting smoking. This means
that 29,669 voted in favor of a prohibition, and 25,273
opposed it.
On Monday, August 28, 1989, a group of South German hackers
claimed to have manipulated the quota by dialing the "yes"
number with 83 personal computers at a rate of 4 times a
minute; virtually all of their calls came through so that
about the maximum of 4,648 "yes" votes came from their
computers. These circumstances led to new results in the
poll: "Yes" = 25,021 and "No" = 25,273, giving the "no" group
a small majority.
Story by Klaus Brunnstein - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- 8. Immigration Chief Proposes National Computer Screen (June
22,
1989) --LA JOLLA, CA, -- The Commissioner of Immigration and
Naturalization, Alan C. Nelson, today proposed a nationwide
computer system to verify the identities of all job
applicants in order to halt the widespread use of fraudulent
documents by illegal aliens seeking jobs.
Mr. Nelson also suggested standardized identity cards for
immigrants so as to get fuller compliance with a 1986 law
prohibiting employment of illegal aliens.
Creating a national identity card and other ways of checking
legal status or identity have been repeatedly suggested in
Congress as tools in fighting unlawful immigration, but have
also been consistently rejected as potential infringements on
civil liberties.
The national computerized database on everybody is one bad
idea that simply refuses to stay dead, no matter how many
times we drive a stake through its heart -- if the INS didn't
resurrect it, the drug czar or the FBI would. "Eternal
vigilance..."
Story by Roberto Suro (New York Times) - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - 9. West German Computer Hackers Accused Of Spying For
Soviets
(Aug. 17, 1989) -- Associated Press (Frankfurt) -- Three
computer hackers, suspected of giving the Soviet Union
information from military and industrial computers worldwide,
have been indicted on espionage charges, prosecutors said
yesterday. The West German government called the breakup of
the spy ring, which gave the KGB secret data from 12
countries, including the United States, "a major blow" to the
Soviets. In a four-page statement, Kurt Rebman, the chief
federal prosecutor, said it was the first time his office had
prosecuted hackers for endangering national security. Taken
from the Boston Globe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10. Challenge To
Phreaks! (August 31, 1989) -- Nippon Telegraph & Telephone
Corp. (Tokyo) is offering a $7,000 reward to any person or
organization that can invade its FEAL-8 private communication
and data system, according to an Associated Press report that
NTT America Inc. officials could not confirm. The reward
offer supposedly expires 8/31/91. No telephone number or
other information was included. Taken from the Wall Street
Journal. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11. Shadow Stalker Loses Out
(August 7, 1989) -- A 17-year-old Michigan boy has been
charged with posting stolen long-distance telephone codes on
a bulletin board system operated in his home. Brent G.
Patrick, alias "Shadow Stalker" online, was arraigned this
week on one count of stealing or retaining a financial
transaction device without consent. Patrick was released on
$2,500 bond, pending his hearing. The youth faces a maximum
of four years in prison and a $2,000 fine if convicted. His
bulletin board, Wizard Circle, has been closed. - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - 12. Philadelphia Hackers Change Speed Limit -- Recently
an unknown hacker got into the computer that controlled the
speed limit on the Burlington-Bristol Bridge. He proceeded
to change the speed limit from 45 m.p.h. to 75 m.p.h. A lot
of people were stopped and ticketed and judges say they will
not hear any appeals because, "the public should know better
than that no matter what the sign says." The police claim to
have leads, however this is doubtful. - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13.
Two Story Jump To Escape From Secret Service (July 26, 1989)
-- Red Rebel, a known hacker in Florida was busted by the
United States Secret Service and local authorities. It seems
that in attempt to to escape he actually jumped out a second
story window and ran for a while. The Secret Service
confiscated two computers and a load of disks.
To make matters worse, similar to Oryan QUEST, Red Rebel is
not an American citizen and is likely to be deported. Red
Rebel is charged with resisting arrest, interfering with
evidence, and something concerning credit card fraud.
Information provided by The Traxster. - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 14.
Fraud Alert (September 1989) -- PBX fraud is busting out all
over. Long distance carriers are being overwhelmed by
corporate customers demanding refunds for fraud perpetrated
on them. No long distance carrier covers their customer's
long-term fraud. If you got fraud you got to pay. This is
not like stolen credit cards. This is real serious stuff.
Thieves are dialing into 800 INWATS lines and, via auto
attendants, hacking their way to overseas. The big calls go
to drug-related countries, especially Colombia, Pakistan,
Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. But no one really knows
which countries are drug-related and which aren't. Taken
from Teleconnect Magazine. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15. Motorola
Introduces Network Encryption System (August 4, 1989) --
Motorola Government Equipment Group (GEG) has introduced its
Network Encryption System (NES), which features the latest in
security services for the protection of Local Area Networks
(LANs). Designed in accordance with Secure Data Network
System (SDNS) standards including SDNS electronic key
management, the NES is a flexible internet security solution
for Type I applications.
The NES is unique in COMSEC technology because the protocol
software is loaded via diskette. The NES is installed in the
drop cable between the computer and the transceiver, or as a
gateway device separating a LAN from a backbone network. The
product supports both DoD and ISO internet standards allowing
protection over wide area networks.
The initial product accommodates connection to IEEE 802.3 and
IEEE 802.4 medias. Motorola Inc. has a Memorandum of
Agreement with the National Security Agency and anticipates
product endorsement in the first quarter of next year. The
LAN product represents the first of a family of SDNS products
that will provide complete, interoperable system security
solutions. Additional information on the NES can be obtained
from Joe Marino at (602) 441-5827. - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 16. The
Death of Shadow 2600: No Accident (July 6, 1989) -- The
following is a message taken from The Central Office:
89Jul06 from fdg @ The Central Office
MY CONDOLENCES TO DAVE FLORY'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS. Do you
all realize WHY a 22 year old died? It says one thing to me.
He was killed by some insane ex-CIA types. Most likely under
orders from the idiots who tried to prosecute him in 1985.
This kind of thing is getting more common under President
Bush. He ran the CIA, and he is now encouraging the same
dirty tricks to silence people who cause "problems." Abbie
Hoffman was done in the same way. A small hypodermic full of
prussic aced. You will hear about more ex-hippies, yippies,
and hackers/phreaks dying mysteriously in the foreseeable
future.
You have been warned. And who am I to know all this?
Believe me, friends, I am highly placed in the government.
You will see more friends die. You may laugh now, but I
decided to leave a public message in hopes of saving a few
lives.
Special Thanks to Epsilon
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17. Legion Of Doom Members Raided In Atlanta (July 21, 1989) --
The Leftist, The Urvile, and The Prophet, all of the world
famous hacking group known as the Legion of Doom, were raided
on July 21, 1989. The day in question is interesting because
two years prior, that was the same day that a nationwide
sweep netted over 80 hackers across the country including
famous names such as Oryan QUEST, Solid State, and Bill From
RNOC.
The charges against the LOD members range from toll fraud to
illegal entry into government computer systems, although as
it is told, the government systems were entered by the Urvile
and the other two had nothing to do with it. Currently, all
three LOD-Atlanta members are still waiting to find out what
will happen to them as charges have not yet been brought
against them, very similar to what happened to the hackers in
1987.
It has been said by security personnel at Michigan Bell that
these LOD busts were a spinoff of the supposed arrest of Fry
Guy on July 19 for his role in the Delray Beach, Florida
probation officer scam (detailed last issue). It is believe
that he had been working closely with LOD-Atlanta (especially
The Leftist) and when caught for the probation office scam,
he got scared and turned over what he knew about LOD.
_____________________________________________________________________
nces for as much as
3,500 yen.
Sakaki also sold about 320 tampered cards for about 2 million yen.
One of the presiding judges ruled that using tampered telephone cards on
public telephones is the same as misleading Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone Corporation into believing the cards -- false securities -- were
genuine. Taken from The Japan Times
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7. Computer Virus Hits Japanese Quake Data (October 30, 1989) -- Tokyo; A
computer virus has destroyed information at the University of Tokyo's
seismological and ocean research institutes, a university official and
local reports said yesterday.
An official of the university's Ocean Reasearch Institute said the virus
was detected earlier this month in five of the center's 100 computers,
but was believed to have first infected the computers in September.
The virus was found only in personal computers being used by researchers
and not major computer systems, the official said, requesting anonymity.
He said the damage was not serious.
He declined to discuss further details, but a report by the Japan
Broadcasting Corporation said a virus had also been found in the computers
at the university's Earthquake Research Institute. Thanks to Associated
Press news services. (Related article follows)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8. First Virus Attack On Macintoshes In Japan (November 7, 1989) -- Six Macs
in University of Tokyo, Japan, were found to have caught viruses. Since
Since this September, Professor K. Tamaki, Ocean Research Institute,
University of Tokyo, has noticed malfunctions on the screen. In October,
he applied vaccines "Interferon" and "Virus Clinic" to find his four
Macintoshes were contaminated by computer viruses, "N Virus" type A and
type B. He then found ten softwares were also infected by viruses. A
Macintosh of J. Kasahara, Earthquake Research Institute, University of
Tokyo, was also found to be contaminated by N Virus and Score Virus. These
are the first reports of real viruses in Japan.
Later it was reported that four Macintoshes in Geological Survey of Japan,
in Tsukuba, were infected by N Virus Type A. This virus was sent from
United States together with an editor.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9. Hackers Can Tap Into Free Trip (October 1989) -- Attention Hackers: Here
is your chance to break into a computer system and walk away with a grand
prize. The "hacker challenge" dares any hacker to retrieve a secret
message stored in a KPMG Peat Marwick computer in Atlanta.
This challenge is being sponsored by LeeMah DataCom Security Corporation, a
Hayward, California, consulting firm that helps companies boost computer
security. The winner gets an all-expense paid trip for two to either
Tahiti or St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Hackers with modems must dial 1-404-827-9584. Then they must type this
password: 5336241.
From there, the hacker is on his own to figure out the various access codes
and commands needed to retrieve the secret message.
The winner was announced October 24, 1989 at the Federal Computer Show in
Washington. Taken from USA Today.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10. Groaning Phone Network Survives Millions Of Calls (October 18, 1989) --
The nation's telecommunications network was flooded Tuesday (October 17)
night by an estimated 20 million attempted telephone calls from people
around the nation concerned about friends and family after the earthquake
in the bay area.
Except for brief failures, the system did not break down under the record
load in the areas damaged by the earthquake.
AT&T officials said that as many as 140 million long-distance phone calls
were placed Wednesday (October 18), the highest number for a single day in
history. Excerpts thanks to John Markoff (New York Times)
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