_____________________________________________ / \ | ___________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | _________| | | | | | / \ | | | | / \ | | | | / \ | | | |__________/ \__________| | | / | \ | | / | \ | | / | \ | | /______________|______________\ | | | | Computer Academic Underground | | | | Electronic Magazine | | #0011 | | 0615.97 | \ _____________________________________________ / ############################################################################## %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .............................................................................. Table of Contents Foreward General Member Listing 817 2600 Meeting I)ruid Hacking 817.884.XXXX int3l Hackers (School Essey) Fizban Phreaking Fun With Call Forwarding int3l "Jack-In" the Box I)ruid Closing ############################################################################## Foreward Well hawt-damn... zine's actually a little better this month... wow... but still has much lacking. this is the 11th zine we have put out, a little over a year after we started putting out the zine, and still very few people contribute. But what the hell... At least we arn't like some of those electronic magazines that put out one or two issues and then give up... We actually stick with it, even when there's really nothing to print in the damn zines... Oh well... have fun reading this month... A little insite into the overview of "Hackers" is provided in the form of a School Essey that Fizban wrote when he was up in Lubbock at Texas Tech, and a little info on some phone tricks by int3l and myself. I)ruid ############################################################################## General %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Member Listing Handle IRC Nick E-Mail -------------------------------------------------------------- I)ruid I}ruid druid@cau.dfwisp.net uv uv_ uv817@hotmail.com Crimson Assassin Crimson_A swbt@hotmail.com Fizban Fizban^ fizban_cau@hotmail.com int3l int3l Sublime sublime sublime@cau.dfwisp.net -------------------------------------------------------------- %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 817 2600 Meeting First Friday of Every Month 6:00pm until 9:00pm CiCi's Pizza 719 Harwood Road Bedford, Texas Phone: METRO: 817.498.7879 Payphone: 817.656.3765 So Be There!! I)ruid ############################################################################## Hacking %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% -={817/884}=-Edison--------------------------1996----int3l-- ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` [Number] [Owned by] 884-0016 -=Not Located 884-0097 -=Not Located 884-0017 -=Not Located 884-0023 -=Not Located 884-7415 -=Disconnected 884-7358 -=Disconnected 884-6597 -=Disconnected 884-7401 -=Disconnected 884-6207 -=Disconnected 884-6823 -=Disconnected 884-6432 -=Disconnected 884-6843 -=Disconnected 884-6471 -=Disconnected 884-6976 -=Disconnected 884-9164 -=Disconnected 884-7190 -=Disconnected 884-6348 -=Disconnected 884-8496 AMBER UNIVERSITY AMBERNET 884-1538 Tarrant County Tax Office 884-1534 Tarrant County Tax Office 884-5024 Bank one Texas 884-5037 Bank one Texas 884-5550 Bank One Texas 884-4013 Bank one Texas 884-4067 Bank one Texas 884-4703 Bank one Texas 884-5624 Bank one Texas 884-5096 Bank one Texas 884-4704 Bank one Texas 884-4004 Bank one Texas 884-5746 Bank one Texas 884-4014 Bank one Texas 884-4987 Bank one Texas 884-5676 Bank one Texas 884-4324 Bank one 884-4107 Bank one 884-4840 Bank one 884-4573 Bank one 884-4528 Bank one 884-4420 Bank one 884-4573 Bank one 884-5024 Bank one 884-4420 Bank one 884-4107 Bank one 884-4439 Bank one 884-4833 Bank one 884-7626 Bank o 884-6521 Bank 884-1117 Tarrant County Of 884-1242 Tarrant County of 884-1243 Tarrant County Of 884-3265 Tarrant County 884-3257 Tarrant County 884-3263 Tarrant County 884-3257 Tarrant County 884-3144 Tarrant County 884-3264 Tarrant County 884-2293 Tarrant Cty of 884-1548 Tarrant Cty of 884-2181 Tarrant C 884-3341 Tarrant C 884-3543 Tarrant C 884-3340 Tarrant C 884-2199 Tarrant C 884-2169 Tarrant C 884-3543 Tarrant C 884-3512 Tarrant C 884-3520 Tarrant C 884-2298 Tarrant C 884-2386 Tarrant C 884-2181 Tarrant C 884-3340 Tarrant C 884-2382 Tarrant C 884-3140 Tarrant C 884-3100 Tarrant C 884-3556 Tarrant C 884-3153 Tarrant C 884-2707 Tarrant 884-0637 S W B T 884-0014 S W B T 884-8497 S W B T %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Hackers In 1990, the United States Secret Service participated in one of the largest crackdowns on Hackers known to the US. There were four such anti-hacker operations in process during the 1990's. The United States Secret Service led their own operation while another three operations led their separate investigations. A Chicago Task force raided several "hackers" in and around Chicago, while another similar operation occurred in New York, but the largest of these three operations took place out of Arizona. Operation Sun Devil was a joint deal between an Arizona Task Force and the USSS that focused on apprehending computer and phone criminals. There was a total of three separate raids that consisted of twenty-seven search warrants, three arrest and one hundred and fifty agents on the prowl in twelve cities across America. These enormous measures were targeted at capturing these criminals that cost phone and credit card companies millions of dollars. The USSS, however, targeted specific groups they wanted shut down. Among their targets were the infamous Legion of Doom, Phrack magazine, and 2600 magazine that were looked at as a threat to society. Since these series of raids in 1990, the press has tried to explore and report on this new electronic, cyber world. The general press, however, has made several mistakes in their attempt to understand this new frontier. Their major mistake came when they attempted to redefine the meaning of hacker. Hackers started as a group of curious computer nerds who believe that information should remain free and public to all. These curious kids developed skills that allowed them to easily break into almost any computer system that is connected to a telephone. A few individuals have used these skills to commit crimes through computers and telephone lines. Because of these few, the real hackers, who regard any damage to a system as a very destructive and a very un-hackerly act, have found themselves targeted as criminals. The press in its re-definition has confused all computer criminals with hackers; however, hackers are nothing like the criminals that the press makes them out to be. Real hackers actually despise this re-definition of hacker and do not consider themselves criminals. Hackers actually live by a strict code of ethics that define what is appropriate behavior for a hacker. If this strict code is ignored, it will result in being turned in to the police by others that stick to the code. Real hackers believe that the intentional destruction of a computer system is wrong. They do not live off of criminal activities such as causing crashes of Internet sites and they do not love to harass businesses and the government by crashing important machines. Hackers strive on information. They love to discover new things and they are almost always willing to share their information with anyone who can find the time to stop accusing them and simply ask. Hackers believe information should be free to the public. Some hackers go as far as to compare themselves to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson's struggle for freedom of speech has led groups such as the Cult of the Dead Cow and many others to set the same standards and live by some of his famous quotes, such as: "Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one" (Ingram). Knightmare, an ex-hacker, explains about real hacker ethics, as quoted by Stephens: "Hacker ethics," Knightmare writes, include informing computer managers about computer security when asked. Increasingly, government and business computer managers are asking. Many of the Fortune 500 companies and numerous government agencies have hired hackers to test their systems and even design new security protocols for them. (4) Phreaks suffer from another common misunderstanding with the press. Phreaks are people who like to play with the phone systems. They often use electronic devices that allow them to make free calls from pay phones, called a red-box. Another method is using their computers to attack the switching stations of phone companies. Phreaks are not hackers, and many phreaks resent being called what the press has come to name them: phone hackers. Today, the line between "phreaking" and "hacking" is very blurred, just as the distinction between telephones and computers has blurred. Despite the blurring, one can still draw useful behavioral distinctions between phreaks and hackers. Hackers are greatly interested in the actual system per se and enjoy relating to machines. Phreaks are more "social, manipulating the system in a rough-and-ready fashion in order to get through to other human beings, fast, cheap, and under the table"(Sterling 48). There are some occasions that a person will do both. What we have to realize is there are still two different acts. The press has considered any crime committed on a computer the act of a hacker. Crimes that these so-called hackers commit range from being able to launch missiles by remote to Foreign Espionage. Sterling tells of a hacker who was arrested after being turned in by other hackers: "as a result, Condor was kept in solitary confinement for seven months, for fear that he might start World War III by triggering missile silos from the prison pay phone" (Sterling 84). However, the Condor has since been released and has not launched the missiles yet. Several times, hacker groups have been accused of working for foreign countries and breaking into Pentagon computers for the purposes of espionage. When it comes to these kind of crimes, the blame does not lie in the hands of hackers. The people that actually commit these acts of espionage such as: destroying internet sites, delaying service, or simply harassing companies are not hackers. These are the true criminals and they do not deserve to be named as hackers. Steinberg, a former member of the legendary Legion of Doom, suggests that: What was depicted during the 1980s as a kind of clever prank done by boy geniuses (remember "WarGames?") is now painted as a criminal act committed by sociopaths (remember Kevin Mitnick?). From my experience, neither of these opposing fables comes anywhere close to the truth. (1) The largest scare about hackers is the availability of bank and credit systems online. These systems are some of the easiest to get into, and many believe that since hackers believe in the freedom of information that this includes spreading someone's credit information around for anyone to use. This statement is highly untrue, although hackers believe in the freedom of information, they agree that not all information should be rendered free. It is easier to define the hacker term of information by what the term does not include. Information to a hacker does include credit card numbers, bank accounts, or other such personal finance records that can only be used for fraudulent purposes. The information referred to is the kind of information that the government and corporations strive to hide. It's the information that would benefit consumers, computer users, and general citizens if the information was made public. This so-called "Top Secret" information mainly concerns the many cover-ups these organizations have made in the past or are currently trying to sweep under the rug. An example of this, is the Roswell incident that claims the Government has the remains of a UFO wreck in Roswell, New Mexico. This type of restricted information has lead many to believe that the government's main priority is not to serve the people that it's supposed to be working for but instead to use their authority to save their skin. In response to these types of actions the public has taken it upon themselves to find this information. Guided Perceptions in 2600 magazine gives an estimate by The General Accounting Office that claimed "there were 250,000 attempts to access Defense Department computers" with "two-thirds of those attempts successful." Electronic magazines such as Phrack and 2600 have provided the hacker community with this type of information since 1985. Phrack Magazine "is one of the longest running electronic magazines in existence. It has been providing the hacker community with information on operating systems, networking technologies, and telephony, as well as relaying other topics of interest to the international computer underground" (Welcome). During its lifetime Phrack has always been at the center of controversy. Since the magazine has always been available to anyone, it presented law enforcement officials with what they believed to be "a direct link into the secret society of computer hackers" (Welcome). Not truly understanding neither the spirit of the magazine nor the community for which it was written, Federal Agents and Prosecutors began to target Phrack Magazine and those affiliated with it. Real hackers are proud of their actions and like what they do. Often they retire from hacking after college graduation and move on to become engineers in large corporations, computer programmers, or even computer security specialists. Sometimes they spend their entire careers protecting systems against the same actions that they used to be fond of. The original hackers were elite students in the 1960's that attended schools such as MIT. At the time only major schools such as MIT had access to computers, and even these were huge main frames located in the engineering school's basement. The Students were unable to touch these systems for safety precautions. So any programs to be ran had to be passed on to the lab technicians. Lab techs were people in white trench coats that were usually very busy, and unwilling to help students. These students became involved in the first actions that classified them as hackers. They would hack their way into these computers late at night when the lab techs were gone and they would often spend all night programming on the computers. These students pushed for computers to be made available to all who might want to use them. It was, if not these same students then others like them, that would later develop and assist in the creation of the internet. Hackers often work for the benefit of cyber space, and to all of those that are willing to listen. One such example is a group that was known as TTC, The Tiger Coalition. They met on the internet and did not know each other personally. What this coalition did was not strange for a hacker. They would constantly hack their way into systems without destroying or corrupting any files. However, their next step was rather strange; they would leave an E-mail message to the systems administrator. This message included a step by step explanation of how they infiltrated the system, and then it gave a detailed account of what could be done to prevent another hacker from using the same loopholes. Unlike other anonymous hackers attempting to help, they even left an E-Mail address where they could be reached if the administration had any questions. The Tiger Coalition has been disbanded for a little over a year. They were not disbanded due to arrests, rather its founders simply moved on after they graduated college and started in their separate careers. The press, since the 1990 raids, have constantly referred to hackers as cyber criminals on the prowl for targets. This assessment of hackers could not be further from the truth. Hackers are not criminals, and computer criminals are not hackers. As Steinberg suggests from the title of his article, the "Threat posed by hackers largely imaginary" (1). Bruce Sterling the author of The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier wrote an updated article titled "Afterword: The Hacker Crackdown Three years later". In this article he explained the drastic change in shape of cyberspace since 1990. With these changes many corporations have updated their systems and are now aware of the potential of the electronic network. This has now opened up and practically made almost any territory on the electric frontier ready for the taking. Another change that occured over time is the loss of intrest by teenage-hackers that are now surfing the net. Their desire for information has led them into cyberspace, and has eliminated room for any thoughts of hacking passwords. Since 1993, no teenage computer scandals have been committed in many months. Now there has been some publicized acts of illegal computer access, but these acts have been "committed by adult white-collar industry insiders in clear pursuit of personal or commercial advantage"(Afterword 1). The kids now have more important things to do with their time like interact on IRC, Internet Relay Chat or personal bulletin boards. There were an estimated 60,000 boards in 1993. What Bruce didn't know back in 1993 is that these hackers are using these Internet Relay Chat services to get together to unify their effort to hack into any one system by discussing their efforts back and forth to each other. According to Levy, an "old-school" hacker, the differences between the old and new hackers are severe and transparent. "The first group strove to create, the second strives to destroy and tamper, he says. The first group loved control over their computers, but the second group loves the power computers gives them over people. The first group was always seeking to improve and simplify; the second group only exploits and manipulates. The first group did what they did because of a feeling of truth and beauty in their activities; the second group hacks for profit and status. The first group was communal and closely knit, always sharing openly their new hacks and discoveries; the second, he says, is paranoid, isolated, and secretive. For Levy, the old hackers were computer wizards, but the new hackers are computer terrorists, always searching for new forms of electronic vandalism or maliciousness without thought of the consequences" (Old). This long time battle is long away from being settled. This enormous wave of new school hackers show no slowing down. They continue to expand and explore into new and improved methods of hacking. With the emergence of hacker conventions such as HoHoCon and DefCon the growth of the new hacker only looks to get bigger and better. Companies are even attending these conventions to test their top security software for Internet servers, called Firewalls. Over 2,000 attempts have been made to hack into these firewalls but none have been successful yet. Conventions such as these bring in a nation wide crowed of thousands. They are the number one center for the exchanging of information between hackers and are, if not close to, the number one cause for headaches for FBI agents. Hopefully, sometime in the future, the old and new hackers may sit down, and talk about their many similarities and differences. They may realize that they share an alienation from the existing system. They might find out that they have motivations and principles in common. Most importantly, they might stop competing with each other for the title of Hacker. The old hackers might see the ways in which their "counter cultural visions failed to take account of new realities, and they might provide a sense of communal vision and purpose for the often back stabbing and self-aggrandizing new hackers" (Old). If in the future they were to actually get together, it might be mean what Bruce Sterling calls "the End of the Amateurs." And the beginning of "Computer Lib?" (Old). In a weird but sick way, it's funny to see how something so promising has become so corrupted as the years pass. From starting out as just a bunch of whiz- kids trying to explore new heights to the possible starting of wars at the push of a button. This craze called "cyberspace" has evolved into a dream for some and a nightmare for others. But being the human way, I guess we should have expected the worst out of this new "frontier". For generations now people have traveled along this new "frontier" for many different reasons. Some people went along just for fun while others took advantage of its potential and made millions thus becoming famous for their accomplishments. Another group of people explored it, "wrote about it, and negotiated over it in international forums, and sued one another about it, in gigantic, epic court battles that lasted for years" (Sterling Intro). But one thing for sure is that since the start of this "frontier" people in some way or some form have always committed crimes in it. This is a very complex and confusing issue that in the years to come only seems to be getting even more far fetched from becoming tamed and considered safe. With all the new technology coming out faster than you can buy it and people's curiosity growing with it, this combination can only lead in two directions, up or down. It's a sad situation we are being dealt with, but it is a situation we created ourselves and will have to live with. I leave you here with a little hacker comedy from The Partnership For A Hacker Free America on the effect of hacking at a young age and what happens to teenagers who do. (Old) Works Cited "Guided Perceptions." 2600 The Hacker Quarterly Summer 1996: 4-5. Ingram, Mathew. "Short History of Hackers, Phreaks, and Worms." Toronto Globe and Mail. 27 Feb. 1996. C2. Text. Internet. Available: http://www.LOpht.com/~veggie/globemail.html. 28 April 1997. "Old Hackers, New Hackers: What's the difference?" Text. Internet. Available: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/anthr/cyberanthro/oldnew.html. 28 April 1997. Steinberg, Steve G. (Copyright 1996). "Threat posed by hackers largely imaginary." Vol. 6, Inside Tucson Business, 29 July 1996, pp 13. Text. Internet. Available: http://www.elibrary.com. 1 Mar. 1997. Stephens, Gene. (Copyright 1995). "Crime in cyberspace." Vol. 29, Futurist, 1 Sept. 1995, pp 24. Text. Internet. Available: http://www.elibrary.com. 6 Mar. 1997. Sterling, Bruce. The Hacker Crackdown. New York: Bantam Books, 1992. Sterling , Bruce. "Afterword: The Hacker Crackdown Three Years Later" 1 Jan. 1994. Text. Internet. Available: http://www.usfca.edu:80/crackdown/crack_8.html#SEC8. 10 Mar 1997. Scion Kai. "The Tiger Coalition." CAU Electronic Magazine. Sept. 1996. Online. Internet. Available: http://cau.psyberlink.net. 10 Mar. 1997. "Welcome to the official Phrack Magazine Web page." Text. Internet. Available: http://freeside.com.80/phrack.html. 28 April 1997. Fizban ############################################################################## Phreaking %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Tuesday, May 27, 7:30AM CST - int3l - Todays, lesson : Fun with Call forwarding. First, off I have to recommend a PHAT movie that has the official seal of "CAU PHATNESS", it's called "Fear of a Black Hat". You can get it at most BlockBuster Video Stores. I was playing around with Call Fowarding a few days ago, and found out something that was kinda swell. I Call Forwarded my phone to an 800 ANAC number (A number that reads back the number your calling from) and noticed that when I went into the next room and called it it gave me the number I was calling from in there. It was like I was just dialing the 800 number direct So, it had me thinking, if im in the hax0r mood and I wana hack say "N *cough* ASA" the smart thing to do would be call forwarded your number to some unsuspecting Person/Business (Even 800 Numbers) then dial up to your hax0red PPP/SHELL account and BAAAAM, there you go. To verify this I called up my local c/o and was talking to them about it. It seems that when Call Fowarding is implemented, it's harder for them to do stuff, they can't do any type of tests, they couldn't even un-call foward my line from there. In fact they really can't do anything. When they do a lookup on that number to find a Cable/Pair it don't work. If you noticed sometimes when you hit the good ole' *69 you get the message "Were sorry we are unable to return your call, the person your tring to blah...blah..blah... or has call fowarding activated"... Also, if you haven't already thought of it, if you insest on Wardialing It's a good Idea to Call Fowarded you number before you Wardial (just a lil' note, It's not a good Idea to Wardial Residential Prefixes, Only Businesses and only at night!) I got visited by a Fat Southwestern Bell Beer man about a year ago who had a DNR (Keeps record of ever number you call) on my line for one month... They won't do anything if its a first time thing, he just said don't do it again, and left Basically... Anyways, I just thought I throw that idea and you can come up with your own stuff... Here's an ANAC number you can play with. (800)487.9240 * A little, note around 8:30 this morning South Western bell shut off our phone lines (Non Payment wh00ps). I've been online all morning, and while my mothers line was disconnected Mine Wasn't until I hung Up.. It was call Fowareded to that (800) ANI number I mentioned Earyler.. That's a good time to hack.. When your phone line is Dissconnected. hahaha.. int3l %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% "Jack-In" the Box I don't know if anyone besides me has noticed this, but now I make it a point to notice. Every time i go to a Jack in the Box to eat, i have noticed that there are random phone jacks scattered throughout the resteraunt... I don't know if this is specific to my area or not, but so far every Jack in the Box I have gone into I have seen at least one phone jack. Of cource some Jack in the Boxes have them labled "For Law Enforcement Use Only", but in this day and age, everyone enforces some kind of law, be it governmental law, ethical law, or simply the law of no law. So I find no problem with experimenting with these phone jacks. Anyway, just to find out, i went into a Jack in the Box with my handy-dandy little beige-box phone from ol'skewl days, and plugged it on in to one, and yes, I got a standard dialtone. How nifty? I ran a useful little ANAC on it and it gave me a local phone number. I dialed another local number, and the call went through. Yes, they are just phone lines. As far as I can tell, there's nothing special about them whatsoever. I have only tested a line in one Jack n the Box, but it's probably safe to say that they are all relitively the same. I will however check a few others and let everyone know the results. The point is, these phone jacks are exteremely useful for remote hacking via laptop, etc, while insuring your anonymity. That is of cource unless there's a Crazy Jack n the Box manager breathing down yer neck for using the "Law Enforcement" phone jack. I)ruid ############################################################################## Closing Well, that's all for this month... Look forward to next month when, yes, included will be a nude photo of m^[[ being raped by the official CAU penguin!@#$ I)ruid ############################################################################## ____ ____ __ __ / \ / \ | | | | ----====####/ /\__\##/ /\ \##| |##| |####====---- | | | |__| | | | | | | | ___ | __ | | | | | ------======######\ \/ /#| |##| |#| |##| |######======------ \____/ |__| |__| \______/ Computer Academic Underground