The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998/hackers_encyclopedia.iso/etc/hacklaw/fdp.tx1

Text File | 2003-06-11 | 11.3 KB | 274 lines

**************************************************
*            ..... The Griffin .....             *
*                   Presents:                    *
*                                                *
*           Freedom of Data Processing           *
*                   Part One!                    *
*                                                *
*             by  Michael E. Marotta             *
*  (From Loompanics Unlimited 1987 Main Catalog) *
**************************************************

(Griffin's Note: This article refers to it being
                 or happening in America although
                 as I figure from reading this
                 article, it could easily happen
                 in Canada as well.)

     "A well-informed citizenry being essen-
      tial to the betterment of our republic,
      the right of the people to own and use
      computers shall not be abridged."
     (proposed Amendment to the Constitution)

  Your computer is your newest tool for securing
and expanding your freedom.  While earlier ages
gave real political and economic power to those
who rode horses or wore armor or carried fire-
arms, today, real power is wielded by those who
can use a computer.

  The "computer revolution" is all but over.  If
you do not know how to use a computer, you are
illiterate.  If you can't write a program, you are
poor in a society where information is wealth.  If
you can't follow a menu or a manual, you are
isolated in a world of mass communication.

  Over the last 30 years, we have experienced a
rapid acceleration of this trend toward an economy
driven by the transfer of information.

  A fisherman uses his computer to keep track of
his catches.  Over the years he has used BASIC,
VISI-CALC and now dBase III to build a database
which includes the date of the catch, the species,
weight and length of the fish, the water
temperature, air temperature and pressure, and the
lure of bait.

  A farmer has just bought a used personal
computer and a new herd management program.  He
knows that it will be years before he and his sons
will be able to go back over the accumulated data
to set a proper course for the management of their
land and livestock over the next 12 years.  In the
meantime, they calculate their incomes & expenses
on a monthly basis.  And the youngest learns the
ABC's with a Sesame Street diskette.

  Using a personal computer, a financial analyst
can keep track of: the New York Stock Exchange;
the American Stock Exchange; several regional
stock exchanges; Comdex (Commodities Exchange);
London and Hong Kong Gold; Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae,
Sallie Mae; Treasury Balance and T-Bill rates; and
more. Most important is the fact that this analyst
can run these raw data through various econometric
models to test for short and long-term trends,
seek out maximum profits from interest rates and
brokerage fees, and minimize taxation by comparing
investments in different states and nations.

  Today, we are witnessing the culmination of a
trend.  Personal computing is now a "given." Some-
one who lives frugally can purchase a used com-
puter with a CRT, 48K of RAM, and two single
density drives for about $200.  A person who is
employed at a high-tech or unionized job can
afford the same level of computer power enjoyed by
corporations and governments.  We are at a stage
in history where the average individual can be a
data processing centre.

  Naturally, goverments don't want this to happen.

  In Britain, the government now requires everyone
with a database to inform the State of what data
they hold and how they got it.  The law was passed
(ostensibly) to protect people from unauthorized
transfer of data about them by private organi-
zations.  Of course, the law does not apply to the
government.

  While such draconian measures are not neces-
sarily part of America's future, some trends can
easily push us into a fascist society.  For one
thing, the election of a rightwing,church-oriented
president (or vice president, since this could
come about as an internal compromise) could
definately be the springboard which would give
congress the excuse to pass laws which seriously
restrict freedom of data processing.  Rightwing
Christians are professional snoopers.
"Pornographic" software, computer dating services,
mailing lists of people who read "dangerous" books
or rent "dirty" videos, and so on will be their
targets.

  Also, liberals are notoriously predjudiced
against private enterprise.  If anything like the
British database law will come to pass, it will be
because social activists legislate against
"invasion of privacy" by individuals with access
to data.

  A victory in the 1988 election by a liberal can
have grave consequences. Given the strength of the
"draft Iacocca" movement, it is likely that even
if he himself doesn't run these people will have a
great deal to say in any future Democratic admini-
station.  Price controls, import restrictions and
anti-Japanese sentiments will have a devastating
effect on the affordibility of computer hardware.

  Judging from the boards used in today's Apple
Computers, IBM-PCs and DEC VT240s, about 10% of
the chips used in American computers are made in
El Salvador.  Democratic administrations are
notoriously soft on communism and this source of
computer hardware could dry up by 1990.

  On the domestic front, major corporations and
government bodies have been arguing about what
kind of "computer crime" law should be enacted.
Note that they are not discussing whether but what
and when.  The Michigan computer law of 1979 makes
it a possible felony to even "attempt to access...
any computer system... or computer software...
without authorization."  Yet "authorization" is
never defined.  Later this can be interpreted to
mean "permission from the government."  Federal
laws will soon be passed which follow the same
reasoning; right now they are arguing over the
specific language.

  Another threat to personal computing comes from
labor unions.  During the Fall of 1985, the CBS
network show 60 minutes ran a segment called
"Homework" about people (women, mostly) who make
garments at home and sell them to wholesalers and
jobbers.  The manufacture of women's (though not
men's) garments is regulated by the federal labour
boards at the behest of the International Ladies
'Garment Workers' Union.  The union has been
actively harassing people who make women's clothes
at home.  A wholesaler told the newsguy that this
is just the first step, that the next step will be
the direct regulation of all home businesses, for
instance the computer software industry.  When
asked if this were true, a union official said in
fact that going after the home-based computer
software industry is a high priority!

  Even within the computer industry there are
those who have sold out to the Dark Side of the
Force.  In January of 1986, PC World carried a
quote from Kevin Jenkins the chief at Hercules
Computer Technology.  According to Jenkins, the
idea that the computer "expands your freedom" and
"opens up new areas of human potential" is just a
bunch of "new wave...nonsense" promulgated by
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computers.
Jenkins is clearly a crypto-fascist who would side
with governments and unions to regulate you and
your computer.

  In the summer of 1985, Michael Brown applied to
the Software Publishers Association for an award
based on sales of his program.  The independant
auditing team reviewed his books and he was slated
to recieve a gold-plated plaque for selling over
100,000 units of "Copy II."  Then the Software
Publishers Association attempted to take back the
award.  "Copy II" is a program that copies other
programs.  Part of its functunality is the fact
that it can break copy-protected schemes.  The
Software Publishers Association claims that this
leads to millions of dollars of lost sales.  How-
ever, many users need to break such protection in
order to make archival back-ups of their disks.

  Michael Brown settled out of court. He got moral
support from throughout the software industry.
However, the Software Publishers Association can
be expected to act like socialists when it comes
to protecting their interests.  A free marketeer,
Michael Brown set aside $180,000 for his defence
fund.  Verifying the "tragedy of the commons," the
SPA could only garner $50,000. (The "tragedy" of
the commons" is that while "all" may benefit from
something, each will only pay in no more than they
must to use a "common resource.")  The SPA must
out of necessity turn to the government if they
hope to keep their monopoly on software
publishing.

  In September of 1986, software industry leaders,
Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, and Adapso (The Assoc. of
Data Processing Organizations), announced that
they will no longer copy-protect software.  Said
Microsoft president, Bill Gates, "The customer
won."  Piracy in the 1500s and 1600s was caused by
nationalistic wars and mercentilstic tariffs.  The
success of pirates on the high seas led to the era
of laissez faire.  So, too, has software piracy
led to admission by some that force of law is
inferior to the realities of the marketplace.

  The free market impels toward excellence.Michael
Brown (creator of "Copy II") said that his firm
fights piracy by frequently improving their soft-
ware.  Only paying customers can be notified of
updates.

  And yet, there is no end to the list of people
who would limit or deny your right to compute. You
must be ready to defend what rights you want and
to extend those rights however possible.  The
alternative is ignorance.

  In order to defend your right to compute, all of
your data files should be protected with
encryption. On the one hand, a crypto-system which
rests on known, historical methods can be
relatively easy to crack.  On the other hand,
there are so many algorythms, each with a host of
variations, that almost any method for secure
communication will do the job.  The home computer
makes it very easy to switch among a dozen
schemes.

  The avaliability of bulletin-board software is
your key to rapid and secure communication.
Bulletin board software allows your home computer
to function as a message centre.  Some communi-
cations packages, such as Shareware's "RBBS-PC,"
are excellent for in-bound messages; others, such
as Hayes "SmartCom II," are ideal for dialing out.
It matters little which software you choose.  The
important thing is to get it and use it.  Would
you rather rely on the U.S. (or for that matter,
Canada "Scab" Post) Postal Service to provide you
with rapid and secure communication?

  In defense of your right to process data, you
need to develop the kind of mentality that creates
a login routine which asks for the day of the
week.  If you answer with the day of the week, the
computer shuts down; the proper response is your
aunt's maiden name.  This is the modern way to
fight unwarranted search and seizure.

  You can set up a secure bulletin board system &
announce it to those with whom you would share
data.  Survival information, analysis of economic
and political news, information about your life-
extension and more can be avaliable to you and a
handful of friends you may never meet face-to-
face.

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Continued in Part 2 of this doc........