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- Computer underground Digest Wed Jan 13, 1992 Volume 5 : Issue 03
- ISSN 1003-032X
-
- Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
- Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
- Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
- Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
- Copy Editor: Etaionet Shrdlu, Junior
-
- CONTENTS, #5.03 (Jan 13, 1992)
- File 1--Moderators' Cornered
- File 2--STEVE JACKSON GAMES TRIAL DATE SET
- File 3--Re: COM DAILY ON F.C.C.
- File 4--with regards to the DoJ's keystroke logging notice
- File 5--Re: White Sands (SIMTEL-20) and copyrighted software
- File 6--Re: Dorm Room Raid (CuD #5.02)
- File 7--Follow-up to CuD #5.02 File 2 [Re: Dorm Room Raid (CuD #4.67)]
- File 8--CFP-3 Scholarships Available
- File 9--Canadian Media and BBSes
- File 10--United Kingdom Software Seizure Laws
- File 11--High Students charged in Computer Burglaries (Reprint)
- File 12--Comments on _Hacker_Crackdown_
-
- Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
- available at no cost from tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu. The editors may be
- contacted by voice (815-753-6430), fax (815-753-6302) or U.S. mail at:
- Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL 60115.
-
- Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest
- news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of
- LAWSIG, and DL0 and DL12 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT
- libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in
- the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;" on the PC-EXEC BBS
- at (414) 789-4210; in Europe from the ComNet in Luxembourg BBS (++352)
- 466893; and using anonymous FTP on the Internet from ftp.eff.org
- (192.88.144.4) in /pub/cud, red.css.itd.umich.edu (141.211.182.91) in
- /cud, halcyon.com (192.135.191.2) in /pub/mirror/cud, and
- ftp.ee.mu.oz.au (128.250.77.2) in /pub/text/CuD.
- European readers can access the ftp site at: nic.funet.fi pub/doc/cud.
- Back issues also may be obtained from the mail server at
- mailserv@batpad.lgb.ca.us.
-
- COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing
- information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of
- diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long
- as the source is cited. Some authors do copyright their material, and
- they should be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that
- non-personal mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise
- specified. Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles
- relating to computer culture and communication. Articles are
- preferred to short responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts
- unless absolutely necessary.
-
- DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent
- the views of the moderators. Digest contributors assume all
- responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not
- violate copyright protections.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 13 Jan 93 13:21:32 CST
- From: Moderators <tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu>
- Subject: File 1--Moderators' Cornered
-
- WHAT'S COMIN' UP: CuD will come out twice-weekly for the next two
- weeks or so, then we'll be back on the once-a-week schedule. The
- continuation of the SPA (Software Publisher's Association) articles
- resumes next week with a few interviews and commentary. The Steve
- Jackson Games trial begins next week, and we'll keep readers
- up-to-date on it.
- ++++++
-
- SUBMITTING TO CuD: To submit a piece to Cud, simply write something
- up and send it over. We obviously cannot print everything we receive,
- but we try to reflect the diversity of readers' views. Some
- guidelines:
-
- Articles should:
- 1. Be written in English (or a reasonable variant), make sense,
- and address a timely or relevant topic related to computer
- culture (see the statement of purpose in the header, above)
- 2. AVOID excessive quotes. Unless the exact wording of a post is
- relevant to the respondent's message, it is generally more
- effective to summarize a previous post (WITHOUT MISREPRESENTING)
- than to cite.
- 3. AVOID unnecessary flaming and excessive ad hominem attacks.
- Posts should address issues, not personalities.
-
- We encourage research/scholarly/think-piece papers of up to 6,000 to
- 7,000 words. We also encourage reviews of books related to
- cyber-issues. For more on publishing guidelines, request a FAQ
- (frequently asked questions) file from us.
- ++++++
-
- SUBBING/UNSUBBING TO CuD: To Sub, simply send a one-line "SUB"
- request, BUT BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR ADDRESS. Not all mailers include
- a workable address in the header info. WHEN UNSUBBING, *PLEASE*
- include the address you've subbed under. It doesn't take a brain
- surgeon to figure out that a one word msg that says only "unsub" and a
- "From:" line that isn't from the subbed address will cause problems.
- May seem obvious, but some folks can't quite figure out that if we
- don't know the original sub address, then we can't readily delete it.
- ++++++
-
- CuD'S FACT-CHECKERS: We are periodically criticized for running an
- article written by a reader--not by ourselves--that may contain
- inaccurate information or a debatable interpretion of information. We
- are then berated for "not checking our facts," for running false
- information, or for not doing our homework.
-
- Although it may surprise some, CuD HAS NO FACT CHECKERS. We do not
- check every line of every post to insure accuracy. CuD is a forum for
- debate and issue-raising: We provide a forum for an exchange of views,
- but we are not paid enough (in fact, we're not paid at all) to
- function as fact-checkers for articles that we, ourselves, do not
- write. We attempt to assure total accuracy in our own pieces, and on
- the (increasingly rare) times we're in error, we correct it and
- apologize. But, we can't be responsible for relatively minor errors of
- others. If an gross inaccuracy is made we'll generally contact the
- author, but if we aimed for zero-tolerance on the miscues of others
- CuD would appear quarterly instead of weekly.
- The best way to deal with inaccuracies is to invest some time and
- send in a correction or an alternative interpretation.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 13:29:02 -0500
- From: Gerard Van der Leun <van@EFF.ORG>
- Subject: File 2--STEVE JACKSON GAMES TRIAL DATE SET
-
- Newsnote from the Electronic Frontier Foundation | 12/23/92 |
-
- STEVE JACKSON GAMES TRIAL DATE SET
-
- Mike Godwin, General Counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
- announced today that the case of Steve Jackson Games, et.al. v. The
- United States Secret Service et. al. will go to trial in Austin, Texas
- on Tuesday, January 19, 1993.
-
- +=====+===================================================+=============+
- | EFF |155 Second Street, Cambridge MA 02141 (617)864-0665| van@eff.org |
- +=====+===================================================+=============+
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 02:35:15 EDT
- From: Dorothy Denning <denning@CS.GEORGETOWN.EDU>
- Subject: File 3--Re: COM DAILY ON F.C.C.
-
- James Love distributed an article from Communications Daily that
- included some highly critical remarks by himself and Marc Rotenberg
- about the appointment of Ron Plesser as head of the Clinton transition
- effort on the FCC. Below is a follow-up article from Comm. Daily
- that offers a much more positive view of the appointment. I have
- worked with Ron in the past and the views expressed here are more
- consistent with my own observations.
-
- Dorothy Denning
- denning@cs.georgetown.edu
- +++++++++++++++++
-
- from PRIVACY Forum Digest, Vol. 01: Issue 28
-
- Date--Sat, 12 Dec 1992 13:46:00 -0500
- From--Andrew Blau <blau@eff.org>
- Subject--Other Perspectives on Clinton FCC Transition Pick
-
- TELECOM Digest V12, #895 reprinted an article from {Communications
- Daily} by Art Brodsky on the FCC transition. Here's a follow-up
- article that fills out the picture a bit, by the same writer. It
- appeared in the December 9, 1992 issue of {Communications Daily}. I
- am posting it here with permission. Communications Daily is published
- by Warren Publishing, Inc., 2115 Ward Court, N.W. Washington, DC
- 20037.
-
- Copyright 1992 Warren Publishing, Inc.
- Communications Daily
-
- December 9, 1992, Wednesday
-
- SECTION: Vol. 12, No. 237; Pg. 2
-
- HEADLINE: Plesser Praised;
- CLINTON TRANSITION TEAM STARTS REVIEW AT FCC
-
- BODY:
-
- Transition team for Clinton Administration paid first visit to FCC
- Tuesday, meeting with Chief of Staff Terry Haines. FCC transition team
- currently is composed of eight persons and its charge has been
- described as effort to take "snapshot" of operations at agency, rather
- than go into great policy detail or make personnel recommendations.
- "Their mission is to come up to speed with what's going on at the
- Commission and report back to superiors," we were told. Team has been
- assigned office space on 5th floor of FCC hq.
-
- Composition of team makes clear that effort is being made to work
- closely with Congress, even before Clinton takes office. About half of
- team members are congressional staffers. Senate Commerce Committee is
- represented by Antoinette (Toni) Cook (who has been mentioned often as
- possible FCC chmn.) and John Windhausen, while House side is
- represented by David Leach from Commerce Committee and Gerald Waldron
- from Telecom Subcommittee. (Telecom Subcommittee staffer Larry Irving
- also will be working on telecommunications infrastructure issues for
- another part of transition). Transition team at FCC also includes
- Howard U. Prof. Clay Smith, ex-chmn. of Equal Employment Opportunity
- Commission (husband of Patti Smith, who is deputy dir. of policy and
- planning for FCC associate managing dir.) and Prof. Henry Parrett of
- Villanova U. Others will be named later.
-
- Transition team leader is attorney Ronald Plesser of Washington
- office of Baltimore law firm Piper & Marbury. His appointment was
- strongly criticized by public interest groups (CD Dec 7 p1), who cited
- his positions on policy issues and suggested conflicts of interest in
- his representation of clients Information Industry Assn. (IIA) and
- Direct Marketing Assn. (DMA). Plesser met Tues. at FCC with Haines.
- Later, Haines met with bureau and office chiefs and commissioner aides
- to inform them what is going on, and asked them to give full
- cooperation.
-
- However, others in public policy sector praised Plesser, who was
- strong supporter of ACLU's Information Technology Project and who once
- worked for consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Cathy Russell, counsel for
- Senate Technology Subcommittee, said Plesser was "sensitive to privacy
- considerations." While acknowledging he's "strong advocate for his
- clients," she said Plesser understands privacy concerns and works to
- "bring clients to the table with the ACLU to hash things out."
- Plesser, she said, has been "very reasonable with us" and she was
- surprised that public interest groups "would attack him on that."
-
- Similarly, Jerry Berman, head of Washington office of Electronic
- Frontier Foundation, called Plesser "one of the leading advocates of
- the Freedom of Information Act, and a supporter of making an
- electronic Freedom of Information Act." Plesser has brought IIA "much
- further toward recognizing public access to information than they
- [IIA] originally were doing, and brought DMA to the table in signing
- off on some privacy rights," Berman said. "I don't think that's an
- accurate description [to say he is out of mainstream]. [ Plesser]
- makes a great effort to balance interests." Sheryl Walter, gen.
- counsel of National Security Archive, said Plesser did significant pro
- bono work on case for her group on Freedom of Information Act on
- behalf of reporter Raymond Bonner, who was working on book about
- Philippines Pres. Marcos. In terms of experience with Archives,
- "we've found him to be very supportive of government disclosure."
-
- OMB Watch Exec. Dir. Gary Bass said it "makes good sense" to have
- Plesser and others familiar with issues involved. Bass said he would
- like to see more public interest sector representation in transition,
- but said critics of Plesser are "reacting because of his institutional
- role." If Plesser were "the sole person deciding policy, I would have
- a real problem with that," Bass said, but transition team focus is
- narrower.
-
- James Davidson, former staff dir. for House Judiciary Committee and
- ex-Senate staffer who wrote much of Privacy Act in 1974, said of
- Plesser: Ron Plesser has won more cases upholding freedom of
- information than any litigator in the country. Davidson added: "There
- is no more good advocate for good information policy" than Plesser.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 10:55:33 -0800
- From: jet@NAS.NASA.GOV(J. Eric Townsend)
- Subject: File 4--with regards to the DoJ's keystroke logging notice
-
- Please keep in mind that the policy was intended for federal
- government computer systems. There have been a couple of cases of
- people getting off the hook because they were "illegally tapped"
- --their keystrokes were logged without notification or a court
- warrant.
-
- You may not realize it, but the government operates under an entirely
- different set of rules than private businesses. The US government can
- order me to kill another human; it can search my workplace (a
- government office) without a warrant; and it can execute tight control
- over its resources. (A running joke around here is "Hey, get your
- privately owned coffee cup off of that NASA desk -- that desk is for
- official government use only!") If nothing else, we have the
- occasional public outrage over "government tax dollars fund christmas
- parties".
-
- The legality of the keystroke logging message in the private sector is
- another matter entirely. I don't think the DoJ seriously expected
- that message to ever leave the sphere of intragovernment
- communications.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 09:17:59 EST
- From: morgan@ENGR.UKY.EDU(Wes Morgan)
- Subject: File 5--Re: White Sands (SIMTEL-20) and copyrighted software
-
- In CuD5.03, rio!canary!chris@UUNET.UU.NET(Chris Johnson) writes:
-
- >He was recently a student at a university which
- >has Internet access (I do not, or I'd verify the following).
-
- As a general rule, one should not make allegations that one cannot
- verify. It's a rather unhealthy practice, unless one aspires to
- a political career. 8)
-
- >He mentioned that the White Sands Missile Range (an obvious DoD
- >installation) had one of the largest collections of ftp accessible
- >computer files. He said they had everything imaginable.
-
- This is true. wsmr-simtel20.army.mil (192.88.110.20) is one of the
- largest collections of publicly distributable software in the world.
- Its archives are mirrored by wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4),
- which is *the* largest collection in the world. I believe that
- oak.oakland.edu (141.210.10.117) also mirrors the simtel20 archives.
-
- >Now, it's true I haven't looked myself, nor did I specifically ask him
- >at the time if they had copies of copyrighted images, data or programs
- >as the conversation was about other topics. But I have seen other ftp
- >sites "libraries", and there's next to no doubt in my mind the White
- >Sands site must have megabytes of copyrighted materials.
-
- Well, you are dead wrong.
-
- The maintainers of the SIMTEL20 archives keep an extremely vigilant
- watch over their collection(s). They'll remove a package if there
- is *any* question of its copyright/distribution status. The fine
- folks at St. Louis (wuarchive.wustl.edu) have a similar policy. I
- help maintain the wuarchive collection, and I can assure you that
- our "moderator's mailing list" regularly takes care of problems such
- as this.
-
- I'm not saying the copyrighted materials don't find their way into
- ftp archives. SIMTEL20 is constantly saturated with ftp sessions,
- and wuarchive.wustl.edu has over 1200 ftp connections *per day*. With
- thousands (yes, *thousands*) of anonymous users, it's a near-certainty
- that some of them will upload copyrighted material. However, you can
- rest assured that it is gone as soon as we find out about it. In fact,
- almost all uploads to "major" ftp sites are screened before they are
- placed in the general archives.
-
- [ If you should happen to find a piece of copyrighted material on ]
- [ an ftp site, *please* let the moderators/administrators know ]
- [ about it. We don't claim to be infallible, and user feedback ]
- [ is always welcome! ]
-
- I can't speak for all ftp archives/archivists (heck, a single-user
- Sun SPARCStation can be set up as an anonymous ftp archive), but most
- of the "major players" in the archiving game make a regular practice
- of eliminating copyrighted materials.
-
- >Perhaps someone out there would like to take a look and see just how
- >legal they are.
-
- Perhaps you would like to check things out yourself before waving red flags.
-
- >Of course, the federal government seems more interested in busting
- >college students and other individuals than say, cleaning up its own
- >act.
-
- In recent years, many "community computing" operations have come under
- public scrutiny/censure/concern. Examples include the St. Catherine's
- BBSs mentioned earlier in this issue of CuD, the Steve Jackson Games
- incident, Usenet newsgroups (the infamous alt.sex.* "scandals"), and
- <in all likelihood> your local adult BBSs. In fact, CuD was founded,
- in part, to discuss this very trend. Why on earth would you want to
- contribute to this downward spiral with unsubstantiated <indeed, false>
- allegations? I'm sure that there will be some people who see your
- original posting WITHOUT seeing this reply; those people will, in all
- likelihood, associate SIMTEL20 with pirated software. That's both in-
- correct and undeserved. You do a disservice to both SIMTEL20 (and, by
- extension, those sites which mirror its collection) and the people who
- maintain the archives. With all of the "institutional" paranoia among
- the media and other so-called watchdogs, we don't really need arbitrary
- accusations like this.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 12:01:42 PST
- From: Wes Plouff -- MLO3-3/E67 DTN 223-2677 11-Jan-1993 1448
- Subject: File 6--Re: Dorm Room Raid (CuD #5.02)
-
- Chris Johnson discusses a story he heard about a big FTP archive at
- White Sands Missile Range, and speculates that "there's next to no
- doubt in my mind the White Sands site must have megabytes of
- copyrighted materials." He then exhorts the Federal government to
- clean up its own act before persecuting students.
-
- This story undoubtedly refers to the SIMTEL20 archives of MS-DOS, CP/M
- and other public domain software. Sure, there's plenty of copyrighted
- software there. Problem is, it's all there perfectly legally as
- freeware, shareware and vetted commercial demos. The contents of
- SIMTEL20 are tightly controlled by its archivist, Keith Petersen, and
- are highly trusted in the MS-DOS world. The full name of the archive
- node is WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil. For more information, read the Usenet
- newsgroup comp.archives.msdos.announce, or buy the SIMTEL CD-ROM.
-
- Just a few facts.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 21:37:29 CST
- From: Kevin Andrew Buhr <buhr@CCU.UMANITOBA.CA>
- Subject: File 7--Follow-up to CuD #5.02 File 2 [Re: Dorm Room Raid (CuD #4.67)]
- In CuD #5.02 File 2, <uunet.uu.net!rio!canary!chris> writes:
-
- | This reminded me of a conversation I had with my brother over the
- | Christmas holiday. He was recently a student at a university which
- | has Internet access (I do not, or I'd verify the following). He
- | mentioned that the White Sands Missile Range (an obvious DoD
- | installation) had one of the largest collections of ftp accessible
- | computer files. He said they had everything imaginable.
- |
- | Now, it's true I haven't looked myself, nor did I specifically ask him
- | at the time if they had copies of copyrighted images, data or programs
- | as the conversation was about other topics. But I have seen other ftp
- | sites "libraries", and there's next to no doubt in my mind the White
- | Sands site must have megabytes of copyrighted materials.
-
- The archive of which you speak has hundreds of megabytes of
- copyrighted material. However, all of this copyrighted material is
- shareware or freeware: the authors who hold the copyrights have made
- explicit allowances for its free distribution subject to certain
- terms. I can assure you that there is next to no material in the
- White Sands archive (also known as the Simtel archive) that resides
- there in violation of the respective copyrights.
-
- | Of course, the federal government seems more interested in busting
- | college students and other individuals than say, cleaning up its own
- | act.
-
- While it might be very true that some agents of the U. S. Federal
- Government are hypocritical at the best of times, you couldn't be more
- wrong about this particular archive.
-
- Keith Petersen (<w8dsz@TACOM-EMH1.Army.Mil>, <uunet!umich!vela!w8sdz>,
- or <w8sdz@Vela.ACS.Oakland.Edu>), who maintains the MSDOS, MISC, and
- CP/M archives at SIMTEL20, takes great pains to screen the incoming
- files for, among other things, possible copyright violations. His
- efforts are appreciated by a great many. Feel free to contact him if
- you would like more information about his screening policies.
-
- In the future, be more cautious before making these kinds of claims.
- Mr. Petersen has at least once found his future employment in jeopardy
- thanks to internal "restructuring". The higher-ups evidently ask
- themselves, "why do we employ someone to maintain a free archive for
- the benefit of the general public?" Articles like yours can have no
- positive effect in this kind of climate.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Fri, 25 Dec 92 16:59:20 EST
- From: mcmullen@MINDVOX.PHANTOM.COM(John F. McMullen)
- Subject: File 8--CFP-3 Scholarships Available
-
- The Third Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy (CFP-3) will
- provide a limited number of full registration scholarships for
- students and other interested individuals. The conference is sponsored
- by ACM SIGCOMM, SIGCAS & SIGSAC and will be held 9-12 March, 1992 at
- the San Francisco Airport Marriott Hotel in Burlingame CA.
-
- The conference will be attended by computer and library scientists,
- legal scholars, government officials, information industry and other
- private sector representatives, law enforcement officials, civil
- liberties advocates and many others. Active participants will include
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Counsel Mike Godwin,
- Georgetown University Computer Science Chair Dorothy Denning,
- California County District Attorney Don Ingraham, SRI's Peter G.
- Neumann, Autodesk's Jim Warren (founder of InfoWorld, The West Coast
- Computer Faire and the CFP conferences), New York State Police Senior
- Computer Crime Investigator Donald Delaney, George Trubow of the John
- Marshall Law School, Rand Corp's Willis Ware, Lance J. Hoffman of
- George Washington University, IBM's Barbara Simons and CPSR's Marc
- Rotenberg. The conference is chaired by Bruce Koball, a key planner of
- CFP 1 & 2.
-
- These scholarships will cover the full costs of registration,
- including three luncheons, two banquets, and all conference materials.
- Scholarship recipients will be responsible for their own lodging and
- travel expenses. Persons wishing to apply for one of these fully-paid
- registrations must send a request (no more than two typewritten pages)
- postmarked by 15 January 1993. The request should concisely contain
- the following information:
-
- 1. Personal Information -- Name, Address, Phone, E-Mail Address,
- School or Employment Affiliation.
-
- 2. Category and Supporting Information -- Student, Academic, Law
- Enforcement Official, "Hacker", etc. We are particularly interested in
- providing scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students majoring
- in computer or information science, journalism, law, law enforcement,
- political science, and related disciplines as well as "hackers" and
- law enforcement officials who could otherwise not attend the
- conference.
-
- 3. A specific statement saying that you will attend the entire
- conference and that you understand that you are responsible for your
- own transportation and lodging expenses related to the attendance.
-
- 4. A paragraph explaining why you are interested in attending the
- conference and what use you expect to make of the information obtained
- at the conference.
-
- 5. A paragraph explaining the need for the financial assistance and
- stipulating that, without the scholarship, attendance is not possible.
-
- 6. A statement committing the recipient to write a short summary (2
- pages minimum) of the recipient's evaluation of the conference,
- complete with recommendations for subsequent conferences. The paper is
- to be submitted to the scholarship chair no later than March 31, 1993.
-
- The request should be sent by email to:
-
- John F. McMullen
- mcmullen@mindvox.phantom.com
-
- or by mail to:
-
- John F. McMullen
- CFP-3 Scholarship Committee
- Perry Street
- Jefferson Valley, NY 10535
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Sat, 2 Jan 93 13:52:03 -0500
- From: carterm@SPARTAN.AC.BROCKU.CA(Mark Carter)
- Subject: File 9--Canadian Media and BBSes
-
- The following article appeared on December 30th, on the front page of
- the St. Catharines Standard. While reiterating much of the articles
- appearing on July 25, this new one (again by the same authors) presents
- new information, significantly interviews of two more sysops.
-
- However, the person they state to be sysop of Interzone is actually
- the co-sysop. Further, Interzone is hardly a good example of local
- boards. It is not connected to Fidonet, meaning that the message
- areas it has are basically filled with obscenities, the primary
- attractions of Interzone are the on-line games, and it is sponsored by
- a commercial interest, which pays the phone bills.
-
- The other sysop they interviewed is someone who's board was up for
- about six months (not particularly recently, since I never heard of it)
- before it had to go down when the sysop moved to a new apartment.
- What I'd like to know is, how does the sysop of a board that no longer
- exists get interviewed by the Standard when the local NEC does not?
-
- Apart from the factual inaccuracies and narrow-minded presentation,
- however, I think the main thrust of the article was for the authors to
- pat each other on the back and claim credit for the self-regulation
- that was already on local boards. How this warranted the front page,
- I'll never know.
-
- And of course, the Standard continues with it's practice of looking at
- one or two boards out of the hundreds available in Niagara, and then
- presenting those boards as the standard to judge others by.
-
- Following is the verbatim transcript of the article:
- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
- Limits Set On Access to Computer Porn:
- But Explicit Images, Stories Still Available
- (By Paul Forsyth and Andrew Lundy, Standard Staff)
-
- A local crackdown has made it harder for kids in Niagara to get access
- to hard-core pornography via their computer screens.
-
- Until recently, local computer bulletin boards offered an array of
- X-rated photographs and stories to anyone with a phone and a computer.
- But after recent reports by the Standard on the phenomenon, some
- boards-- electronic "meeting places" run by hobbyists through their
- home computers-- have begun to restrict access to hundreds of explicit
- files.
-
- Now it's much more difficult for kids to view the files, which contain
- still photos and animated images ranging from topless women to
- depictions of bondage and bestiality. That's not to say computer
- pornography has disappeared in St. Catharines and cities and towns
- across Canada. Board operators have no legal obligation to impose age
- restrictions, and there are no signs government will step in to
- control something which has slipped through the legislative cracks.
-
- Users logging on to Interzone, a board with one of St. Catharines'
- widest selection of hard-core pornography, now have to ask
- specifically for access to the files, provide a driver's licence
- number and undergo other verification like answering a telephone call.
-
- The board, like dozens of others in Niagara, had minimal restrictions
- when the issue of computer pornography was first publicized in July.
-
- "We just took a look at it and figured we should do something (about)
- it ... take a look at what we were doing," said Interzone operator
- Matt Mernagh. In a letter to the editor several months ago, a defiant
- Mernagh decried any attempts to regulate bulletin boards. He said it
- wasn't his responsibility to make sure kids were denied access to
- X-rated areas of his board-- where a photo of two women engaging in
- bestiality was stored along with dozens of other explicit images.
-
- Kenneth Werneburg's St. Catharines bulletin board, Alleycat's
- Emporium, also had pornography files until it shut down recently.
- Other board operators besides Mernagh are opting for access
- restrictions now since publicity over the issue surfaced, he said.
-
- "When I was running the board I felt that I should be able to run the
- board however I felt like doing," he admitted. "Basically I just
- said, 'If (kids) want (pornography), they can have it,'" he said. "I
- didn't even think twice about ... open access to it all."
-
- The Standard reports created "quite a stir" among board operators who
- were angered at first by the publicity, he said. "Most of the
- (operators) now, I think, feel they have a responsibility to screen
- it. It seems that quite a few people have restricted access to that
- sort of stuff and taken it out completely in some cases."
-
- But operators say pornography remains among the most-asked-for files
- on boards, which also offer selections ranging from games to computer
- virus-fighting programs. One St. Catharines high school student
- removed X-rated files from the board he operates when contacted in
- July, but reintroduced them later-- according to an electronic memo on
- the board--due to "popular demand."
-
- Police say there are no laws forcing bulletin boards to prevent kids
- from accessing X-rated files. And most of the explicit images are
- legal under the Criminal Code of Canada.
-
- Besides, police say, even if restrictions were put in place in Canada,
- computer-wise kids could simply call the United States, or anywhere
- else in the world, to retrieve pornography through their phone lines.
-
- Michael Werneburg, who operated Alleycat's Emporium along with his
- brother, Kenneth, said animated pornographic images-- some finding
- their way on to local boards from Italy, France and Spain-- are
- growing in popularity. The federal Department of Communications has
- no plans to begin censoring what is transmitted over phone lines, said
- Communications Minister Perrin Beatty.
-
- In a recent interview in St. Catharines, Beatty wasn't even aware of
- the existence of computer pornography.
-
- "Anything related to pornography is particularly the responsibility of
- the minister of justice," he said. Niagara Falls MP Rob Nicholson,
- assistant to Justice Minister Kim Campbell, said the government plans
- to introduce a bill in the new year aimed at redefining pornography
- under the Criminal Code.
-
- But he admitted it will be a difficult process and couldn't say if new
- legislation will specifically address computer pornography. "We're
- wrestling with the whole subject" of pornography, he said.
-
- Opposition MPs say wide-open access to computer pornography is an
- example of laws not keeping pace with rapid technological changes.
- "It's disgusting to think that children have access to this," said
- Mary Clancy, Liberal critic for the status of women and associate
- communications critic.
-
- "The great difficulty with this whole computer and communications
- explosion is control." Ian Waddell, NDP justice critic, said legal
- chaos could erupt if lawmakers don't keep pace with changes in
- technology. "If that happens we're throwing in the towel in law and
- order."
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: 11 Jan 93 18:19:32 EST
- From: Gordon Meyer <72307.1502@COMPUSERVE.COM>
- Subject: File 10--United Kingdom Software Seizure Laws
-
- The European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) has
- agreed on a new procedure to combat software piracy. The new
- agreement is that a single ELSPA official can seize all illegal
- software found to be on sale in a public place, rather than each
- software publishing company having to dispatch their own agent to
- seize their respective products. The new initiative will be
- administered by FAST (Federation Against Software Theft?) and will
- include a crack down on the recently escalating incidents of bootleg
- software being sold from the trunks of automobiles.
- (From--ST Applications #25 Jan 1993 p: 6)
-
- ++++++++++++
- "Great Britain Trading Office Settles on Sampling Case"
-
- The Dorset Trading Standards Office has dropped their case against
- South West Software Library, a public domain software distribution
- company. The Office had seized thirty disks from SWSL, claiming that
- 13 of them violated the Copyright Designs and Patents Act. Some of
- the disks seized were demo versions of commercial applications, but
- the focus of the prosecution was on disks containing digitized or
- 'sampled' portions of popular songs and movie soundtracks. The Office
- maintained that there is no difference between a sampled sound demo
- and an illegal bootleg cassette. All charges were dropped in exchange
- for an admission of guilt from the husband and wife owners of SWSL.
- Reportedly, the officer in charge of the matter referred to the seized
- disks as 'tapes' through out the several month case, perhaps
- reflecting a basic ignorance of technology as is often displayed by
- enforcement officials in the United States.
- (From--ST Applications #25 Jan 1993 p: 6)
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 17:02:44 EST
- From: sc03281@LLWNET.LINKNET.COM(Cheshire HS)
- Subject: File 11--High Students charged in Computer Burglaries (Reprint)
-
- From the 1-7-93 Issue of The Cheshire Herald (Front Page)
- Typed by Lord Valgamon (YUNSANJ@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU)
-
- THREE CHS STUDENTS CHARGED IN BURGLARIES
- Former CHS Student Also Charged in Case
- by Amy Carpenter, Herald Staff
-
- Three Cheshire High School students and a former student charged
- with the theft of $23,000 worth of computer and electronic equipment
- from the high school have turned themselves in to Cheshire police.
-
- Jared D Bishop, 17, of 500 South Meriden Road, William J Vallo,
- 17, of 1081 South Meriden Road, and John Beltrami, 17, of 12 Woodland
- Drive, have each been charged with 6 counts of third-degree burglary,
- 6 counts of third-degree conspiracy to
- commit burglary and first-degree larceny by common scheme,
- police said.
-
- Brendan Monahan, 17, of Littleton, New Hampshire, was
- charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree conspiracy
- to commit burglary and third-degree larceny, police said.
-
- -Lesser Charges
- Monahan, a former CHS student, received the lesser charges
- because he is believed to have participated in only 1 of 6 burglaries
- at the high school, said Detective Thomas Stretton.
-
- Bishop and Vallo turned themselves in last week, and Beltrami and
- Monahan turned themselves in early this week, Stretton said.
-
- All four were released to the custody of their parents
- and are scheduled to appear in Meriden Superior Court on
- January 14, police said.
- ((Remainder of article deleted))
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: 12 Jan 93 10:17:43 GMT
- From: rhogan@ALUDRA.USC.EDU(Ron Hogan)
- Subject: File 12--Comments on _Hacker_Crackdown_
-
- First, I'm going to jump back about four years to my freshman days at
- Notre Dame. The first semester, independent reading on avant-garde
- movements of the 20th century led to the discovery of the Futurist
- Manifesto, and Marinetti's declaration "Time and space died
- yesterday." The second semester, during my research for a paper on
- the founding of the Interstate Commerce Commission, I ran across the
- following line in the 1888 ICC report: "The railroads can be said to
- annihilate time and space."
-
- 21 years before Marinetti.
-
- The point of this, I guess, is that the avant-garde, the cutting edge,
- the oppositional, whatever you want to call it, is engaged in more
- than a simplistic, dualistic relation with the dominant culture.
- Foucault can talk about power relationships a lot better than I can--
- I just want to say that a good many of the oppositional movements of
- the last century owe a substantial chunk of their existence to the
- development of technology within the dominant system.
-
- Not just on the level of quotes drawn from different documents. The
- fact is that the railroads did annihilate time and space, or at least
- they shrunk time and space a little bit. And it wasn't just freight
- and people that they were transporting from place to place-- but
- information. The systems of railroad tracks that crisscrossed the
- continents can be seen as a prototype of the telecommunications
- networks that we have today. A rough prototype, to be sure, and one
- which would soon be replaced by telegraphs and telephones, but a
- prototype nonetheless.
-
- All of which is a long way of introducing Bruce Sterling's THE HACKER
- CRACKDOWN. In this book, Sterling examines the power dynamics that
- are taking place "on the electronic frontier", the interaction between
- hackers and the telephone company, hackers and the Secret Service,
- hackers and the judicial system, etc. But he doesn't just deal with
- the surface material, the scandal du jour stuff you can pick up by
- reading the paper. He does an excellent job of compiling and
- synthesizing that material, and showing how it all pieces together,
- but there's more to it than that.
-
- What Sterling provides the reader with is an institutional examination
- of the forces that are in collision on the electronic frontier. That
- examination can only come about in a full and meaningful way when one
- realizes that cyberspace has been in existence for about 130 years.
- Sterling puts the invention of the telephone as the creation of
- cyberspace, and details the story of how Alexander Graham Bell's
- machine became the basis of the American Bell Company, later bought
- out by the Morgan cartel and transformed into American Telephone and
- Telegraph. The history of AT&T is outlined; Sterling shows how it was
- that they acquired and maintained their control over the phone system,
- and how the breakup in the 80s changed the rules of the game.
-
- He applies this institutional/historical analysis to all sides of the
- issue-- the details on the founding of the United States Secret
- Service, and the later development of interdepartmental conflict
- within the Federal Government between the USSS and the FBI is
- particularly useful.
-
- One specific advantage of an institutional analysis is related to a
- point that Sterling himself makes about the telephone, that it is
- "technologically transparent." We accept it as part of our everyday
- lives, without realizing the depth and the complexity of the system
- that lies behind it. The same is true of the institutions that
- Sterling examines. A close look at the Secret Service allows the
- reader to discover it anew, to go far beyond those aspects which are
- taken for granted.
-
- And to question both that which is discovered and that which is
- assumed. Sterling grounds this book thoroughly in the practical side,
- outlining that which has happened, which is happening now, and may
- happen tomorrow. But he also talks about the implications of all
- those events: what they mean. Even a seemingly random encounter with
- a homeless person can lead to a digression on the ramifications of the
- growth of the computer sphere of influence within the public
- communities, and the rising distinction between computer literates and
- illiterates that results.
-
- For a book with a potentially overwhelming array of data, the clarity
- of the presentation is noteworthy. This is scientific journalism at
- its sharpest, not jargonized beyond the scope of the general reader,
- and it's also political commentary. The two elements come together
- seamlessly through Sterling's razor-sharp prose.
-
- I think that any future book about the social implications of
- cyberspace is going to have to refer to Sterling's groundbreaking work
- here at one level or another. This one book, IMHO, does more than any
- book I've seen to show what's *really* at stake on the electronic
- frontier, and how it got that way in the first place.
-
- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING:
- Avital Ronell: THE TELEPHONE BOOK: TECHNOLOGY, SCHIZOPHRENIA, ELECTRIC SPEECH
- David Hawke: NUTS AND BOLTS OF THE PAST
- Mike Davis: CITY OF QUARTZ (not really related to the topic, but it
- does for the city of Los Angeles what Sterling does for cyberspace)
- Lewis Shiner, SLAM
-
- ------------------------------
-
- End of Computer Underground Digest #5.03
- ************************************
-
-