The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998

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==Phrack Inc.== Volume Three, Issue 28, File #12 of 12 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 XXVIII/Part 4 PWN PWN PWN PWN October 7, 1989 PWN PWN PWN PWN Created, Written, and Edited PWN PWN by Knight Lightning PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN Woman Indicted As Computer Hacker Mastermind June 21, 1989 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by John Camper (Chicago Tribune) A federal grand jury indicated a Chicago woman Tuesday for allegedly masterminding a nationwide ring of computer hackers that stole more than $1.6 million of telephone and computer service from various companies. The indictment charges that Leslie Lynne Doucette, 35, of 6748 North Ashland Ave, and 152 associates shared hundreds of stolen credit card numbers by breaking into corporate "voicemail" systems and turning them into computer bulletin boards. Voicemail is a computerized telephone answering machine. After a caller dials the machine's number he punches more numbers on his telephone to place messages in particular voicemail boxes or retrieve messages already there. The indictment charges that the hacker ring obtained more than $9,531.65 of merchandise and $1,453 in Western Union money orders by charging them to stolen bank credit card numbers. It says the group used stolen computer passwords to obtain $38,200 of voicemail service and stolen telephone credit card numbers to run up more than $286,362 of telephone service. But the biggest haul, more than $1,291,362, according to the indictment, represented telephone service that was stolen through the use of Private Branch eXchange (PBX) "extender codes." A PBX system provides internal telephone service within a company. If a PBX system is equipped with an extender, a person can call the PBX system, punch in a code, and dial long distance at the expense of the company that owns the system. The only corporate victims of the alleged fraud named in the indictment are August Financial Corporation of Long Beach California, and A-1 Beeper Service of Mobile, Alabama. Doucette has been held without bond in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since May 24, when she was arrested on a raid on her apartment that netted 168 telephone credit card numbers and 39 extender codes, federal authorities said. The indictment does not name any members of the alleged ring, but authorities said the investigation is continuing. United States Attorney Anton R. Valukas said the indictment is the nation's first involving abuse of voicemail. "The proliferation of computer assisted 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 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. _____________________________________________________________________