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Subject: The Hermetic Underground
From: Dark Adept
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 90 2:15:52 CST
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*** CuD #2.15: File 7 of 7: The Hermetic Underground ***
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Reinforcing the cloak of the Underground...
The Hermetic Underground
by
The Dark Adept
Greetings! This phile will take a different twist than the previous ones.
In the past few philes, I have given security (common sense) advice to the
members of the "real" world. The purpose was to try and build a rapport
between industry and computer society. However, there is a question as to
whether computer society will survive or not. In an effort to keep the
Underground alive, I will be relating some ideas for survival during the
"witch-hunt."
----------------------
| Modern-day Wizards |
----------------------
A long time ago in a place far, far away there were once many wizards. Now
wizards did not really raise the dead or turn gold into lead. What they
did do was to try and learn about and explain the universe as best as they
could. They delved into dark territories such as death, alchemy, and
mechanical engineering in order to improve the world they lived in. From
these evil doings, two things were produced. Science, including
Philosophy, Logic, Math, Chemistry, Physics, etc. And witch-hunts. They
weren't witch-hunts as one may see by looking at Salem. The effect was
much more devastating. Not only were wizards wiped from the face of the
earth, but the way they viewed life was also removed. You see, a wizard
was a jack-of-all-trades. The wizards believed that everything was
interrelated. Physics was actually related to Philosophy, and Alchemy was
a form of religion. So, the wizards studied everything possible so as to
see how the ideas interrelate. (Sort of a twisted Unified Field Theory).
There was also another reason why wizards tried to master everything. This
was because they could not come together and form a wizards guild. They
were not liked or trusted by society since they had access to information
that society did not. If they had come together they would have been wiped
from the face of the earth. Yes, I lied. In the previous paragraph I said
that wizards no longer existed. The fact is that they do and always will.
A wizard is a person who believes everything is interrelated and attempts
to find the interrelation and control his universe by it. One such branch
of wizardry is known as the Computer Underground. (To read about a real
wizard who lived in ancient times, pick up John Dee by Peter French. You
will see everything I have said is true).
So, what can we modern-day mages learn from the wise wizards of yesteryear?
--------------------
| Atomic Particles |
--------------------
The worst thing the underground could do now is organize on a mass level.
Our strength is to be found in that we are a mass of atomic entities
operating against a concerted effort. The attacks on the Underground by
the witch-hunters may smash a few individuals here and there, but the
overall body lives on. Just as the United States Army failed to fight
effectively against a dispersed phantom force like the Vietnamese, so too
will the onslaught fail against a patternless weaving of hackers. What the
opposition is trying to do is like trying to shoot gnats with a shotgun.
As long as the Underground remains dispersed and loosely organized, there
is no way they can search out and destroy the entire bunch of us. If we
band together, then, of course, they have a much larger target.
----------------------
| As Above, So Below |
----------------------
The Underground is shaped by the events that occur in the "real" world.
If Company ABC gives a grant to University XYZ to add a node to the Net,
then the Underground is expanded. If there are laws passed banning
cross-state telecommunications, then the Underground is diminished. The
topics of discussion in the Underground are also determined by "real"
world events. For this reason, the battle must be fought in the "real"
world and in the "real" world alone. The only way to conclusively affect
the existence of the Underground is to affect society. This means to
affect society in the Courts, Congress, and Senate. There are already
legitimate and capable vehicles for doing so: the EFF, for example.
These organizations need your support. Support them, but as citizens of
the United States, and not as hackers. The only way to decisively defeat
our opponents is to defeat them in their own lairs, and by using their
means.
To win the fight to get the Constitution to protect the rights of the
computer user, we must fight intelligently, morally, and ethically. We
must not succumb to the temptation to use terrorist tactics in order to
extort rights from the opposition. To do so would just anger potential
supporters. To do so would be to lower ourselves to the level of our
antagonists. We must fight with honor, with dignity, and with tenacity.
-----------------------------------------------
| Of the Bloody Sacrifice and Matters Cognate |
-----------------------------------------------
We have lost a few valuable members during the Computer Revolution. We
should not let their "deaths" be in vain. Let us learn from their mistakes
in order to better ourselves. One example is security hacking. Yeah, it's
fun. Yeah, it's better than the last Zork (tm Infocom, Inc.) game that
came out. But it's illegal. It gives the Underground a bad name. It
causes problems, and things get real ugly real fast. Way back when
security hacking first started, there were no problems since no one caused
any real trouble. Then came the few idiots who tried such things as
mercenary work, extortion, and a couple of other assorted nasty dealings
that caused corporations to RIGHTFULLY fear and dislike hackers. We caused
the problem ourselves. The blame cannot be laid on people who are trying
to protect their own property.
I am therefore asking that we all cease and desist from hacking into
private computers from this point on. There are plenty of things we can do
without inciting death threats from telephone companies. Why not set up
our own networks? A decent Unix system can be built for under $8,000. If
we can get a bunch of people together to donate some money (hey, you big
businesses, here's a hint!), then we can have our own "playground" so that
the "adults" won't be bothered by us snot-nosed (Cyber)punks. Slap
together a couple of nodes, and we can send worms and hack all we want
LEGALLY.
Again, there are other methods that can be used to gain the free flow of
information than illegal system entry. Laws could be passed that require
detailed descriptions of systems to be made public if the use of those
systems directly affects the public. An example is the infamous 911 info.
The 911 system is paid for by the public, services the public, and the
public is now dependent on it. Yet, the public knows nothing about it.
Does it make sense that something upon which human lives depend should be
classified as a "trade secret"? Should not the public be made aware of its
limitations so as to know whether it is feasible? This obviously does not
require disclosure of the source code, but it does require the disclosure
of specifications, limitations, testing data, and all instances of failure.
It would also require the general algorithm so as to prove the value of the
method.
The whole point of this section is that the day of the security hacker is
dead along with that of the Blue Boxer. Let them lie peacefully. We can
still hack code, transfer messages across the country, access tons of
information, and many other things. Is it worth risking that in order to
get into some TSO system?
---------------------
| Forbidden Secrets |
---------------------
The final icing on the cake is the fact that the people persecuting the
Underground are incompetent for the task at hand. After reading the SJG
affidavit, I am positive that they are excellent purveyors of law
enforcement, but don't know beans about computers. The belief that Kermit
was some type of illegal information is, obviously, ridiculous. When all
of this explodes, it is they who will have egg on their faces, and not we.
While doing research on the events, I came across a statement by someone in
law enforcement who said that when the results of Operation Sundevil are
made public, Mitch Kapor will be embarrassed since he is defending common
criminals. No, in reality I think it is they who will be embarrassed. They
are the ones who destroyed private property and valuable data. They are
the ones who destroyed lives and businesses with incompetence, not hackers.
--------------------
| And finally..... |
--------------------
To sum up: Stay dispersed and unorganized. Help out the EFF. Fight for
your rights using legal means in court. Don't hack security, but start
building public access systems. Expose the truth every chance you get.
My next article will once again deal with security issues in general.
Specifically, I will begin talking about the problem of copyrighting and
patenting things other than source code.
Keep up the faith, people. We can't lose. I chose the handle The Dark
Adept because I believe that out of darkness comes light. Out of the
darkness of lies and oppression comes the light of truth and freedom. One
just needs to be Adept enough to catalyze the reaction.
So, as always, I remain....
The Dark Adept 11/26/90, Chicago, IL
E-Mail: Ripco BBS (312)-528-5020
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**END OF CuD #2.15**
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