Hacker Chronicles 1/HACKER1.ISO/cud3/cud305e.txt

Text File | 1992-08-18 | 9KB | 140 lines

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From: Bill Fischer <[e-mail]>
Subject: Chaos Computer Club Congress
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 91 10:00:13 CST

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***  CuD #3.05: File 5 of 8: Chaos Computer Conference (Reprint) ***
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{Reprinted with permission from:  Risks Digest, 10.80}
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-Date: 24 Jan 91 14:19 GMT+0100
-From: Klaus Brunnstein <[e-mail]>
-Subject: 7th Chaos Computer Congress, Hamburg, 27-29 Dec 1990

In its 7th year, the annual conference of Chaos Computer Club was held in
Hamburg (Germany) in the last week of December. A broad spectrum of themes was
offered, dominated by networking, but also covering legal aspects, ecological
computing, freedom of information, female computer handling, psychology of
hackers and others.  Among the more than 300 participants, only few people from
European countries (Netherland, Italy) and USA participated.  The Congress
newspaper (covering reports about most sessions, available as *.DOC or *.TXT
files, see below) is only in German.  Though the printed (DTP-ed) version of it
looks more professionally, some essential discussions (e.g.  female computer
handling, computer viruses, the new German Information Security Agency, GISA)
are missing; quality and readability of articles is rather mixed.  As there
were only few spectacular themes (phreaking, copying bank cards), public
interest and coverage in newsmedia, as compared to CCC'89 (the year, when the
KGB hack was published) was moderate.

Among the spectacular themes, a group HACK-TIC from Netherland demonstrated a
machine (about 1,500$) to copy credit and Eurocheque cards (EC); according to
Wau Holland (co-founder of CCC), this was arranged "to demonstrate the
insecurity of these plastique cards".  While the speaker of Hamburg's saving
bank (HASPA, which was the victim of CCC's famous "Btx/HASPA-attack") said that
this is impossible, a journalist of BILD (a German boulevard newspaper)
received a printout of his account with a copy of his card, but when trying to
order money from a teller machine, his card was collected.

The most spectacular event was a workshop on (phone) "Phreaking".  Experiences
and methods how "to call as far as possible with as many phreaks as possible at
lowest possible price" were described in some detail (few of which were
written).  Tricks with German PTT's 130-number (and connection to US' 700/800
numbers) as well as with the (PTT-internal) test number 1177 to establish
low-cost (at least for the phreaks) teleconferences and voice mailboxes were
discussed. It is surprising to hear from a US phreak that the old tricks (2,600
MHz, red boxes to simulate the coins' click) even work today; some new
experiences esp.  tricks with Calling Cards (due to missing expiration date on
some cards or delayed update of MCI databank) were added to "help fight the
excessive telephone costs".  Dutch phreaks informed about "use" of 008-numbers;
a hotel reservation service at a large airport does not check the validity of
credit cards (file: PHREAK.DOC).  The workshop was not concerned with legal
aspects of Phreaking.

Several sessions were devoted to networking.  Chaos Computer Club runs a
network ("Zerberus") with gateways to international networks and a growing
number of regional mailbox systems.  Despite mixed (or even bad) experiences
with new mailbox systems and gateways (the gateway group emailed invitation to
this workshop; 50% of the invitations came back, essentially with "error-mail";
file NETWCHAoS.DOC), several sessions were devoted to introductions into
networking (file WSI-NET.DOC covering a detailed INTERNET survey; several files
on GATOR, a GATEway ORientation guide to regional and international
communication and gateways).  A special report was devoted to communication of
graphic and sound data, where special standards, command languages and software
are under development (file SCF.DOC).  Special discussions were devoted to
applications of mailboxes for ecological purposes (file UMWE-DFU.DOC) and as
infrastructure for publications (file Med-DFU.DOC), as well as to aspects of
(German) publication laws (file PRESRECH.DOC).

One session was devoted to CCCs idea to aid the former GDR (now "5 new federal
countries") in establishing a citizen computer network "DDRNET".  Despite of
significant aid by computer dealers (who spontaneously donated PCs, software
and modems in significant numbers) and despite of the interest of local groups
and parties (New Forum, essential force in the East-German revolution), tax and
organization problems finally stopped the project when German reunification
happened.  The document (file: DDRNET.DOC) gives a lively example of good ideas
and plans being killed by hostile bureaucracy.

Following earlier CCC' discussions on sociological aspects of hacking, a
student (Tommy) described his examination thesis (diplom work) relating
Psychology and Computing (file PSYCHO.DOC, thesis in compacted form: PSYCH.LZH
in 109kBytes). According to Tommy, hackers exhibit their self-consciousness as
an elite by their techno-speak. "Ordinary" people of same age with no
understanding of computing are rather suspicious about hackers, even more as
computers appear as threats to their civil rithts and working places.  In such
controversies, hackers seems to flee reality, mostly unconsciously, and they
live in simulated worlds such as Cyberspace ("not as dangerous as other
drugs").  Anonymous or technically depersonalized communication (e.g.
mailboxes) lowers the threshold of moral scruples, resulting in communication
garbage and flames. Btw: as in previous years, a special workshop on Cyberspace
demonstrated EEG-coupled graphical devices and software (file: CYBER.DOC); the
sub-culture (as initiated by Gibson's book "Neuromancer") developing around
this techno-drug has it's first European magazines (Decoder, Cyberpunk).

A special discussion developed on computer "viruses".  Two speakers working
with Ralph Burger (author of the "Big Book of Computer Viruses", also
publishing virus code in German, English and Russian) described his work to
classify new viruses and to establish a databank of virus code.  In their
classification, the group starts with a specific model of virus mechanisms
including self-encryption; this model is in some contradiction with other
classification (e.g.  as a virus in their model must always have an effect,
parent viruses like DO NOTHING having no effect would not be a virus while
their descendants are), and stealth mechanisms other than encryption are
not foreseen. The speakers argued that information on virus details should
be easily accessible to all relevant parties.

A controversial discussion arose when the author of this report informed about
the establishment of CARO (=Computer Antivirus Research Organisation, cofounded
by V.Bonchev/Sofia, Ch.Fischer/Karlsruhe, F.Skulason/Rejkjavik, A.Solomon/UK,
M.Swimmer/Hamburg, M.Weiner/Vienna and the author) to establish a database with
virus specimen and procedures to quickly analyse new viruses and distribute the
disassemblies for verification and antivirus development.  As the number of
viruses grows significantly (more than 400 MsDos viruses known, plus new
developments visible in Soviet Union, Hungary etc) with advanced stealth
methods and more sophisticated damage, restrictions in the access to such virus
specimen based on concepts of "trusted persons" and "need to know" are
presently discussed (also controversially).  In contrast to such concepts,
CCC'90 participants and the speakers expressed their view that such virus
specimen should be accessible to any interested party.

Summary: apart from the session on phone phreaking, Chaos Computer Club visibly
demonstrated its distance to criminal activities which dominated the last
conferences (e.g.  KGB hack).  In discussing themes of technical and related
interests, they return to the list of items which were described in their
foundation document (file THESEN.TXT, October 1981).  Themes related to civil
rights (e.g.  "Freedom of Information") are visibly of more interest than
classical hacking techniques.  As CCC did not discuss any consequences of the
KGB case (after the trial in March 1990) for its members or related persons,
CCC omitted the opportunity to prepare for it's role in future hacks in it's
environment.  While their annual conference was less chaotically organized than
last year, it's structure and future developments remain as the name indicates:
chaotic and computer-minded, yet with a sense for new ideas and applications.

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