旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴敲 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Founded By: � � Network Information Access � � Txt and Only Txt � � Guardian Of Time 냐� 23Aug90 봬쿟ext File Archives� � Judge Dredd � � Guardian Of Time � � Txt And Only Txt � 읕컴컴컴컫컴컴컴컴켸 � File 47 � 읕컴컴컴컴쩡컴컴컴켸 � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� � �袴袴袴賈袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴賈袴袴袴袴袴� � � � OPEN SESAME � � [---] � � In The Arcane Culture Of Computer Hackers, Few Doors Stay Closed � � [---] � 튔rank Darden Easily Broke Into BellSouth's Network, Trading Tips W/ Others� � [---] � � Entering The Legion Of Doom � � � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠 Article Direct From The Wall Street Journal Volume LXXXVI NO. 37 Southwest Edition WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22, 1990. Article Written By: John R. Wilke Staff Report Of The Wall Street Journal ATLANTA - Frank Darden got his first computer at the age of 16, a Christmas present from his parents. Sitting on a desk in his bedroom, it opened a window on a world he found so consuming that he quit high school and spend most days/nights at the keyboard. His parents often wondered what their son found so compelling in the endless hours he spent alone in his room. then one afternoon last summer, a doezen Secret SErvice agents burst into the family's suburbn home. Agents held Edward and Lou Darden at gunpoint as they swarmed into their son's room, seizing scores of disks, armloads of files and three computers. When Frank got home an hour later, the terrified young man confessed that he had used his home computer to break into BellSouth Corp's telephone network. In February, Mr. Darden and two others were indicted on felony charges of conspiracy and wire fraud. "I guess now my parents know what I was doing in my room," says a remoresful Mr. Darden, a bright, impatient 24-year old with shoulder-length hair and a tie-dyed shirt. JUST PASSING THROUGH Mr. Darden thus became another of the growing number of "hackers" nabbed by federal agents. for a long time, these high tech trespasswers operated in relative obscurity, using their computers and phone lines to go where few people were meant to go. But lately, in a string of highly publicized cases, hacking has moved toward the forefront of white-collar crime. Increasingly, banks, businesses, credit bureaus and telephone companies are discovering that someone, often in the dead of night, has wandered into their computer systems -- and left his mark. As Mr. Darden's experience reveals, hacking has developed its own subculture, rich with literature and legend and peopled by electronic vandels, yoyeurs, and explorers known by fanciful code names. "any business that has a computer hooked to a phone is vulnerable," warns Mr. Darden, who called himself the "The Leftist." Before the bust, he was one of the best. STARTING EARLY Mr. Darden's case is part of a broad federal crackdown on computer hackers that has led to more than 30 raids in cities across the country. In the most recent sweep, 13 people were arrested in New York last week, including a 14 year old suspected of breaking into a computer used by the Secretary of the Air Force. An early target in the crackdown was the Legion Of Doom, an elite clique of hackers that included Mr. Darden and was targeted by the SEcret Service because of its member's notable skills. "The Legion Of Doom had the power to jeopardize the entire phone network," Says Kent B. Alexander, an assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting Mr. Darden's case in Atlanta. In a SEcret Service affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, BellSouth investigators call the Legion Of Doom "a severe threat to U.S. financial and telecommunications industries." Federal agents suspect the Legion was responsible for software "Time-Bombs" -- Destructive progrmas designed to shut down major switching hubs -- planted in telephone company computers in Denver, Atlanta And New Jersey last year. The programs were defused before causing damage, investigators say, but the intrusions, which were not disclosed by the phone companies, could have knocked out service to hundreds of thoughsands of customore phone lines. The government sweep so far has bagged a motley band, mostly loners and young rebels in their teens or early twenties. In past cases, many of the hackers who have admitted breaking into computers have insisted that they didn't damage the systems they penetrated. they did it for sport. "There is no thrill quite the same as getting into your first system," says Phrack, an electronic magazine run out of a University of Missouri dorm and accessed by computer. Before it was shut down in the latest sweep, Phrack (for Phone-freak-hacking (GOT: Notice the spelling of Phreak??), published tips on cracking computer security. One issue offers a "hacker's code of ethics," which advises, "Do NOT intentionally damage ANY system" or alter any files "other than ones you need to ensure your escape." Another rule: "Don't be afraid to be paranoid. Remember, you are breaking the law." Mr. Darden says he strictly adhered to the code. But the hackers' creed means nothing in court. There, hacking is treated much like any other form of criminal trespass under a law Congress passed in 1988. The law persuaded many hackers to end their illicit forays. But it turned other hobbyists into criminals. During his hacker days, Mr. Darden's world was an oddly solitary one. For hours on end he sat in front of the computer screen, finding his only human contact in the words and arcane code that arrived via computer from other hackers. "Once he got into a subject, there was no stopping," recalls his mother. "He was always studing up on somthing. He read encyclopedias as a pastime." Geography was meaningless; friends around the world were just a few keystrokes away, thanks to modems that connect computers through phone lines. Mr. Darden says he has struck up many lasting friendships on-line w/ many people he has never met in person. In this silent, cerebral world, age is also irrelevant. Only computer skills count. Once on-line, a hacker can be anyone he/she wants to be. "No one knows if you are fat, pimply, or scared to talk to girls," says Sheldon Zenner, a chicago attorney who recently defended an editor of Phrack on felony wire-fraud charges. "Suddenly you are no longer just the shy adolescent but KNIGHT LIGHTNING or THE PROPHET." "It is a complusion for some of these people," adds Mr. Alexander, the Atlanta Prosecutor, "I am convinced that if Lotus 1-2-3 was behind door number one and Cheryl Tiegs was standing behind Door Number two, a hacker would go for the software." Mr. Darden recounts his hacking days w/ disapproval -- and just a touch of pride. He broke into his first system at the age of 17, dialing his way into a big computer at Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc., in Norcross, Ga., and nosing around the system. "I didn't take anything, I was just trying to see if it could be done," he says now. Hayes uncovered the breach and quickly tightened security, he says. Hacking sessions often stretched into the early morning hours. He owuld start by checking lists of comptuer phone numbers collected by his computer the night before through an automatic process called "war dialing." Thats the brute force approach to hacking, when the computer runs through the night, methodically dialing every number in a telephone exchange. It records the number whenever it hits a "carrier tone" signaling a computer is on the other end. In a typical night of war dialing, in which the computer might check thousands of numbers, perhaps 100 computer carrier tones would be unerathed, "each one a potential treasure chest, " Mr. Darden says. He would then begin calling down the "hit list" w/ his computer, each time trying to determine what kind of system was on the other end. FAX machines were a problem, because they emit a tone that sounds like a computer to he wrote software that ignored them. HELLO, ARE YOU THERE?? Each kind of computer had a distinctive response to his call, so he would tailor his approach to the type of system he encountered. Computers that used the UNIX software operating system were especially easy to break into, while Digital Equipment Corp.'s VAX computers, which have multiple levels of security, presented a bigger challenge. But he says he was fond of the VAX because of its widely used software. "For a hacker, the VAX is like putting on an old Jimi Hendrix record in a bar -- it's a real classic." Using purloined telephone credit-card numbers, which his computer generated through trial and error, he got into computers all over the world, including an encounter with a VAX that spoke Finnish. He devised password-caracking programs that automated the hacking process. He also devised a program that let him capture legitimate users' passwords as they logged onto the system. When he found a password the target computer recognized, his screen would typically respond with a prompt, such as a sign. "once you get that, you have an open door," he says. Often he would play "cat/mouse games" w/ a company's computer operators. "I'd send a little greeting to their printer to let them know I was there. It drove them crazy." Credit bureaus were a favorite target. And, despite the warnings of other hackers that it might give him away, his first move was to look up his own credit report. "Naturally, i didn't have one," he says. He found his parents' report, and looked up others for friends. To make the process more efficient, and show off, Mr. Darden and other hackers traded phone numbers and system-cracking tips on pirate "Bulletin Boards" -- computer systems that store and forward text and electronic mail over phone lines. "Black Ice" was one such board. Access was tightly limited to an elite circle. NO BUSY SIGNAL HERE Mr. Darden's biggest thrill as a hacker, and ultimately his downfall, came when he broke into a big BellSouth computer in Atlanta used by technicians to maintain and control the phone system. He learned how to navigate w/in the system by asking questions of BellSouth's own online "help" program. Once inside, he found he had the ability to reroute telephone calls or bring down switching centers, neither of which he says he did. Mr. Darden did, however, listen in on a few phone lines, but only those of other hackers, he insists and only to prove his prowness. "If we'd wanted to, we could have knocked out service across the Southeastern United States" he says. "The fact that I could get into the system amazed me. But we were careful not to damage anything." Not surprisingly, when BellSouth discovered hackers rummaging through its computer, it reacted swiftly. It put 42 investigators on the task of tracking the intruders down, and spent 1.5$ million on the effort. Once it found the source of the intrusions, it called in the Secret Service, which enforces computer-crime laws. In the indictment, Mr. Darden and two co-defendants, Robert J. Riggs, 21, aka The Prophet, and Adam E. Garant, 22, aka The Urvile, were charged with taking copies of proprietary software from BellSouth, and w/ unauthorized intrusion, possessing illegal phone credit-card numbers w/ intent to defrand, and conspiracy. Messrs, Darden and Riggs pleaded guilty to conspiracy and face a maximum of five years in prison and a 250,00$ fine. Mr. Grant pleaded guilty to possessing BellSouth computer access codes w/ intent to defraud and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a 250,00$ fine. Sentencing is scheduled for September 14. The only good thing to come out of the whole experience, Mr. Darden muses, is that after he was indicted, his high-school sweetheart, whom he often spurned in favor of his computer, saw his picture on the front page of the local paper and got back in touch. Mr. Darden, who now works installing systems for a local computer company, views himself as a purist, hacking for the thrill of exploring the forbidden. He looks down on those who use their skills simply to steal phone/credit-card numbers. But in this game, information is everything and not even Mr. Darden can control its spread. During their sweep, federal agents have found some hackers using code-cracking information dug up by the Legion of Doom to perpetrate their own practical jokes and fraud. For a few days last year, for example, phone calls to the Delray Beach, Fla., probation office were mysteriously rerouted to a dial a porn line in New York. Secret Service agents say its the kind of thing the Legion of Doom MIGHT have done. And in Elwood, Ind., a 15 year old calling himself Fry Guy allegedly used information he got from the Legion to carry out an elaborate fraud. Secret Service agents say he used his computer to break into a Credit Rating service in Maryland to pilfer VISA/MASTERCARD credit information. He then entered BellSouth's control network and altered a pay phone on a street corner in nearby Paducah, Ky., to residential status. Next, he called Western Union and had cash wired out of credit-card accounts to the Paducah Western Union office. When Western Union called the credit-card holders to verify the transactions, the calls were forwarded to the pay phone and then to the youth's home phone, where he posed as the credit-card holders and gave approval. The cash was then picked up at the loacl Western Union window, investigators say. AND A RAISE FOR EVERYONE In all, Fry Guy siphoned more than 10,000$ in cash and purchases from credit-card accunts, alleges William M. Gleason, the Secret Service investigator. He also found evidence that Fry Guy, whose name has not been released, hacked his way into a payroll computer for a local McDonald's Corporation outlet, giving pay raises to his friends working at the restaurant. Fry Guy's case is being handled by state and federal juvenile authorities and, because of his age, it is unclear what punishment he might get. At the very least, his parents are likely to watch the family phone bill more closely. In a recent meeting w/ federal prosecutors, Fry Guy's exasperated father wore a baseball cap bearing the legen "Kids: They'll drive you crazy." Federal agents admit that, when they detect an intruder inside a computer, there isn't any way of telling if its a precocious teen-ager or a crook out to commit fraud. So they simply execute the law. "when a hacker gets into a system. It's no different from a burglar breaking into your home/office," Says Secret Service agent James Cool. If the door is open, the law treats a trespasser differently , he adds. But if a hacker cracks a password to get into a system, "it's the same as kicking in a locked door, and we're going to come after them." Ed Darden wishes he had known all of this before he gave his son that Apple II for Christmas eight years ago. "I'd have thought twice about it," he says. "Maybe we should have given him a bicycle." NIA UPDATE: Mother Earth is down, disregard any phone numbers. The board will be going up in December and under a different name. No name/Number has been established as of yet. When the time comes, we'll publish it in our latest Issue Of NIA. Guardian Of Time // Judge Dredd