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	==Phrack Inc.==

	Volume Two, Issue 21, File 3 of 11

	<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
	<> <>
	<> Shadows Of A Future Past <>
	<> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <>
	<> Part One Of The Vicious Circle Trilogy <>
	<> <>
	<> A New Indepth Look At A Re-Occurring Problem <>
	<> by Knight Lightning <>
	<> <>
	<> August 6, 1988 <>
	<> <>
	<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

	The Problem?
	~~~~~~~~~~~~
	The fate of the entire modem community for the most part is based on the
	foundation of computer bulletin boards. These realms of information exchange
	have become centers of learning and trading various information for thousands
	of hackers across the United States and even the world.

	However, today's security consultants and law enforcement agencies are smarter
	than ever too and they know where to strike in order to do the most damage.
	The concept of creating a bulletin board for the purpose of catching hackers
	was unheard of until The Phoenix Phortress Incident of 1986. The creation of
	this bulletin board system enabled Sergeant Dan Pasquale of the Fremont Police
	Department the ability to penetrate the sacred barrier between the phreak/hack
	community and the rest of the world.

	This file will attempt to show the extent of this problem within the community
	and hopefully will lead readers to discover ways of protecting themselves from
	the many "venus fly traps" they are likely to encounter. Articles presented in
	this file are specially edited reprints from past issues of Phrack World News.


	The Evidence - The unseen truths reside in the shadows of our past and future.
	~~~~~~~~~~~~
	The following is an excerpt from Phrack World News Issue III;
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	Phoenix Phortress Stings 7
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	On March 5, 1986, the following seven phreaks were arrested in what has come to
	be known as the first computer crime "sting" operation.

	Captain Hacker \ Doctor Bob \ Lasertech \ The Adventurer
	The Highwayman \ The Punisher \ The Warden

	Many of them or other members of Phoenix Phortress belonged to these groups:

	High Mountain Hackers \ Kaos Inc. \ Shadow Brotherhood \ The Nihilist Order

	Of the seven, three were 15 years old; two were 16; one was 17; and one, 19.

	Their charges include:

	Several misdemeanors
	Trafficking in stolen long distance service codes
	Trafficking in stolen credit card numbers
	Possession of stolen property
	Possession of dangerous weapons (a martial arts weapon)
	Charging mail-order merchandise to stolen credit card numbers
	Selling stolen property
	Charging calls internationally to telephone service numbers

	Other phreak boards mentioned include:

	Bank Vault (Mainly for credit card numbers and tips on credit card scams)
	Phreakers Phortress (Mainly of course for phreak codes and other information)

	After serving search warrants early Wednesday morning on the seven Fremont
	residences where the young men lived with their parents, police confiscated at
	least $12,000 worth of equipment such as computers, modems, monitors, floppy
	disks, and manuals, which contained information ranging from how to make a
	bomb, to the access codes for the Merrill Lynch and Dean Witter Financial
	Services Firm's corporate computers.

	The sysop of Phoenix Phortress was The Revenger, who was supposedly Wally
	Richards, a 25 year-old Hayward man who "phreaked back east a little" in New
	Jersey. He took the phone number under the name of Al Davis. However he was
	really Sgt. Daniel Pasquale of the Fremont Police Department.

	When he introduced his board to other computer users, he called it the "newest,
	coolest, phreak board in town."

	Pasquale said he got the idea for the sting operation after a 16-year old
	arrested last summer for possession of stolen property "rolled them over
	(narced) He told us all about their operation."

	Pasquale used a police department Apple //e computer and equipment, with access
	codes and information provided by eight corporations, including Wells Fargo
	Bank, Sprint, and MCI.

	Pasquale said he received more than 2,500 calls from about 130 regular users
	around the country. The police started to make their first case three days
	after the board went up.

	"We had taken the unlisted phone number under the name Al Davis," Pasquale
	said. "In six days, these kids had the name on the bulletin board. I would
	have needed a search warrant to get that information."

	The arrests were made after five months of investigation by Dan Pasquale.
	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

	The Phoenix Phortress incident only led to the arrest of seven hackers.
	However, at the same time it enabled the law enforcement agencies to gather
	information about over one hundred other hackers, systems being discussed,
	anything transmitted in electronic mail on the bulletin board, and most likely
	gave them information about hundreds of other hackers, bulletin boards, and so
	forth.

	The following is an excerpt from Phrack World News Issue VII;
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	Maxfield Strikes Again August 20, 1986
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Many of you probably remember a system known as "THE BOARD" in the Detroit 313
	NPA. The number was 313-592-4143 and the newuser password was
	"HEL-N555,ELITE,3" (then return). It was kind of unique because it was run off
	of an HP2000 computer.

	On August 20, 1986 the following messages began to appear on THE BOARD;
	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

	Welcome to MIKE WENDLAND'S I-TEAM sting board!
	(Computer Services Provided By BOARDSCAN)
	66 Megabytes Strong

	300/1200 baud - 24 hours.

	Three (3) lines = no busy signals!
	Rotary hunting on 313-534-0400.


	Board: General Information & BBS's
	Message: 41
	Title: YOU'VE BEEN HAD!!!
	To: ALL
	From: HIGH TECH
	Posted: 8/20/86 @ 12.08 hours

	Greetings:

	You are now on THE BOARD, a "sting" BBS operated by MIKE WENDLAND of the
	WDIV-TV I-Team. The purpose? To demonstrate and document the extent of
	criminal and potentially illegal hacking and telephone fraud activity by the
	so-called "hacking community."

	Thanks for your cooperation. In the past month and a half, we've received all
	sorts of information from you implicating many of you to credit card fraud,
	telephone billing fraud, vandalism, and possible break-ins to government or
	public safety computers. And the beauty of this is we have your posts, your
	E-Mail and--- most importantly ---your REAL names and addresses.

	What are we going to do with it? Stay tuned to News 4. I plan a special
	series of reports about our experiences with THE BOARD, which saw users check
	in from coast-to-coast and Canada, users ranging in age from 12 to 48. For our
	regular users, I have been known as High Tech, among other ID's. John Maxfield
	of Boardscan served as our consultant and provided the HP2000 that this "sting"
	ran on. Through call forwarding and other conveniences made possible by
	telephone technology, the BBS operated remotely here in the Detroit area.

	When will our reports be ready? In a few weeks. We now will be contacting
	many of you directly, talking with law enforcement and security agents from
	credit card companies and the telephone services.

	It should be a hell of a series. Thanks for your help. And don't bother
	trying any harassment. Remember, we've got YOUR real names.

	Mike Wendland
	The I-team
	WDIV, Detroit, MI.


	Board: General Information & BBS's
	Message: 42
	Title: BOARDSCAN
	To: ALL
	From: THE REAPER

	This is John Maxfield of Boardscan. Welcome! Please address all letter bombs
	to Mike Wendland at WDIV-TV Detroit. This board was his idea.

	The Reaper (a.k.a. Cable Pair)
	-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	John Maxfield was in general extremely proud of his efforts with THE BOARD and
	he said that a lot of the people he voice verified should have known it was
	him. According to John Maxfield, the only reason this sting board was put up
	was to show "What is currently happening in the phreak/hack community." He
	said no legal action will be taken at all, and besides, its fattened his
	"dossiers" on a lot of people!

	[The news stories for WDIV-TV 4 appeared in Phrack World News Issue IX.]
	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

	Now, this is a classic example of people not learning from other people's
	mistakes. At some point in time prior to this incident, the number for THE
	BOARD was posted, it was given a lot of hype and eventually it drew in hackers
	to THE BOARD like flies to a spider web from which the unsuspecting users never
	broke free.

	That is the point I am trying to make -- today's phreak/hacker must learn to be
	more security conscious. What makes anyone think that they can trust someone
	just because they are running a bulletin board? This blind faith is what will
	be the downfall of many a hacker until they wise up and start paying attention
	to what they are doing. Safety first; the stakes in this game are a lot higher
	than no television after school for a week because once a hacker's phone number
	falls into the wrong hands, the law enforcement community or organizations like
	the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA) can find out everything
	about you. I know because I have seen their files and their hacker data base
	is so incredibly large and accurate...its unbelievable.

	The following is an excerpt from Phrack World News Issue XIV;
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	Metalland South: Phreak BBS or MetaliFEDS Inc.? June 2, 1987
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Metalland South BBS, at 404-327-2327, was once a fairly well known bulletin
	board, where many respected members of the hack/phreak community resided. It
	was originally operated by two guys from Metal Communications, Inc., but it
	wasn't an MCI club board. The sysop was Iron Man and the co-sysop was Black
	Lord. Recently, it has come to the writer's attention, that MLS has come under
	new management, new policies, and possibly a new idea; Sting.

	Somewhere around September-October 1986, Iron Man removed all of the hack/
	phreak related subboards as well as all G-philes from the system. He was
	apparently worried about getting busted. The last time this reporter spoke
	with him, Iron Man said he intended to put the hack/phreak subs back up. Then,
	not long after this conversation, the number was changed (The original number
	was 404-576-5166).

	A person using the alias of The Caretaker was made co-sysop and Iron Man would
	not reply to feedback. Everything was handled by The Caretaker [TC from now
	on]. TC did not allow any hack/phreak subs, but said he would put them up if
	the users would follow STRICT validation procedures.

	Strict validation on MLS includes:

	^*^ Your Real Name
	^*^ Your Address
	^*^ Your Voice Phone Number
	^*^ A Self-Addressed Envelope (in which he will send back with your account
	number and password.)

	It is obvious to see the ramifications here. A board or sysop gets busted and
	then makes a deal to turn over the board to some company or agency. To make
	sure that they get who they want, you have to give them all this info, and the
	only you can get a password is to let them mail it to you, thus guaranteeing
	that if something illegal is posted under that account, you are responsible, no
	ifs, ands, or buts.
	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

	There was more information that went on to prove that Metalland South was
	indeed some kind of a trap or sting board and the whole aura of mystery
	surrounding this system made it not worth calling.

	Do not EVER give a sysop your address so he can send you your password. There
	is no need for such information as it can only hurt you severely and would not
	benefit the sysop in any way that would leave you unharmed.

	One other item concerning bulletin boards comes from PWN Issue V where mention
	of yet another hacker sting board named The Tunnel was discovered in Texas.
	And lets not forget about TMC's P-80, sysoped by Scan Man, that was responsible
	for the apprehension of Shawn of Phreakers Quest (also known as Capt. Caveman).

	However, do not fool yourself into believing that bulletin boards are the only
	places you are likely to run into trouble. Regular systems that you like to
	work with may be just as dangerous if you are not careful. Druidic Death and
	Celtic Phrost found this out the hard way on the Unix system at MIT as they
	nearly succumbed to the power of progressive entrapment which would have doomed
	them both.

	The following is an excerpt from Phrack World News Issue XI;
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	MIT Unix: Victim or Aggressor? January 23 - February 2, 1987
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Was the MIT system an innocent victim of hacker oppression or simply another
	trap to capture unsuspecting hackers in the act?

	It all started like this...

	[Some posts have been slightly edited to be relevant to the topic]

	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	MIT
	Name: Druidic Death
	Date: 12:49 am Mon Jan 20, 1986

	Lately I've been messing around on MIT's VAX in there Physics Department.

	Recently some one else got on there and did some damage to files. However MIT
	told me that they'll still trust us to call them. The number is:

	617-253-XXXX

	We have to agree to the following or we will be kicked off, they will create a
	"hacker" account for us.

	<1> Use only GUEST, RODNEY, and GAMES. No other accounts until the hacker one
	is made. There are no passwords on these accounts.
	<2> Make sure we log off properly. Control-D. This is a UNIX system.
	<3> Not to call between 9 AM and 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. This is to avoid
	tying up the system.
	<4> Leave mail to GEORGE only with UNIX questions (or C). And leave our
	handles so he'll know who we are.

	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Unix
	Name: Celtic Phrost
	Date: 4:16 pm Mon Jan 20, 1986

	Thanks Death for the MIT computer, I've been working on getting into them for
	weeks. Here's another you can play around with:

	617/258-XXXX login:GUEST

	Or use a WHO command at the logon to see other accounts, it has been a long
	time since I played with that system, so I am unsure if the GUEST account still
	works, but if you use the WHO command you should see the GUEST account needed
	for applying for your own account.

	-Phrost
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Unix
	Name: Celtic Phrost
	Date: 5:35 pm Mon Jan 20, 1986

	Ok, sorry, but I just remembered the application account, its: OPEN
	Gawd, I am glad I got that off my chest!

	-(A relieved)Celtic Phrost.

	Also on that MIT computer Death listed, some other default accounts are:

	LONG MIKE GREG NEIL DAN

	Get the rest yourself, and please people, LEAVE THEM UNPASSWORDED!

	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	MIT
	Name: Druidic Death 12
	Date: 1:16 am Fri Jan 23, 1987

	MIT is pretty cool. If you haven't called yet, try it out. Just PLEASE make
	sure you follow the little rules they asked us about! If someone doesn't do
	something right the sysop leaves the gripe mail to me. Check out my directory
	under the guest account just type "cd Dru". Read the first file.

	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	MIT
	Name: Ctrl C
	Date: 12:56 pm Sat Jan 24, 1987

	MIT Un-Passworded Unix Accounts: 617-253-XXXX

	ALEX BILL GAMES DAVE GUEST DAN GREG MIKE LONG NEIL TOM TED
	BRIAN RODNEY VRET GENTILE ROCKY SPIKE KEVIN KRIS TIM

	And PLEASE don't change the Passwords....

	-=>Ctrl C<=-
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	MIT Again
	Name: Druidic Death
	Date: 1:00 pm Wed Jan 28, 1987

	Ok people, MIT is pissed, someone hasn't been keeping the bargain and they
	aren't too thrilled about it. There were only three things they asked us to
	do, and they were reasonable too. All they wanted was for us to not compromise
	the security much more than we had already, logoff properly, not leave any
	processes going, and call only during non-business hours, and we would be able
	to use the GUEST accounts as much as we like.

	Someone got real nice and added themselves to the "daemon" group which is
	superusers only, the name was "celtic". Gee, I wonder who that could have
	been? I'm not pissed at anyone, but I'd like to keep on using MIT's computers,
	and they'd love for us to be on, but they're getting paranoid. Whoever is
	calling besides me, be cool ok? They even gave me a voice phone to chat with
	their sysops with. How often do you see this happen?

	A little perturbed but not pissed...

	DRU'
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Tsk, Celtic.
	Name: Evil Jay
	Date: 9:39 am Thu Jan 29, 1987

	Well, personally I don't know why anyone would want to be a superuser on the
	system in question. Once you've been on once, there is really nothing that
	interesting to look at...but anyway.

	-EJ
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	In trouble again...
	Name: Celtic Phrost
	Date: 2:35 pm Fri Jan 30, 1987

	...I was framed!! I did not add myself to any "daemon" group on any MIT UNIX.
	I did call once, and I must admit I did hang up without logging off, but this
	was due to a faulty program that would NOT allow me to break out of it, no
	matter what I tried. I am sure that I didn't cause any damage by that.

	-Phrost
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Major Problems
	Name: Druidic Death
	Date: 12:20 pm Sat Jan 31, 1987

	OK, major stuff going down. Some unidentified individual logged into the
	Physics Dept's PDP11/34 at 617-253-XXXX and was drastically violating the
	"agreement" we had reached. I was the one that made the "deal" with them. And
	they even gave me a voice line to talk to them with.

	Well, one day I called the other Physics computer, the office AT and discovered
	that someone created an account in the superuser DAEMON group called "celtic".
	Well, I was contacted by Brian through a chat and he told me to call him. Then
	he proceeded to nicely inform me that "due to unauthorized abuse of the system,
	the deal is off".

	He was cool about it and said he wished he didn't have to do that. Then I
	called George, the guy that made the deal and he said that someone who said he
	was "Celtic Phrost" went on to the system and deleted nearly a year's worth of
	artificial intelligence data from the nuclear fission research base.

	Needless to say I was shocked. I said that he can't believe that it was one of
	us, that as far as I knew everyone was keeping the deal. Then he (quite pissed
	off) said that he wanted all of our names so he can report us to the FBI. He
	called us fags, and all sorts of stuff, he was VERY!! [underline twice] PISSED!
	I don't blame him. Actually I'm not blaming Celtic Phrost, it very easily
	could have been a frame up.

	But another thing is George thinks that Celtic Phrost and Druidic Death are one
	and the same, in other words, he thinks that I stabbed him in the back.
	Basically he just doesn't understand the way the hacker community operates.

	Well, the deal is off, they plan to prosecute whoever they can catch. Since
	George is my best friend's brother I have not only lost a friend, but I'm
	likely to see some legal problems soon. Also, I can forget about doing my
	graduate work at MIT. Whoever did this damage to them, I hope you're happy.
	You really messed things up real nice for a lot of people.

	Celtic, I don't have any reason to believe you messed with them. I also have
	no reason to think you didn't. I'm not making an accusation against you, but
	WHOEVER did this, deserves to be shot as far as I'm concerned. Until this data
	was lost, they were on the verge of harnessing a laser-lithium produced form of
	nuclear fission that would have been more efficient than using the standard
	hydrogen. Well, back to the drawing board now.

	I realize that it's hard to believe that they would have data like this on this
	system. But they were quite stupid in many other areas too. Leaving the
	superuser account with no password?? Think about it.

	It's also possible that they were exaggerating. But regardless, damage seems
	to have been done.

	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	MIT
	Name: Phreakenstein
	Date: 1:31 am Sun Feb 01, 1987

	Heck! I dunno, but whoever it was, I think, should let himself (the s00per
	K-rad elyte d00d he is) be known.

	I wasn't on MIT, but it was pretty dumb of MIT to even let Hackers on. I
	wouldn't really worry though, they did let you on, and all you have to prove is
	that you had no reason to do it.
	----Phreak
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	I wonder...
	Name: Ax Murderer 15
	Date: 6:43 pm Sun Feb 01, 1987

	I highly doubt that is was someone on this system. Since this is an elite
	board, I think all the users are pretty decent and know right and wrong things
	to do. Could be that one of the users on this system called another system and
	gave it out!??

	Ax Murderer
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	It was stupid
	Name: Druidic Death 12
	Date: 9:21 pm Sun Feb 01, 1987

	It seems to me, or, what I gathered, they felt that there were going to be
	hackers on the system to begin with and that this way they could keep
	themselves basically safe.

	I doubt that it was Celtic Phrost, I don't think he'd be an asshole like that.
	But I can't say. When I posted, I was pretty pissed about the whole deal. I've
	calmed down now. Psychic Warlord said something to me voice the other day that
	made me stop and think. What if this was a set up right from the start? I
	mean, MIT won't give me specifics on just what supposedly happened, Celtic
	Phrost denies everything, and the biggest part of it is what George said to me.

	"We can forgive you for what you did to us if you'll promise to go straight and
	never do this again and just tell us who all of your friends are that are on
	the system".

	I didn't pay much attention to that remark at first, now I'm beginning to
	wonder...

	I, of course, didn't narc on anyone. (Who do I know??? hehe)

	DRU'
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Comments...
	Name: Delta-Master
	Date: 7:15 am Mon Feb 02, 1987

	It wouldn't surprise me if it was some kind of setup, it's been done before.

	Delta-Master

	[All posts in this article were taken from ShadowSpawn.]
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	The Solution
	~~~~~~~~~~~~
	What more is there to say? It definitely looks like there was a setup involved
	and it probably was not the first time and probably will not be the last time
	either. So how can you protect yourself?

	As far as the bulletin boards go. There is an unwritten rule somewhere that
	basically says that to be a good sysop, you first have to be a good user. If
	the sysop of some mystery board is not someone you have seen around for a long
	time, then I would not call. However, even if it is someone who has been
	around, references from someone you feel you can trust is a necessity. It all
	boils down to the reliability of the information and the persons involved.

	When dealing with systems like the MIT Unix, remember, if its too good to be
	true then most likely there will be something that you are not being told.
	Who in their right mind is going to give free accounts to an important system
	with delicate information to a group of hackers? Its crazy.

	This file will hopefully serve as an informative fresh look at an old game. To
	me, even if the time I spent putting this article together helps out or saves
	only one phreak/hacker, I feel my job has been done successfully.

	:Knight Lightning

	"The Future Is Forever"

	The Phoenix Project

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