==Phrack Inc.== Volume Two, Issue Ten, Phile #8 of 9 PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN <-=*} Phrack World News {*=-> PWN PWN PWN PWN Issue IX/Part One PWN PWN PWN PWN Compiled, Written, and Edited by PWN PWN PWN PWN Knight Lightning PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN In PWN Issue Seven/Part One, we had an article entitled "Maxfield Strikes Again." It was about 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 message was seen 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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This then is the result: Phrack World News proudly presents... Mike Wendland & the I-Team Investigate "Electronic Gangsters" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Carman Harlan: Well we've all heard of computer hackers, those electronic gangsters who try to break into other people's computer systems. Tonight on the first of a three part news 4 [WDIV-TV, Channel 4 in Detroit] extra, Mike Wendland and the I-Team will investigate how such computer antics jeopardize our privacy. Mike joins us now to tell us what at first may have been innocent fun may now be affecting our pocket books. Mike Wendland: Well Carman and Mort, thanks to the media and movies just about everyone knows about hackers and phone phreaks. By hooking their Apples, their Ataris, and their Commodores into telephone lines these electronic enthusiasts have developed a new form of communication, the computer bulletin board. There are probably 10,000 of these message swapping boards around the country today, most are innocent and worthwhile. There are an estimated 1,000 pirate or hacker boards where the main activities are electronic trespassing, and crime [Estimates provided by John Maxfield]. [Clipping From Wargames comes on] In movies like Wargames computer hackers are portrayed as innocent hobbyist explorers acting more out of mischief than malice. But today a new generation of hackers have emerged. A hacker that uses his knowledge of computers to commit crimes. Hackers have electronically broken into banks, ripped off telephone companies for millions of dollars, trafficked in stolen credit card numbers, and through there network of computer bulletin boards traded information on everything from making bombs to causing terrorism. [Picture of John Maxfield comes on] John Maxfield: Well, now there are electronic gangsters, not just electronic explorers they are actually gangsters. These hackers meet electronically through the phone lines or computer bulletin boards. They don't meet face to face usually, but it is a semi-organized gang stile activity, much like a street gang, or motorcycle gang. Mike Wendland: John Maxfield of Detroit is America's foremost "Hacker Tracker". He has worked for the F.B.I. and various other law enforcement and security organizations. Helping catch dozens of hackers around the country, who have used their computers for illegal purposes. To find out how widespread these electronic gangsters have become, we used John Maxfield as a consultant to setup a so-called "sting" bulletin board [THE BOARD]. We wrote and designed a special program that would allow us to monitor the calls we received and to carefully monitor the information that was being posted. We called our undercover operation "The Board", and put the word out on the underground hacker network that a new bulletin board was in operation for the "Elite Hacker". Then we sat back and watched the computer calls roll in. In all we ran our so called "Sting" board for about a month and a half, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We received literally hundreds of phone calls from hackers coast to coast, ranging in age from 17 to 43. All of them though had one thing in common, they were looking for ways to cheat the system. The hackers identified themselves by nicknames or handles like CB radio operators use, calling themselves things like Ax Murderer, Big Foot, and Captain Magic. They left messages on a variety of questionable subjects, this hacker for instance told how to confidentially eavesdrop on drug enforcement radio conversations. A New York hacker called The Jolter swapped information on making free long-distance calls through stolen access codes, and plenty of others offered credit card numbers to make illegal purchases on someone else's account. John Maxfield: Well these kids trade these credit card numbers through the computer bulletin boards much like they'd trade baseball cards at school. What we've seen in the last few years is a series of hacker gangs that are run by an adult, sort of the mastermind who stays in the background and is the one who fences the merchandise that the kids order with the stolen credit cards. Mike Wendland: Then there were the malicious messages that had the potential to do great harm. The Repo Man from West Virginia left this message telling hackers precisely how to break into a hospital computer in the Charleston, WV area. [Picture of Hospital] This is where that number rings, the Charleston Area Medical Center. We immediately notified the hospital that there computer security had been breached. Through a spokesperson, the hospital said that a hacker had indeed broken into the hospital's computer and had altered billing records. They immediately tightened security and began an investigation. They caught the hacker who has agreed to make restitution for the damages. Maxfield says though, "Most such break-ins are never solved". John Maxfield: When you are talking about electronic computer intrusion, it's the perfect crime. It's all done anonymously, it's all done by wires, there's no foot prints, no finger prints, no blood stains, no smoking guns, nothing. You may not even know the system has been penetrated. Mike Wendland: Our experience with the "Sting" bulletin board came to a sudden and unexpected end. Our cover was blown when the hackers somehow obtained confidential telephone company records. The result a campaign of harassment and threats that raised serious questions about just how private our supposedly personal records really are. That part of the story tomorrow. [For a little more detail about how their cover was "blown" see PWN Issue 7/Part One, "Maxfield Strikes Again." Heh heh heh heh.] Mort Crim: So these aren't just kids on a lark anymore, but who are the hackers? Mike Wendland: I'd say most of them are teenagers, our investigation has linked about 50 of them hardcore around this area, but most very young. Mort Crim: Far beyond just vandalism! Mike Wendland: Yep. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A few quicknotes in between shows, Mike Wendland and John Maxfield set up THE BOARD. Carman Harlan and Mort Crim are newscasters. Also if anyone is interested in the stupidity of Mike Wendland, he flashed the post that contained the phone number to the hospital across the screen, Bad Subscript put the VCR on pause and got the number. If interested please contact Bad Subscript, Ctrl C, or myself. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Carman Harlan: Tonight on the second part of a news 4 [WDIV-TV, Channel 4 in Detroit] extra Mike Wendland and the I-Team report on how they setup a sting bulletin board to see how much they could get on these criminal hackers. Mike joins us now to explain that information, that was not the only thing they got. Mike Wendland: That's right, Carman & Mort. Our so called sting bulletin board received hundreds of calls from hackers all over America, and even Canada. They offered to trade stolen credit cards, and they told how to electronically break into sensitive government computers. But our investigation came to a sudden end when our sting board was stung. Our cover was blown when a hacker discovered that this man, computer security expert John Maxfield was serving as the I-Team consultant on the investigation. Maxfield specializes as a hacker tracker and has worked for the F.B.I. and various other police and security agencies. The hacker discovered our sting board by getting a hold of Maxfield's supposedly confidential telephone records. John Maxfield: And in the process of doing that he discovered the real number to the computer. We were using a different phone number that was call forwarded to the true phone number, he found that number out and called it to discover he was on the sting board. Mike Wendland: But the hacker didn't stop at exposing the sting, instead he posted copies of Maxfield's private telephone bill on other hacker bulletin boards across the country. John Maxfield: The harassment started, all of the people on my phone bill got calls from hackers. In some cases their phone records were also stolen, friends and relatives of theirs got calls from hackers. There was all sorts of other harassment, I got a call from a food service in Los Angeles asking where I wanted the 500 pounds of pumpkins delivered. Some of these kids are running around with guns, several of them made threats that they were going to come to Detroit, shoot me and shoot Mike Wendland. Mike Wendland: A spokesperson from Michigan Bell said that the breakdown in security that led to the release of Maxfield's confidential records was unprecedented. Phil Jones (MI Bell): I think as a company were very concerned because we work very hard to protect the confidentially of customer's records. [Yeah, right]. Mike Wendland: The hacker who got a hold of Maxfield's confidential phone records is far removed from Michigan, he lives in Brooklyn, NY and goes by the name Little David [Bill From RNOC]. He says that getting confidential records from Michigan Bell or any other phone company is child's play. Little David is 17 years old. He refused to appear on camera, but did admit that he conned the phone company out of releasing the records by simply posing as Maxfield. He said that he has also sold pirated long-distance access codes, and confidential information obtained by hacking into the consumer credit files of T.R.W. Little David says that one of his customers is a skip-tracer, a private investigator from California who specializes in finding missing people. Maxfield, meanwhile, says that his own information verified Little David's claim. John Maxfield: The nearest I can determine the skip-tracer was using the hacker, the 17 year old boy to find out the whereabouts of people he was paid to find. He did this by getting into the credit bureau records for the private eye. This is an invasion of privacy, but it's my understanding that this boy was getting paid for his services. Mike Wendland: In Long Island in New York, Maxfield's telephone records were also posted on a bulletin board sponsored by Eric Corley, publisher of a hacker newsletter [2600 Magazine]. Corley doesn't dispute the harassment that Maxfield received. Eric Corley: Any group can harass any other group, the difference with hackers is that they know how to use particular technology to do it. If you get a malevolent hacker mad at you there's no telling all the different things that can happen. Mike Wendland: What can happen? Well besides getting your credit card number or charging things to your account, hackers have been known to change people's credit ratings. It is really serious business! And tomorrow night we'll hear about the hacker philosophy which holds that if there is information out there about you it is fair game. Mort Crim: "1984" in 1986. Mike Wendland: It is! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Carman Harlan: News four [WDIV-TV, Channel 4 in Detroit] extra, Mike Wendland and the I-Team look at how these hackers are getting out of hand. Mike Wendland: The problem with hackers is not just with mischief anymore, unscrupulous hackers are not only invading your privacy, they are costing you money. Case and point, your telephone bills, because American telephone companies have long been targets of computer hackers and thieves we are paying more than we should. Experts say the long distance companies lose tens of millions of dollars a year to, these self described "Phone Phreaks." For example in Lansing, the Michigan Association of Governmental Employees received a phone bill totalling nearly three hundred and twenty one thousand dollars. For calls illegally racked up on there credit card by hackers. Such victims seldom get stuck paying the charges, so hackers claim there piracy is innocent fun. Phil Jones (MI Bell): Nothing could be further from the truth, it becomes a very costly kind of fun. What happens is that the majority of the customers who do pay there bills on time, and do use our service lawfully end up quitting after that bill. Mike Wendland: That's not all, hackers regularly invade our privacy, they leave pirated credit card numbers and information how to break into electronic computer banks on bulletin boards. Thousands of such electronic message centers exist across the country, most operated by teenagers. John Maxfield: There is no law enforcement, no parental guidance, they're just on their own so they can do anything they want. So the few bad ones that know how to steal and commit computer crimes teach the other ones. Mike Wendland: There is very little that is safe from hackers, from automatic teller machines and banks to the internal telephone systems at the White House. Hackers have found ways around them all hackers even have their own underground publication of sorts that tells them how to do it. [Close up of publication] Its called 2600 [2600 Magazine], after the 2600 hertz that phone phreaks use to bypass telephone companies billing equipment. It tells you how to find credit card numbers and confidential records in trash bins, break into private mainframe computers, access airline's computers, and find financial information on other people through the nations largest credit bureau, TRW. 2600 is published in a ram-shackled old house at the far end of Long Island, New York by this man, Eric Corley. He argues that hackers aren't electronic gangsters. Eric Corley: We like to call them freedom fighters. Hackers are the true individuals of the computer revolution, they go were people tell them not to go, they find out things they weren't supposed to find out. Mike Wendland: Corley's newsletter supports a hacker bulletin board called the Private Sector. Last year the F.B.I. raided it. Eric Corley: They managed to charge the system operator with illegal possession of a burglary tool in the form of a computer program. Mike Wendland: But the bulletin board is still in operation. Corley resents the suspicion that hackers are involved in criminal activities. Eric Corley: Hackers are not the people who go around looking for credit cards and stealing merchandise. That's common thievery. Hackers are the people who explore. So basically what we are saying is more knowledge for more people. That will make it better for everybody. Mike Wendland: He claims that hackers, in their own ways, really protect our rights by exposing our vulnerabilities. Well hackers may expose our vulnerabilities, but they also invade our privacy. There activities have really spotlighted the whole question of privacy raised by the massive files that are now out there in electronic data banks. Much of that information that we think is personal and confidential is often available to the whole world. Original transcript gathered and typed by Ctrl C & Bad Subscript Major editing by Knight Lightning _______________________________________________________________________________