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Ocean County Phone Punx 05
Ocean County Phone Punx Presents
OCPP05
"putting the terror in terrorism"
December 26, 1997
Contents
Intro - Mohawk
Payphone Profiles - Mohawk
TDD's - Count Z3R0
Fun with Spam - Iceboxman
editorial - The Death of Phreaking - Mohawk
The Beige Box - Cap'n Nemo
Busted in 97 - Mohawk
Letters
News
MCI Worldcom Merger
Intro-Mohawk
1998 already? Damn time goes by way to fast. Instead of releasing
issues every month we've decided to keep the same format of every other
month with a couple extra special issues. For example, we will have a
January issue, then a February issue and an April issue. That will amount
to about 8 or 9 issues a year. In this issue, we have three new writers
with some really good articles. However, we still need writers and other
staff. I decided to put bigger spaces between articles so if you want
to look for a specific article it'll be easier to scroll down and get it.
Also, due to the size of this issue, I took out the double spacing in the
news, busted in 97, and MCI Worldcom merger sections. We have alot of plans
for next year and 98 should prove to be very interesting.
Payphone Profiles-Mohawk
Last issue I told you about PNM plus. This issue I was gonna do
something different but I'm gonna save it till next issue cuz I'm still
waiting for some info on it. In this article I'm going to discuss some of
the different types of payphones out there. This list is only a small
number of them.
Carlson Enterprises
Personal Paypones
Personal Payphones or tabletop payphones are phones for lower volume
business where a normal bell style phone would not be cost effective. They
look just like an ordinary desk phone but with a coin slot. These can also
be used as a normal phone. They come in four different models.
Model 707
price- $239.00
Local coin calls only, or long distance operator assisted calls
Accepts quaters only
Multiple area code local calls are programmed at factory
Operator, ringer, and time limits set via dip switch on bottom
Model 727
price-$259.00
Local coin calls only, or long distance operator assisted calls
Choice of 25 and 20 cents charge for local calls
Accepts nickels, dimes, and quarters
Multiple area code local calls are programmed at factory
Operator, ringer, and time limits set via dip switch on bottom
Model 757
price-$369.00
Local and long distance coin calls
Accepts quarters only
10XXX, 0+, and 1+ re-routing to your preferred OSP
Fully programmable at factory per request at time of ordering
Protection against hook-switch dialing and tone dialers
LCD display for user friendly instructions
Model 767
price-$399.00
same features as 757
Accepts nickels, dimes, and quarters
General features
PBX compatible
no electical power needed
gray color
charge or allow free access to 911, 800, 0, 411 and 555-1212
restrict or allow 976, 900, 950, and 10XXX
Local Call Only phones
can be programmed to limit the call duration from 1-16 minutes
inbound calls can be turned off
control operator access
control 1-411 and 411 access
Protel
200BB+
Price-$1195.00
2 year warranty
Features
Patented Line Powered Technology
No AC power required
Reduced installation time
Continued service during power outage
Total Call Routing Flexibility
Calls can be routed to most profitable IXC and OCP
Expressnet Route Management-Protel's PC based phone management software
Remote Diagnostics Including: Coin box full, Inactivity, Stuck Coin
Complete SMDR for call auditing
Coin box accounting
Summary reports by call type
Maintence/Collection
Voice prompt in receiver stating coin box amount
Acoustical fraud detection avoids network fraud schemes
Prevents bill-to-payphone collect calls
Polling security codes to prevent fraudulent access into the PC
Convenience Features
Corrects dialing errors
Equal access compatible
User adjustable volume control
Clear voice prompts
Instant credit for non-completed or interrupted calls
Other Features
Track 10XXX & 950 calls
Complete Call Detail Reprots (CDR)
Built in # translation and alternate routing of emergency numbers
Optional Store and Foward capabilty
Elcotel
Series-5
price-$955.00
2 year warranty
Features
Line Powered
Digitized human voice prompts
Remotely downloadable operating system and site operational files
Modem Telemetry for programming & cashbox/alarms monitoring
Pre & User defined dialing macros for IXC and OSP call routing
SMDR
Call Diagnostic Events Recorder
Anti-Fraud features
Alarm reports (coin jam, handset, inactivity, cash box level)
Options
Card reader
Cashbox alarm switch
Electronic coin mechanism
Volume control button
AC/DC transformer (for sites with low line current)
Payphone Automated Operator Function (PAOF)
Olympian 5501 western
price-$1205.00
2 year warranty
Features
Line Powered
Circuit board enclosed in rugged aluminum housing
Timed local coin calls
Prevents Red Box fraud calls
Adjustable initial rate
Line polarity alarm & test
Supports and features and functions of Series-5
Same options of Series-5
Supports three remotely configurable modes
Modes
Bright Mode
Coin line operation, relies solely on C.O. intelligence for rating, routing,
and answer supervision. No rate table maintence required.
Hybrid Mode
Coin line operation, allows selective use of C.O. of set intelligence for
rating, routing, and answer supervision.
Smart Mode
COCOT line operation, relies solely on set intelligence for rating, routing,
and answer supervision.
TDD's-Count Z3R0
This is about how to operate tdd's and how to have fun with them.
TDD's are phones for deaf people, they have little keyboards and telephone
couplers on them. Often you can find TDD's in good hotels, airports, or
deaf people's houses. If a deaf person wants to call you, they would go to
one of these phones and dial the relay number of the state you're in and
tell the operator where you want to place a call. If the number is local,
then you'll be connected free-of-charge, if you want to call long
distance, then you'll need to pay with a calling card, third-number
billing or some other method. If you want to call a deaf person, then
you would call one of the voice relay numbers and do the same thing.
TDD's communicate without punctuation and have the caps on, so
there are some commands you need to know:
GA means Go Ahead;
QQ means Question mark;
SKSK means Hangup.
OK, now to the fun stuff. First off, you don't have to have a TDD
phone to use the service. There are 1-800 ansi relay numbers, so you can use
your modem to call the California Ansi TDD and tell the operator to call
anyone in California, and it don't cost you a damn thing! Also, TDD
operators ANNOT censor you messages, they will repeat them word-for-
word(most TDD operators are female, it's funny as hell to get a call at
2:00am with some lady telling me in a monotone voice, "Oh, baby, my ass is
on fire for you, Come lick me where it smells funny." Thirdly, TDD's will
connect you to any 1-800 number you want for free, have them call 1-800-FAT-
GIRL for you!
Lastly, since all of the relay numbers are 1-800, you can call your
state number via ansi, have the operator call a voice relay number, and tell
you're operator to tell the voice operator to call the number of one of your
friends(he has his modem set on auto-answer) in the second TDD's state. Oh,
the fun never dies! Here's a list of TDD numbers:
202-855-1234 District of Columbia TTY
202-855-1000 District of Columbia voice
212-219-1887 New York City Recycling Hotline
315-337-8489 Auto Attendant & TDD Mail
503-760-2212 911 Emergency in Portland, Oregon
617-849-5677 Massachusetts Lottery
800-548-2546 Alabama TTY
800-548-2547 Alabama voice
800-770-8973 Alaska TTY
800-770-8255 Alaska voice
800-367-8939 Arizona TTY
800-842-4681 Arizona voice
800-285-1131 Arkansas TTY
800-285-1121 Arkansas voice
800-735-2929 California TTY
800-735-2922 California voice
800-735-0091 California ascii
800-659-2656 Colorado TTY
800-659-3656 Colorado voice
800-659-4656 Colorado ascii
800-842-9710 Connecticut TTY
800-833-8134 Connecticut voice
800-232-5460 Delaware TTY
800-232-5470 Delaware voice
800-955-8771 Florida TTY
800-955-8770 Florida voice
800-255-0056 Georgia TTY
800-255-0135 Georgia voice
808-643-8833 Hawaii TTY
808-546-2565 Hawaii voice
800-377-3529 Idaho TTY
800-377-1363 Idaho voice
800-526-0844 Illinois TTY
800-526-0857 Illinois voice
800-501-0864 Illinois Spanish TTY
800-501-0865 Illinois Spanish voice
800-743-3333 Indiana TTY/voice
800-735-2942 Iowa TTY
800-735-2943 Iowa voice
800-766-3777 Kansas TTY/voice
800-648-6056 Kentucky TTY
800-648-6057 Kentucky voice
800-846-5277 Louisiana TTY
800-947-5277 Louisiana voice
800-437-1220 Maine TTY
800-457-1220 Maine voice
800-735-2258 Maryland TTY/voice
800-439-2370 Massachusetts TTY/voice/ascii
800-439-0183 Massachusetts voice
800-649-3777 Michigan TTY/voice
800-627-3529 Minnesota TTY/voice/ascii
800-582-2233 Mississippi TTY
800-855-1000 Mississippi voice
800-855-1234 Mississippi ascii
800-735-2966 Missouri TTY
800-735-2466 Missouri voice
800-253-4091 Montana TTY
800-253-4093 Montana voice
800-833-7352 Nebraska TTY
800-833-0920 Nebraska voice
800-326-6868 Nevada TTY
800-326-6888 Nevada voice
800-735-2964 New Hampshire TTY/voice
800-852-7899 New Jersey TTY
800-852-7897 New Jersey voice
800-659-8331 New Mexico TTY
800-659-1779 New Mexico voice
800-662-1220 New York TTY
800-421-1220 New York voice
800-735-2962 North Carolina TTY
800-735-8262 North Carolina voice
800-366-6888 North Dakota TTY
800-366-6889 North Dakota voice
800-750-0750 Ohio TTY/voice
800-522-8506 Oklahoma TTY
800-722-0353 Oklahoma voice
800-735-2900 Oregon TTY
800-735-1232 Oregon voice
800-735-0644 Oregon ascii
800-735-3896 Oregon Spanish TTY/voice
800-654-5984 Pennsylvania TTY
800-654-5988 Pennsylvania voice
800-745-5555 Rhode Island TTY
800-745-6575 Rhode Island voice
800-745-1570 Rhode Island ascii
800-735-2905 South Carolina TTY/voice
800-877-1113 South Dakota TTY/voice
800-848-0298 Tennessee TTY
800-848-0299 Tennessee voice
800-735-2989 Texas TTY
800-735-2988 Texas voice
800-735-2991 Texas ascii
800-346-4128 Utah TTY/voice
800-253-0191 Vermont TTY
800-253-0195 Vermont voice
800-828-1120 Virgina TTY
800-828-1140 Virgina voice
800-833-6388 Washington TTY
800-833-6384 Washington voice
800-833-6385 Washington telebraille
800-982-8771 West Virgina TTY
800-982-8772 West Virgina voice
800-947-3529 Wisconsin TTY/voice
800-877-9975 Wyoming TTY
800-877-9965 Wyoming voice
800-855-2880 AT&T National Relay TTY
800-855-2881 AT&T National Relay voice
800-855-2882 AT&T National Relay ascii
800-855-2883 AT&T National Relay telebraille
800-855-2884 AT&T National Relay Spanish TTY
800-855-2885 AT&T National Relay Spanish voice
800-855-2886 AT&T National Relay Spanish ascii
800-877-8339 Federal Information Relay Service TTY/voice
800-833-5833 Hamilton National Relay TTY
800-833-7833 Hamilton National Relay voice
800-688-4889 MCI National Relay TTY
800-947-8642 MCI National Relay voice
800-877-8973 Sprint National Relay TTY/voice/ascii
800-243-7889 AIDS Hotline
800-855-1155 AT&T Directory Asisstance
800-326-2996 Federal Information Center
800-544-3316 QVC
Well kids, that's all for now and until next time, have phun,
don't get caught, and if you do, you don't know me.
Stay Phreaky,
CountZ3R0
Fun with Spam-Iceboxman
Sometimes, if you're subscribed to a list you will get posts from
other lists. This can be very annoying to people subscribed and getting
posts on a totally different subject, especially if the other list is a
popular one that get a massive amount of posts to it. Here's how someone
could go about doing it.
You sign up for a free e-mail account such as hotmail
(www.hotmail.com) or iname(www.iname.com). Of course, give them fake
information, except for your E-mail address (yes, you have to have an e-mail
address for this to work). If your really paranoid, sign up with another
service and use real information, and then use that address to be forwarded
to. It would look like this: iname.com--->hotmail.com--->your e-mail
so that you can't be traced (Of course this is virtually untraceable by
anyone getting annoyed by the misc posts). Let's use
subscriber@iname.com" as our address for an example. "This is the netscape
set up part. Instructions are in parenthesis."
Then you go into netscape mail and change your identity to this new
e-mail address (Choose Options-->Mail & News Preferences...-->Identity. Put
your name as anything under "Your Name". Let's use "subscriber" as an
example. Put the email address to send mail to add to the list that you
want to annoy under "Your Email".
Let's use "suckers@destination.com" as an example.) Make sure your
server is a valid mail server (Choose Options-->Mail & News
Preferences...-->Servers. Under "Outgoing Mail Server" Type your mail
server's name. I'll use "mail.mydomain.com" as an example.)
Now with netscape mail set up, go to
"http://www.lsoft.com/lists/list_s.html" and look at a bunch of lists.
From here choose the most annoying ones like sex ones and christian ones
or something that nobody cares about like "how to fold army men out of
gum wrappers" and subscribe to them all using subscriber@iname.com (your
forwarding address) as your e-mail address. Now wait a day or two and
make sure you are subscribed and getting email from all these lists.
You may have to reply back to some of these list to tell them your
really sure you want to subscribe. this is done as an effort so the
people won't use another list as their e-mail address. Now, when all
the lists are subscribed to then edit your forwarding address so instead
of you're real e-mail use suckers@destination.com (the list you want to
annoy). Now the loop should look like this:
annoying list--->subscriber@iname.com--->suckers@destination.com
In a week if not a few days, something will happen such as shutting
down the list, everybody unsubscribing, or not accepting e-mail from your
forwarding address, in which case you would get a new one. If you really
want to annoy the list, get 3 or 4 email addresses and subscribe them to the
same lists so that suckers would get about 3 or 4 times more E-mail. Have
fun.
editorial-The Death of Phreaking-Mohawk
A lot of people have been thinking about the death of phreaking
lately. They look at the way things use to be and compare it to the way
things are today. They look at the goldenage of phreaking in the early
80's and they feel that we have things have been on a downward slope
ever since. Let me clear something up, phreaking will never die. In fact,
phreaking is probably more popular now than it has ever been. Phreaking
in the future might just be reading old text files and thinking about
what it must of been like or maybe history will repeat itself and another
goldenage will emerge that will rival the one of the 80's. I doubt
either will happen but you never know. However, if we want to keep
phreaking as good as it is today if not improve it, we too have to change.
Every day the telco's find new and better ways to thwart the efforts of
phreaks everywhere. We have to let go of the old methods of phreaking and
concentrate more on new methods. Redboxing is the reason 75% of people
ever get into phreaking and it is probably the most talked about subject.
However, the redbox is slowly phasing out. It won't be long until it
becomes a thing of the past. We also have to stop relying on other people
to do the work for us. Try to invent a new method of your own or at least
try to improve on a new one. Even if you don't succeed you will probably
learn something, and that's what phreaking is all about, learning. Also,
try not to live your life on boxes alone. I've talked to people that could
make every box ever made in their sleep but when I asked "why does that
work" they had no idea. So try to learn about why a method works not just
how. If enough people change their ways, phreaking should be ok. But what
good is it if we all change and there are no phones? I'm not saying that
phones are gonna disappear tomorrow but how much longer will a phone be just
a phone. With phones being able to send email and computers being able
to be used as phones will phreaking and hacking remain as too different
entities in the future? It's interesting to think about and no one can
say for sure. So will phreaking ever die? Well even if everything
that has to do with phreaking disappears the spirit of phreaking will
never die.
The Beige Box-Cap'n Nemo
The beige box is a modification to your phone that allows you to
perform the functions of a Lineman's Headset. This lets you to hook up to
someone's house and become an extension of their line. The device I am going
to tell you how to build is actually a split-line beige box because it is
made from a split phone line. I would advise that you read all of this file
including the disclaimer before performing any actions outlined in this
text.
Supplies:
2 alligator clips (red and green)
1 6 ft. telephone cord
1 razor (Radio Shack sells a nice 11 piece kit)
3 inches of solder (optional)
Soldering Iron (optional)
A telephone (not portable)
Construction:
1. Cut the phone cord in half.
2.Strip 8 inches of plastic casing off of one of the pieces of telephone
cord. (Be cautious to not cut any wires inside of the casing)
3.Cut off the yellow and black wires that you have now exposed.
4.Strip about 1 inch of wire off of the ends of the red and green wires.
5.Twist the now exposed copper wires to form one wire on both the red and
green wires.
6.Connect these wires to the alligator clips. (red and green respectively)
7.Solder all connections for more secure connections. (optional)
8. If you want 2 beige boxes then repeat steps 1 through 7 on your other
half of telephone wire.
Connecting:
On the side of every office or house there is a small gray box
labeled "Telecommunications Network Interface". You need to open this box.
Depending where you live you will need either a flat-head screwdriver, a
7/16 in. hex driver, or a lock pick set. If it looks like you need a
screwdriver and a hex driver it turns out that the hex nut actually opens
a sub-box inside of the main one, so you will only need the screwdriver to
open the box. When you open this box you will see 4 screws with colored
wires attached. Clip your red alligator clip to the screw with red wires
running to it, and attach the green alligator clip to the screw with green
wires to it. Now plug in your phone to the phone wire. Note: The layout of
the box may vary.
Use:
What this does is make your telephone a legitimate extension of their
line. What this means is you can make phone calls, listen in on phone calls,
and anything you would want to do on your home phone number.
Here are some ideas:
-Calling long distance free
-Holding conference calls with other friends (0-700-456-1000)
-Making a very large phone bill for someone (i.e. 900#s)
-Making calls you wouldn't want traced to your house.
-Eavesdropping
Tips:
-Do beige boxing at night or in a secluded spot.
-When doing it at night bring a flashlight with a purple light filter on it.
-Do not talk of doing this on BBSs.
-Do this on your home until you feel comfortable doing it.
-Do not beige box on a house more than two times.
-If you want to be extra safe then wear gloves to avoid fingerprints.
Busted in 97-Mohawk
1997 had it's share of people getting busted. This is one of the
most comprehensive lists known to us and we did all the research ourselves.
Our main goal in providing this section to you is to not only keep
you up to date on current events but we hope you will realize how the
people in this article got caught. That way maybe you will see what
mistakes you are making so that your name doesn't appear in this section one
day.
GMU SCHOOL FILES LOST
Accused ComputerHackers Arrested
Computer hackers have invaded the databanks at George Mason
University, destroying student and faculty files and sending derogatory
messages about a school official.
Fairfax Police and the university have investigated 11 incidents of
computer hacking since April. The intrusions mostly affect projects at the
School of Information Technology and Engineering.
Last month, authorities arrested two George Mason students in several
hacking incidents. Police said Robert Shvern of Alexandria installed a
virus into the school's computer. Ryan Whelan of Centreville allegedly
erased Shvern's messages to hinder the investigation.
Shvern is charged with computer trespassing, forgery and theft of
services. Whelan is charged with being an accessory after the fact.
How to catch a hacker: Follow the money
By most measures, those responsible for the Citibank caper were
world-class hackers - just really poor money launderers. When bank and
federal officials began monitoring activities of a hacker moving cash
through Citibank's central wire transfer department, they were clueless about where the attack was originating.
Monitoring began in July and continued into October, during which
there were 40 transactions. Cash was moved from accounts as far away as
Argentina and Indonesia to bank accounts in San Francisco, Finland, Russia,
Switzerland, Germany and Israel.
In the end, all but $400,000 taken before monitoring began was
recovered. The break came Aug. 5, when the hacker moved $218,000
from the account of an Indonesian businessman to a BankAmerica account in
San Francisco. Federal agents found that account was held by Evgeni and
Erina Korolkov of St. Petersburg, Russia.
When Erina Korolkov flew to San Francisco to make a withdrawal in
late August, she was arrested. By September, recognizing a St. Petersburg
link, authorities traveled to Russia. A review of phone records found that
Citibank computers were being accessed at AO Saturn, a company specializing
in computer software, where Vladimir Levin worked.
By late October, confident it had identified the hacker, Citibank
changed its codes and passwords, shutting the door to the hacker. In late
December, Korolkov began cooperating. Levin and Evgeni Korolkovone were
arrested at Stansted Airport, outside London, on a U.S. warrant March 4,
1995.
Unknown is how the hacker obtained passwords and codes assigned
to bank employees in Pompano, Fla., and how he learned to maneuver through
the system. Citibank says it has found no evidence of insider cooperation
with the hacker.
Hacker pleads guilty to stealing credit cards
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO - A computer hacker accused of collecting 100,000
credit card numbers off the Internet pleaded guilty before his scheduled
trial.
Carlos Felipe Salgado, Jr., 36, could get up to 30 years in prison
and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced Nov. 25. He was indicted in May
on charges that he gathered credit data from a dozen companies selling
products over the Internet.
The FBI arrested him following a sting in which he tried to sell the
information to agents posing as organized crime figures, agency spokesman
George Grotz said. Salgado asked for $260,000, Grotz said.
Salgado's trial had been scheduled to start Monday. Instead, he
admitted to four counts, including unauthorized access of a computer,
trafficking in stolen credit card numbers and possessing more than 15
stolen card numbers with intent to defraud.
NASA nabs computer hacker
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A Delaware teen-ager is under investigation for
hacking his way into a NASA Internet site, agency officials say.
NASA Inspector General Robert Gross cited the most recent example
of a computer invasion of a NASA Web site as an example of how the
space agency has become "vulnerable via the Internet."
"We live in an information environment vastly different than 20
years ago," Gross said Monday in a written statement. "Hackers are
increasing in number and in frequency of attack."
In the latest case, the Delaware teen, whose name, age and hometown
were not released, altered the Internet Web site for the Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., according to the statement from the
computer crimes division of NASA's Inspector General Office.
"We own you. Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we
practice to deceive," the teen's message said, adding that the government
systems administrators who manage the site were "extremely stupid."
The message also encouraged sympathizers of Kevin Mitnick, a
notorious computer hacker, to respond to the site. Mitnick was indicted last
year on charges stemming from a multimillion-dollar crime wave in cyberspace.
The altered message was noticed by the computer security team in
Huntsville. The NASA statement called the teen's hacking "a cracking spree"
and said it was stopped May 26 when his personal computer was seized.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in Delaware and Alabama
are handling the case with NASA's computer crimes division.
Teen recounts hacking into U.S. military computer
The Associated Press
ZADAR, Croatia - Nervously glancing at the desk where his computer
was before police took it away, 15-year-old Vice Miskovic explained with
a mixture of pride and bewilderment how he managed to hack his way into a
U.S. military computer.
"I used some of the hacking programs available on the Internet,
adjusted them, and, with a bit of luck, managed to break into the computer
system of the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam," Miskovic said last week.
"It was a challenge," he said, smiling. "I was curious to see
whether I could do it or not." Miskovic said he searched through the
Anderson base files during the month of January, but whenever he wanted to
download files, they would disappear.
He got scared "because I didn't intend to destroy any files, I just
wanted to see them," he said, adding that he assumed the files had
self-destruction programs installed in them. On Feb. 5, Croatia's computer
crime investigators put an end to Miskovic's search and temporarily
impounded his computer. Current Croatian criminal law does not provide for
punishment of computer crime.
The Pentagon confirmed that Miskovic had gotten into Anderson base
computers, but said he had not compromised any classified documents. When
news about the teen-age hacker broke here last week, the small medieval
Adriatic town was puzzled - and Miskovic's parents were shocked.
Soon Miskovic - whose hacker code was "Intruder" - became known
throughout Croatia. Nediljka Miskovic said her shy grandson has always been
fascinated by computers. "He had no interest in new jeans, sneakers or
girls," she said. "Day and night, he was hooked onto the computer."
Computer hacker pleads guilty
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - A computer whiz deemed so cunning he could control
almost any computer system has accepted a plea bargain for hacking
his way into the secret files of two major communications companies.
Christopher Schanot, 20, was linked to the Internet Liberation Front,
a group of hackers who have claimed responsibility for some high-profile
computer pranks and who decry the commercialization of cyberspace.
In exchange for a reduced sentence, Schanot pleaded guilty Thursday
to two counts of computer fraud and one count of illegal wiretapping.
He faces up to 15 years in prison and $750,000 in fines at his sentencing
on Jan. 31.
Prosecutors said Schanot broke into national computer networks and
had passwords to military computers, the credit reporting service TRW and
Sprint. They gave no indication he tried to profit from his intrusion.
His hacking caused security breaches that companies said cost tens of
thousands of dollars to repair.
The break-ins took place between October 1994 and April 1995,
when Schanot was an honor student at a Catholic boys' school in suburban
St. Louis. He vanished after graduating in May 1995. Authorities caught up
with Schanot last March and arrested him at the suburban Philadelphia
apartment he shared with a 37-year-old woman, Netta Gilboa, the publisher
of the magazine Gray Areas. The magazine professes to explore subject
matter that is "illegal, immoral and/or controversial."
In April, Schanot was placed under 24-hour house arrest and ordered
not to talk about computers. Originally accused in a five-count indictment,
he pleaded guilty to charges surrounding break-ins at Southwestern Bell and
Bellcore, a communications research company owned by seven regional
telephone companies.
Mike Schanot said his son made the plea bargain only after
prosecutors threatened him with a wider range of charges.
Attack on Web site leads to charges
A hacker who engineered the cyber-hijacking of the world's leading
supplier of Web addresses has been arrested in Canada on charges of wire
fraud and faced deportation hearings yesterday.
Eugene Kashpureff, co-founder of Alternic Inc., was apprehended
outside Toronto last Friday after a month-long investigation by the FBI.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, acting on a warrant issued by the
Canadian government, picked up Kashpureff without incident, a
spokeswoman said.
The charges reportedly stem from Kashpureff's virtual attack this
summer on the Web site of Network Solutions Inc., the Herndon, Va., company
that controls most domain names, which are used for Internet addresses.
An FBI spokesman confirmed that Kashpureff was in custody on wire
fraud charges, but declined to provide further details.
Kashpureff, whose residence is listed as Belfair, Wash., this summer
hacked into Network Solutions' computer system and redirected people
trying to reach its address -- www.internic.net -- to his own site,
www.alternic.net.
He said he pulled the prank to protest Network Solutions' exclusive
agreement with the National Science Foundation to assign and route traffic
to the five most popular Web domain addresses -- .com, .org, .net, .gov
and .edu -- for the past five years. Network Solutions charges $100 for
each name registration.
Ironically, Network Solutions' contract with the NSF
expires on March 31, 1998. Network Solutions filed a civil suit against
Kashpureff in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., and the case was
settled in August.
The court ordered a permanent injunction barring
Kashpureff and Alternic from disrupting Network Solutions' Web addressand
forced Kashpureff to issue an online apology to the Internet community.
"Our problems with him are over," said Philip Sbarbaro, general counsel
for Network Solutions. "We were not involved in any way in his arrest."
But an associate of Kashpureff said Canadian immigration authorities
contacted him a few weeks ago looking for Kashpureff, who reportedly
fled to Canada in September. "They said he was wanted by the FBI for
computer and wire fraud," said the source, who requested anonymity.
He said he was shocked by the severity of the charges against Kashpuref.
"There were no monetary damages and minimal inconvenience," he said.
"This isn't murder. It was just silly high-tech high-jinks."
But the Internet community takes Kashpureff's prank very seriously.
"When someone tinkers with the Internet illegally, it is serious business
that needs to be policed," said Michael Donovan, a lawyer for pgMedia, a
New York-based domain name registry that is suing Network Solutions
for monopolistic business practices. "It harms people's livelihoods and
undercuts faith in the Net. He should be punished."
Though most Netizens do not condone Kashpureff's protest, they agree
that Network Solutions has a monopoly on dispensing top-level domain
names. Network Solutions disclosed in July that it is being
investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for possible monopolistic
business practices.
Busted: Digital detectives take byte out of computer crime
One day last month, a half-dozen law enforcement agents in black
bullet-proof vests trotted cautiously through a quiet North Sacramento
neighborhood. Their target: a suspected "chop shop."
Traditionally, these shops have been unmarked garages where crooks
rip apart stolen autos for the valuable parts. But today's chop shops are
just as likely to house computer parts and criminals busily cobbling
together PCs for later resale through the local want ads.
That's what these agents -- members of an elite squad of computer-
savvy crime busters known as the Sacramento Valley High-Tech Crimes Task
Force -- were after. Created last year, the group has earned a nationwide
reputation for its digital detective work on cases ranging from chop shops
to cloned cell phones to Internet child pornography. Law enforcement
agencies from around the country often troop to Sacramento to learn from the
group.
Sen. Patrick Johnston, D-Stockton, this year even introduced a bill
that would help nurture high-tech crime fighting units like Sacramento's
elsewhere in California. The bill is on the governor's desk, though it had
not been signed as of Friday.
In last month's raid, agents entering the suspected chop shop
discovered a stocky 33-year-old man and a silicon graveyard: Crunched
keyboards stacked knee high. An elaborate network of surveillance cameras.
Junked circuit boards. A credit-card reader, and thousands of black
microchips scattered like crumbs around the carpet.
Almost immediately, two members of the task force -- some of whom
have engineering degrees -- pounced on the suspect's personal computer,
humming quietly in the corner. Like a bloody knife or dead body, the agents
know that computers can hide valuable evidence. They scanned the machine for
booby traps, then prepared to haul it back to their "computer forensics"
laboratory to examine.
Sgt. Michael Tsuchida of the Sacramento County Sheriff's department
surveyed the mess and shook his head. "I hope nobody has any plans for
tonight," he chuckled. Computer chop shops are just the latest addition to
the expanding realm of high-tech crime, a world in which thumbnail-sized
computer chips can be costlier than gold chips and high-tech criminals are
no longer limited to pimply-faced high-school hackers, but range from
organized crime members in Armani suits to drug addicts in flop houses.
In the North Sacramento raid agents found a suspected stove-top
methamphetamine lab and several guns, including one that had been reported
stolen, alongside the computer chips. "Computers have become so user
friendly that even the most uneducated thief can use it to commit a crime,"
said Robert Morgester, a deputy district attorney with the Sacramento
County DA's office who helped to create the task force.
Regardless of who is doing it, high-tech crime carries a high price
tag. A 1995 study by the accounting firm Ernst & Young found that computer
break-ins can cost companies more than $1 million in losses. Cellular phone
companies last year lost an estimated $650 million to crooks who stole
wireless phone codes to talk for free. Sacramento is no exception.
"The Sacramento Valley has become one of the largest manufacturers
of computer components in the world," said Alberto Roldans, deputy district
attorney in the Sacramento County office. "And we're seeing more and more
high-tech crime."
In 1996 the high-tech task force investigated 176 cases, conducted
117 searches, arrested 156 suspects and recovered about $9 million worth of
stolen property, according to its annual report. The group's headquarters on
Folsom Road is tucked away inside one corner of a windowless, crypt-like
building that resembles a storage room more than a high-tech nerve center.
The group is headed by Tsuchida, who has been with the Sheriff's
Department for 22 years. Tsuchida, unlike nearly every other member of the
task force, admits he barely knows how to turn on a computer.
"I'm a computer dummy," said Tsuchida, adding with a wry smile,
"You'd be surprised how much low-tech detective work it takes to solve high-
tech crime." The proof hangs behind his desk: plaques honoring him as
detective of the year award from the Sheriff's Department as well as the law
enforcement officer of the year for Northern California.
On technical matters, Tsuchida calls on his stable of
computer-savvy cops on the task force. Detective Michael Menz of the
Roseville Police Department is a self-taught programmer who hasbeen
tinkering with computers since about 1975, when personal computers were
being built by hobbyists as kits.
Menz patrols cyberspace much the way a beat cop would patrol a
neighborhood. A wizard at computer forensics and the Internet, he spends
hours online working undercover, loitering in chat rooms with suspected
pedophiles or cyberbars with hackers. To do this, Menz keeps several
Internet accounts, each with different user names and identities.
"It's hard to put yourself in the mind set of a pedophile or a
14-year-old hacker," said Menz. "You've got to listen to how they talk, the
kind of lingo they use." To make himself more believable, Menz watches TV --
lots of it -- from "Saved By The Bell" to MTV.
This undercover work occasionally pays off and produces
incriminating evidence that can be used in court. "Sometimes the bad guys
will come out and say, 'Here's a stolen credit card number. Don't tell
anyone where you got it,'" said Menz with a smirk. The team's Folsom Road
digs also contains its computer forensics lab, one of the few in California.
Computer forensics is a new, cutting edge area of law enforcement that
allows police to extract powerful and often damning electronic evidence
against criminals. The task force members are experts at it.
"Just think, what do regular people keep on their computers? You
have private e-mail. You keep your address book. You may keep your financial
records," Tsuchida said. "Well, criminals are no different." The group has a
clearinghouse for seized computer gear as detectives in other units
routinely lug over computers they've retrieved on busts to see whether they
contain incriminating evidence.
"The task force is invaluable in the investigation when it comes to
computer access," said Lt. Robert Kraft of the Sheriff's Department's
narcotics gang division. "They break the password codes and access the
information we need for seizing assets or getting evidence for a crime."
Probably 70 percent of the computers they examine contain
incriminating evidence, said Special Agent Fred Adler, a former Motorola
engineer now with the FBI. Adler is the team's computer forensics guru.
When they encounter a computer at a crime scene, a computer
forensics expert like Adler first disconnects the telephone line from the
computer modem so nobody could sabotage evidence from a distance before
they've had a chance to get it. Then the person checks for booby traps.
Criminals have been known to rig their computers to wipe out any
potentially incriminating data if the proper shut-down procedure isn't
followed or password given.
"We've found bombs hardwired to computers, so that if you hit a
button it goes kabloomy! -- there goes the computer, the evidence and the
investigator," said Morgester.
Finally, they make an exact duplicate of the hard drive to avoid
contaminating the original hard drive, which might make any evidence they
find inadmissible in court. To make sure they always get admissible digital
evidence, Adler and other task force experts are teaching other cops how to
handle computers when they come upon them at a crime scene.
"We've seen case after case where you have law enforcement agents
who know the computer was used in the crime and still leave it behind.
That's the equivalent of going to a murder scene, finding a dead body,
seeing the bullet in the head and not taking the gun," Morgester said.
Part of the problem, said police, is that most beat cops don't know
what to do with a computer when they find it. A 1995 University of
California study found that 40 percent of police professionals received no
formal training on computers, and another 20 percent received less than two
hours.
"If it had been a knife, the police would have taken it. If it had
been a gun, they would have taken it. But a computer? Their thinking is: How
do you dust a microprocessor for prints?" Tsuchida said. By contrast, the
FBI recently estimated that 90 percent of criminals will be computer
literate by the year 2001.
"If you go into any prison, what do they teach you how to use? A
computer," Morgester said. To illustrate how important it is for beat
officers to become more computer literate, Tsuchida likes to tell the story
of one case involving a Bakersfield teen who was using the Internet to
persuade people to meet him in person, then robbing them when they did.
The Bakersfield police were the first to nab the teen, but when
they searched his house for evidence, they left his computer. Later,
Tsuchida's team was called in to help because some of the crimes occured
around Sacramento. When forensic expert Adler examined the hard drive, he
found evidence the teenager may have been involved in mail fraud as far away
as Pennsylvania.
Police agencies are so hungry to learn this digital detective work
that they've come to Sacramento from as far away as Ottawa, Canada. Next
month, the task force is putting on a training seminar in South Lake Tahoe
for police officers around the country. Already, it's nearly sold out.
Besides inexperience by some officers, another problem faced by
investigators is money: High-tech crime is expensive to investigate.
"You can't fight crime with a 486 (CPU), if the bad guys are using
Pentium IIs. It takes a hacker to catch a hacker," said Tsuchida.
Each computer forensics job, for example, requires investigators to
make an exact duplicate of the confiscated computer's hard drive. To do
this, they need a hard drive as big as the one they're working on. These
days a typical hard drive might run several hundred dollars.
Tsuchida often turns to the local high-tech industry for help and
works hand in hand with companies such as Apple, Hewlett Packard, NEC
Electronics, Packard Bell, Intel, Air Touch Cellular, and AT&T Wireless
Services. These firms often provide hard drives for the task force's
computer forensic work, free cell phone use or the money for controlled
buys.
Despite this help, there's fear in law enforcement circles that as
the bad guys grow more technologically savvy and well-equipped, law
enforcement departments will be unable to fight back. When the task force
was formed last year, it had more than 10 members from various laws
enforcement agencies in the surrounding counties. Today, the group's ranks
have been cut nearly in half as short-staffed local agencies pull their
people off the task force and back home.
For Tsuchida, this means lots of late nights for his squad and some
tough decisions about where to deploy his troops. "I know of three or four
places like the chop shop we hit the other day," he said, recalling the
North Sacramento raid. "But I just don't have the officers to do it."
The digital detectives may be in for a long, tough fight. "For a lot
of the sophisticated criminals, money is no object," said Lt. Kraft, the
narcotics detective."
Computer Hacker Must Pay Restitution
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- A computer hacker must pay $40,000 in
restitution for intrusions into the Air Force Information Warfare Center and
other classified defense computer systems. Wendell Dingus also was
sentenced Monday in federal court to six months of home monitoring.
Federal prosecutor Neil Smith said Dingus will be liable for
restitution for time and efforts involved in tracking hackers. Dingus was
sentenced for a series of intrusions into the computer in 1995. He admitted
he used a program installed by telephone modem transfer in a Vanderbilt
University computer to gain log-in passwords to Air Force and NASA
computers.
Nabbed in Gates Death Threats
Billionaire computer software wizard Bill Gates was threatened with
death unless he paid out $5 million in an amateurish extortion
plot, officials said yesterday.
Computer hacker Adam Pletcher, 21, was arrested May 9 in the Chicago
suburb of Long Grove, where he lives with his parents, and charged
with extortion, federal prosecutors said. He was freed on $100,000
bond and is due to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday for
arraignment.
According to court documents, Pletcher sent four letters to Gates,
beginning in March, threatening to kill the founder of Microsoft Corp. and
his wife, Melinda, unless payment of at least $5 million was made.
"The writer cautioned Gates not to notify law enforcement and that if
Gates did so, the writer could kill him with 'one bullet from my rifle
at a quarter of a mile away,' " court documents say. The last letter told
Gates to pay a specified amount of money into a foreign bank "to avoid
dying, among other things," the court papers say.
The first letter was intercepted at the company's headquarters in
Redmond, Wash., by corporate security officers, who contacted the FBI.
Agents then used an America Online dating service specified by the author of
the letters to track down Pletcher, described as a loner who spends
much of his time in front of his computer.
Authorities said they treated the threats seriously but did not
believe Gates' life was ever in danger. "We generally think this was a kid
with a rich fantasy life, just living that out," said Tom Ziemba, a
spokesman for U.S. Attorney Katrina Pflaumer.
Pletcher is being sued by Illinois authorities who say he operated a
fraud scheme over the Internet. He also is being investigated for
allegedly using the Internet to sell counterfeit driver's licenses, the FBI
said.
Teen Hackers Don't Cover Tracks
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Five teens were smart enough to break into a
computer security program to obtain credit card numbers - then naively had
merchandise bought with the stolen numbers shipped to their own doorsteps,
police said.
Police said the five juveniles -- including a 15-year-old who is
already attending college -- solved online security encryption to steal 20
to 25 credit card numbers from Minneapolis residents.
The young hackers used the card numbers to buy thousands of dollars'
worth of merchandise, Sgt. Jim Ryan said. "They were ordering stuff on
credit cards, and people would see these purchases on their statements,"
Ryan said. "All were pointing to a couple of addresses in Bloomington."
"They got the credit card numbers by hacking into an Internet shopping
site and also from a dry cleaner where one of the kids worked," Ryan said.
Police said they recovered computer scanners, monitors, computer games, car
stereos, cellular telephones and other electronic equipment at the
suspects' suburban homes earlier this month.
Police also accused the teens of defacing Bloomington Kennedy High
School's World Wide Web page with pornographic photographs. The five
juveniles may face felony theft charges, which could be brought as early as
next week after a formal charge is presented in juvenile court.
Letters
Out of all the letters we get, we seem to get scams the most. Keep
sending them in because June will be our next scam issue. Your letters will
be reprinted in the the letters section and the best of them will be
featured in the June issue. But don't send in just scams, send your
questions, comments, stories,suggestions, responses to another letter, etc.
In your letter be sure to include your name or handle so that we can
identify who sent the letter. If you do not include your handle or name we
will use your user name of your email address.
<>=editor's response
From:~LoGikphear~!
This is my fuckin' weird story!
Well one night I was phreaking. So I popped out my handy redbox and
went down to a public phone. (don't ask why I went down to a public phone
and not a bell, I must have been really tired! dammit!) So I put a nickel in
the payphone to break the mute control, then I played the flowing red box
tones, 25.......25.......10.....5 (don't ask why I played them I just
experiment a lot!) so nothing happened so I hung it up. And like a 1 dollar
and 50 cents popped out, it was working like a greenbox, so I being the
figure it out kinda guy I thought to my self what the fuck!?!?!?!?!? So I
did it again and again, well I used all the money I got, to rent videos
at the video store right in front of the payphone! Then I went home, the
next day I tried it again......in the day, and I found out it only works in
the day! Well this is my weird ass story!!!!!!!
<That's wierd as hell. I'd believe it cuz when it comes to payphones,
anythings possible.>
From:Anonymous
Hello, are you tired of nigger blatherings? "Fuck you whiteys" they
say. I don't appreciate it. I am tired of the niggers. Us white people
are not going to take it anymore. For this reason FUKNIG has released a
series of videos to educate people on the plight of white people and the
chains placed on them by niggers. We will teach you ways of dealing with
niggers. For example the next time you are at burger king and a nigger is
serving you like the slave it should be you should ask for its manager and
tell the manager about the problems you are having with the nigger. If you
do this right and the nigger did act improperly the nigger will get fired.
You can learn about the problems with niggers like Al Sharpton or Clarance
Thomas. Al Sharpton is a horrible man and Clarance Thomas is a rapist.
Learn where to complain about Clarance Thomas. Also we will teach you how
to protest legally. These videos show you the most effective places to
protest like outside of nigger churches and at nigger funerals. It explains
the best way to protest near the whitehouse. Learn how to protect your
women from nigger rapists. All this for only $39.95. Thats right! What is
that I hear? You think I'm cheating you? Well, how about it if I throw in
a picture on Martin Luther King for use on your dart board? That is OK, but
the price is too high? Come on I have given you so much already. OK I will
lower the price to only $35.95 but not a penny less. What is that I hear?
Still too high? OK, how about if I lower it to $29.95. OK then $29.95 it
is. But only for the first 100 orders. After that the price goes back up!
<First off, let me just say that, racism sucks. It has gotta be the
stupidest damn thing ever invented. Just because someone's skin color is
different, it doesn't make them that much less of a person. Well I better
stop before I start to rant. This has to be the wierdest thing I've ever
seen though, someone exploiting racism. Out of all the ways to make money
and all the things to exploit they chose racism? Scary.>
From:johnny quest
Hey what's up I was wondering if you had any credit card numbers or
other codes to make free calls.
<What goes through your mind when you mail these letters? For all of you
people that ask these kind of questions, no one is just going to give you
things like CC#'s for free.>
From:Stranger
Also, here's a scam for ya... you may have heard this one before, I
just heard it somewhere myself, although I can't remember where. First,
get a group of friends and go to a Burger King. Go up to the counter
and order a raw whopper. When they give you shit, just remind them of
their slogan, "Your Way Right Away!". After a while of convincing, they
will give it to ya. Take it, and leave. Go down the street to another
Burger King. Walk into the store, and throw the raw whopper on the
counter saying that you just got this in the drive thru and almost took
a bite from it. This works best in the middle of lunch or dinner rushes
because its busy and in case they check the register receipts to see if
anyone ordered a whopper in the past few minutes at the drive thru,
there is a better chance that someone did. You will get a complete meal
for everyone in your group. (If they dont you could always sue em, but
I guess thats getting a little greedy.)
From:Count Z3R0
Sup,
I'm a phreak in Central IL(217), and just wanted to give some help and
let you know that I liked the page.
OK, first off in OCPP#1, there was an article on scaming VMB's. It is
a pretty good article, but you missed one thing. Alot of major companies'
800 number's will take you to the voice-mail automated system. From there
you can crack mail-box #'s & pw's, like you talked about, but also in big
co.'s they have a PBX hidden in the atomated VBM system...you can usually
reach these from the first operator prompt by hitting *9, #9, or simply
9....if you can't find one there, then access your cracked VMB and listen at
the box editing prompt for a Public Branch Exchange(or PBX) option, if
there's no option there then try the *9, #9, or 9 technique.
Whew, second off, In Ocpp#2 there was an article on scams to pull... My
friend and I have a good one that works...
HOW TO GET REALLY CHEAP CAR INSURANCE
First, pick a really cheap insurance company. Go apply for insurance,
after they accept you, pay the first month, then cancel(be sure you have the
insurance card before you cancel). Keep the card around, don't toss it or
give it back to the company, keep it in your car and you have free insurance
for the next 6 months.
PS...Don't worry pigs can't catch you unless you get in a wreck. When
they check your insurance card they just look at the experation date.
Well, that's all I gotta say...
OCPP News
"more news, less chopper"
Comdex 97
Pager let's you control your car
Yahoo! hackers threaten to unleash virus
British Telecom courts GTE
Microsoft-Scotland plant robbed
Comdex 97
LAS VEGAS (Nov. 18) - Who needs a home computer to hook up to the
Internet? Suddenly it seems cooler to go online using technology built into
a home telephone, television set - or even the family car.
Just ask the makers of the latest gizmos angling to take a piece of the
Web from the desktop PC. While the technology is still evolving, making Internet
access simpler and more portable could help convert the remaining people who have
yet to get wired - which so far is most of us.
The flurry of products, some still in the experimental stage, fought for
attention amid the clutter of more than 10,000 new items displayed at the week-long
Comdex show that opened here Monday.
Among them were plenty of tiny hand-held computers that enable people to go
online from remote locations, using wireless modems.
But Samsung Electronics, a unit of South Korea's Samsung Group, has another
idea. It introduced its Web Video Phone, which looks like a fancy home telephone -
except that it lets people make calls over the Internet while transmitting a live
video of themselves. Users also can surf the Web, exchange electronic mail and
conduct financial transactions.
The sleek device combines a telephone, a built-in video camera, 5.6-inch
touch-sensitive screen, a slide-out keyboard and a slot for swiping your bank or
credit card.
To make a call, the user starts by touching the screen's video phone icon,
and dials the number on the phone pad below. The user obviously must phone someone
who also has Internet access - through either a computer or another Web Video Phone.
But people also can make calls across regular phone lines.
Making calls across the Internet costs the same as a local call, saving on
long-distance and international rates. But there generally is a delay in hearing
the person's response, which can make for a confusing conversation. Also, the image
that is transmitted appears jerky.
Other problems need to be worked out. During an attempt to make a call on
Monday, the screen suddenly went blank as the Samsung demonstrator apologetically
explained that the machine had been used for too many hours.
But the simplicity of the device got an enthusiastic response from some
Comdex attendees, who also lauded its ability to ''read'' special bank cards to
pay for Web purchases.
"It takes what we're already doing and makes it simpler for everyone,"
said Daniel Basse, a U.S.-based technology manager for Japan's Matsushita.
While several companies are working on similar devices, Samsung claims to be
the first to show one and expects to start selling the Web Video Phone by next
summer for under $1,000, said Charles Yum, a technology manager for Samsung
Electronics America Inc. Samsung hopes to convince Internet service providers
to sell the phone as part of the monthly service they sell to consumers.
An experimental car from IBM, Delco, Netscape and Sun Microsystems takes
the idea of unfettered Internet access even further. The auto, which
incorporates the latest speech recognition technology, includes built-in
screens that enable passengers to cruise the Internet. Moreover, riders can
use their voices to command the on-board computer. It even talks back. Say
''Read stocks,'' and the computer lists stock quotes out loud.
But a marketable product could be years off. Key to the car is a special
antenna built into the roof to receive Internet signals from satellites. Based
on military technology, the antenna is supposed to point in the direction of
the satellite as the car moves, but the technology is another 3-4 years away,
said Richard Lind, director of automotive electronics development for Delco
Electronics Corp.
Still, the technologies further a concept pioneered by Web TV, which
was bought by Microsoft Corp. last spring. The device enables couch potatos
to access the Internet from their television using a remote control.
The latest advance to Web TV was shown at Comdex. Now, viewers can
simultaneously see their favorite TV show and a Web site in different parts
of the TV screen. The idea is to connect the TV with related Internet
information, creating an active program guide that accentuates television.
Such innovations could be necessary to convince people to use these
alternate ramps to the Internet. Forrester Research estimates that sales of Web
TV and similar devices won't reach 1 million until the year 2000. But the
Cambridge, Mass. research firm predicts that by 2002, improvements by manufacturers
will convince 14.7 million households to connect their TVs to the Internet,
and 9.2 million to have Internet-connected screen phones.
Pager lets you control car
Locked your keys in the car? Lost your car at the mall? No problem.
Motorola plans to unveil a new paging device Wednesday called CreataLink that
could be a boon for forgetful motorists but a headache for customers behind
on their car payments.
Using one-way paging networks, CreataLink can remotely lock or
unlock a car door, honk the horn, flash the lights and start or kill a car
engine. And it's inexpensive about $100 for the pager, $50 to
install it in the vehicle and $25 for unlimited paging for a year.
"They have an inexpensive way to provide a lot of convenience for motorists"
says John Hoffecker, head of automotive practice for the consulting firm A.T.
Kearney in Detroit.
Here's how it works: A customer dials an 800-pager number and enters
the code to identify the vehicle. The customer then enters another secret
code to activate functions in the vehicle. The customer then selects from a
list of about 10 functions, from locking the doors to killing the engine.
Motorola says CreataLink will be in car alarm stores and car dealers
in two weeks and it may soon be available at Circuit City, says Allan
Spiro, Motorola's marketing manager. Spiro says at least two
rental car companies want to install the device because customers often
lock keys in the car. And car loan companies want to use CreataLink to force
car owners to make car payments. Loan companies could send owners
several warnings by honking the car horn before cutting off the engine.
The engine would not be shut down while the motorist is
driving. But when the motor is turned off, a finance company could
use CreataLink to make sure it doesn't restart until the owner makes a
car payment. "The finance companies are becoming our hottest
customers," Spiro says.
Yahoo! hackers threaten to unleash virus
NEW YORK - Hackers broke into Yahoo!, the Internet's most
popular site, demanding the release of an imprisoned comrade and
threatening to unleash a crippling computer virus if he is not freed.
Computer security experts were skeptical of t
he hackers' claim that
they had implanted such a virus. The hackers, calling themselves PANTS//HAGIS,
got into Yahoo!'s World Wide Web site Monday night, leaving a digital ransom note.
Yahoo! is a computer directory widely used for
searching the Internet. The note appeared briefly in place of the Yahoo!
home page, preventing people online from using the search engine,
which got 17.2 milllion visits in October. "For the past month, anyone who
has viewed Yahoo's page & used their search engine, now has a logic bomb//worm
implanted deep within their computer," it read. "On Christmas Day, 1998, the
logic bomb part of this 'virus' will become active, wreaking havoc upon the
entire planet's networks."
"The virus can be stopped. But not by mortals." The note said an
"antidote" program will be made available if hacker Kevin Mitnick is released.
Mitnick was indicted last year on charges involving a multimillion-dollar
crime wave in cyberspace.
Diane Hunt, a spokeswoman for the company, said the message was
up for only 10 to 15 minutes and a few thousand people saw it. "We
immediately took action to see the extent of the damage and moved
to correct it," she said. "And about that virus? There is, in fact, no virus."
Jonathan Wheat, manager of the Anti-Virus Lab at the National
Computer Security Association, said it is at least theoretically possible
to exploit security flaws on the Internet and implant such a virus. But he
said he doubts this group of hackers - already known to security
experts - pulled it off.
"That's pretty much ridiculous," agreed Jamonn Campbell, an
information security analyst at the association. Wheat said there was
little reason to be concerned that the popular Web site was hacked. "A lot
of Web sites get hacked constantly," he said. He said that while Yahoo! is a
high-profile site and should be expected to have better security than most,
"no site is completely hack-proof."
British Telecom courts GTE
NEW YORK - British Telecom, on the rebound after MCI jilted it, has
opened preliminary merger talks with phone giant GTE, USA TODAY has learned.
Such a deal - though smaller than a BT-MCI combination - would give the British
phone carrier a much wanted stake in the $200 billion-a-year U.S.
telecommunications market.
BT also is considering a double acquisition. Just as WorldCom
simultaneously announced plans to buy MCI and a small local phone
company, Brooks Fiber, BT might make a bid for GTE and a smaller
carrier, such as Teleport Communications or Intermedia.
Despite the talks, BT continues to keep its options open. It also has
held talks with two regional Bells: Bell Atlantic and SBC Communications.
Bell Atlantic CEO Ray Smith recently met with BT Chairman Sir Iain
Vallance at BT offices in Britain. And while it is not clear whether BT
officials have yet met face to face with SBC Chief Executive Ed Whitacre,
BT strategists have explored the idea of a combination. "We are talking
to a number of companies in North America about possible future partnerships,
but we will not sign any deals until the
MCI-WorldCom deal is closed," BT spokesman Jim Barron says. GTE
officials did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
While BT's U.S. strategy is still taking shape, it might fall rapidly into
place. A decision could be made during the first quarter of 1998. Talks
with GTE - focused on how the companies might work together as
opposed to specific terms of a deal - already have taken place at the
highest level.
GTE Chief Executive Chuck Lee met with British Telecom
officials at the U.S. company's offices in Stamford, Conn., the week
after MCI accepted an offer from WorldCom. GTE appears to be favored over the
others for several reasons. There are cultural and technological similarities
between GTE and BT.
GTE's interactive cable TV service, broadcast in Florida and Texas
under the Americast name, is similar to BT services in Britain. And GTE has
some of the aggressive marketing style that BT was hoping to find in MCI. GTE
has signed up more than 1 million long-distance customers, most at AT&T's expense.
"GTE and BT have had discussions in the past. They are familiar with
each other. There are open lines of communication," says Scott Cleland,
director of the Precursor Group at Legg Mason Wood Walker. He said an alliance
with a Bell was less likely because the Bells can't offer long-distance service in the USA.
Microsoft-Scotland plant robbed
REDMOND, Wash. Masked gunmen broke into a Microsoft plant
in Scotland last week and stole an estimated 200,000 certificates of
authenticity, 100,000 CD-ROMS and computer equipment, Microsoft
said Tuesday.
The robbers bound and gagged three employees and locked them in an
office during the Nov. 10 break-in at the Thompson Litho Ltd. plant in
East Kilbride, Scotland. Microsoft said the certificates of authenticity
which are packaged with all software sold to computer manufacturers
could be worth up to an estimated $16 million if they are attached to
counterfeit Windows 95 operating system-based products.
Microsoft said it was alerting software distributors and resellers
to be on the lookout for the numbers that were on the stolen certificates.
The company said the gunmen escaped with the stolen certificates and
other products before the bound employees were able to free themselves and
trigger an alarm.
The company said the stolen CD-ROMs include programs in various
languages, such as Windows 95, Office 97, Windows NT 4.0,
Encarta97 and several Microsoft games.
MCI Worldcom Merger
GTE stays on hold with MCI
NEW YORK - GTE Chairman Chuck Lee is weighing a possible
hostile takeover bid for MCI in the event WorldCom's $37 billion
acquisition begins to unravel. GTE had no comment. But Lee has made it clear
to colleagues that if WorldCom's share price falls to the point where it
undermines the value of its takeover offer, he wants to wade back into the
action with an improved all-cash deal, likely in the ballpark of $45 a
share.
"I don't think GTE is out of this at all," says Tom Burnett, editor of
Merger Insight, an independent newsletter for institutional investors.
"They must be licking their chops watching the market action in WorldCom stock."
WorldCom shares have fallen almost 10% since CEO Bernard Ebbers'
first $30 billion bid for MCI Oct. 1. WorldCom stock closed Monday at $30 15/16,
down 2 3/16, as investors expressed concern with the hefty price the
Mississippi telecommunications upstart is paying for MCI.
At $51 a share, MCI is selling at more than 11 times 1997 earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) or
more than 45 times next year's expected earnings per share. Under the terms of
Monday's agreement, WorldCom's all-share offer loses value if its average stock
price falls below $29 in the 20 days before the acquisition is expected to close,
in six to nine months.
MCI shares rose 4 5/8 to $41 1/2, well below WorldCom's bid,
reflecting investors' concern that the WorldCom bid could be in trouble.
Not only are WorldCom shares vulnerable to recent market turbulence,
but the company has a full plate trying to integrate not only MCI, but
acquisitions of CompuServe and Brooks Fiber. There also are continuing concerns
about the performance of MCI's local telephone business and its impact on WorldCom's
performance.
Arbitrageurs, who make a living betting on the likelihood of mergers,
say the real value of WorldCom's offer lies somewhere in the low $40s
per share, after discounting for risk tied to WorldCom's share price, the
time it will take for the deal to close and potential regulatory
headaches.
If GTE did nab MCI, it could be expensive. GTE would have to pay
WorldCom a $750 million breakup fee, plus a $465 million
reimbursement for the breakup fee WorldCom paid British Telecommunications,
which had the first deal with MCI.
MCI WorldCom sounds new call
Wonder why WorldCom would pay $37 billion for MCI? Because the merger,
announced Monday, will create the first and only communications company of
the future. MCI WorldCom will be, by far, the largest player in a
new wave of communications built on Internet technology. Established
telecommunications giants - such as AT&T and BellSouth - are stuck
with too much of the old technology built for voice conversations. Over
the next few years, communications will shift dramatically toward the
kind of network MCI WorldCom will own.
In other words, it's near the end of the road for the 100-year-old Ma
Bell-type of network. To use an analogy from another industry, this
could be like the days when the personal computer tore down the
mainframe computer powers. "Internet technology is the most important
development in communications since the telephone replaced the telegraph,"
says James Crowe, a former WorldCom executive who is now a venture
capitalist.
Into that scenario rides MCI WorldCom. In a little more than a year,
WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers has bought major Internet carrier UUNet and bought
the physical networks behind CompuServe and America Online. That alone has
made WorldCom the biggest hauler of Internet traffic. Now it will add MCI,
which carries 40% of Internet traffic. The merged company will own the
world's biggest network built on digital packet switching technology, which
is used for the Internet.
True, MCI WorldCom will be the world's second-biggest voice
long-distance carrier, behind only AT&T, and a growing challenger in
the local phone business. But that's about the present. MCI WorldCom
is about what comes next. "WorldCom is explicitly assembling the
communications company of the future," says James Moore, analyst
with GeoPartners Research. "That's the design."
It may seem arcane, but the two types of communications
technology are very different - as different as train tracks and
roads. The shift from one to the other will have a huge impact on the
communications industry and on users from corporations to consumers.
Reed Hundt, former chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, puts it this way: "What we need is a data network that can
easily carry voice, instead of what we have today, which is a voice
network struggling to carry data." Ever since the telephone's invention,
communications networks have been built primarily to connect two people who
are talking. So first, the connection had to be smooth and natural, without
delays or interruptions.
Second, from the early days, the means of switching calls was
expensive. At one time, it took roomfuls of human operators; later, it
was done by clunky and costly mechanical switches. The cheap part of
the system were the lines. So, if you follow the economics, the system
was made to take advantage of cheap lines and avoid expensive switching.
That system, called circuit switching, is the basis for the phone
networks. Circuit switching connects one party with the other through
one, dedicated pipeline. Today, that pipe might be a series of lines
owned by different companies, but it's still one fixed set of resources
opened up for your conversation. For quality, it's first-class - like
having a road built just for you to drive on. Economically, the burden is
on the line, not the switch, which only has to connect the call in the first
place; then, it's done.
But circuit switching wastes the resources of the line. For instance,
during silences in a phone conversation, the line is empty. And that's becoming
a major problem. The economics have shifted.Switches are now computers and
computing power has become extremely cheap. Now the lines are expensive,
especially digging up streets and buying rights of way when building new lines.
MCI will lose $800 million this year building local phone networks, and the
majority of that goes to the lines.
On top of that, thanks to the Internet, data traffic is flooding
communications networks. The Internet is growing 100% a year. Today, voice
conversations are still a bigger part of overall communications traffic, but
that's changing at light speed - especially since very rich data, like video,
is starting to be transmitted over the networks, and video gobbles up hundreds
of times more capacity than a phone call. Forrester Research
+predicts that by 2004, voice will be just 1% of communications traffic - a
little burp among the Web pages, videos, software, transactions and business
information zooming around the networks.
Changing economics
That's where the Net's packet switching comes in. It flips the
economics, wasting switch resources and jamming as much as possible into lines.
Increasingly popular Internet phone calls are a good example of how
packet switching works. Your computer uses a phone line to connect
to an Internet access company's switch, called a router on Internet
networks. When you talk into a headset plugged into your computer, your voice
is turned into tiny digital packets, each about 200 bytes.
Each packet gets a digital label that says where it belongs with respect
to its neighboring packets and where it's going. Once the stream of packets hits
the first router, they are dispersed. Complex calculations tell each packet the
most efficient route to go.
The packets from that single conversation might flow four or five
different ways. Clumps of your packets will be put into a wire or
fiber-optic line among other, unrelated packets - all crammed in to use
all the capacity of that line. On their way, the packets might go through
20 or 30 routers. At the other end, a computer reads the labels and
reassembles the packets in their proper order and feeds them to the
other party - all in a fraction of a second.
There are some disadvantages. The route is not first-class. Packets
can get lost or delayed. As Internet phone users will testify, the quality
does not match a regular phone call. But the quality is improving quickly
and is expected to catch circuit-switched networks. And the cost advantages are enormous.
Computing power will continue to get cheaper, pushing costs lower. By
contrast, the cost of the lines - especially building new ones - is going
up. Already, Crowe figures, the cost of sending a CD-ROM worth of
information across the country is about $1 on the Internet and $27 over
a public phone network. Packet switching is why Internet phone calls to
another continent can be essentially free.
New breed of rivals
So MCI WorldCom would be the one and only giant of packet
switching. There are other important companies in that arena, such as
start-up Qwest Communications. Sprint is a major player in packet
switching and in traditional phone networks. But MCI WorldCom is
biggest. MCI and WorldCom continue to build high-capacity data
networks in cities and for carrying long-haul Internet traffic. "We're
confident we'll have a company that is growing in the 25% range, which
is phenomenal, compared with other companies in the marketplace,"
Ebbers says.
Meanwhile, AT&T, GTE and the regional phone companies are deeply
entangled in circuit switching. Their financial structure, their billing
systems, even their cultures are built around that technology. Author
George Gilder writes of the phone companies: "They incarcerated their
capital and personnel ever more inexorably in million-ton cages of
copper wire." Like the mainframe computer companies of old, they'll
have a hard time changing.
On the other hand, MCI WorldCom is not a sure thing, either. While
some believe the company is the result of Ebbers' brilliant master plan,
critics say it's an accidental leader that now must figure out where to go.
"This is more about financial engineering than business sense," says Eric
Greenberg, founder of Silicon Valley Internet Partners.
Further ahead, packet switching is likely to make communications so
cheap, it will turn into a low-margin, commodity business, says Don
Tapscott, technology author. MCI WorldCom will have to create new
kinds of higher-priced services to make good money. "It's like we're
jockeying for the precondition to be able to get to that," he says.
Even if that's the case, MCI WorldCom has an important head start.
"Another technological shift could make WorldCom the next AT&T," says analyst
Bryan Van Dussen of The Yankee Group. "That is clearly
the risk WorldCom is absorbing in buying MCI."
MCI accepts WorldCom takeover bid
NEW YORK - MCI Communications Corp. agreed Monday to be bought by WorldCom
Inc. for $37 billion in what would be the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.
Boards of both companies unanimously approved the agreement after
WorldCom sweetened its offer by more than 20%, ending a takeover battle for the
nation's second-largest telecommunications company. The new company will be called
MCI WorldCom and expects to have more than $30 billion in annual revenue next year.
WorldCom's bid leapfrogged a competing $28 billion all-cash offer
from GTE Corp. and also beat out a $24 billion merger agreement MCI had with
British Telecommunications PLC. Talks with GTE continued through Sunday, MCI
Chairman Bert Roberts Jr. said in a news conference in New York. "GTE is a fine
company ... We didn't dismiss it lightly," Roberts said Monday of the rival offer.
Nevertheless, he added, "MCI has made the best possible choice with this alignment
with WorldCom. The two companies have complementary strengths."
British Telecom, which will receive $7 billion in cash from WorldCom
for its 20% interest in MCI, also agreed to the deal. That gives it a
profit of $2.25 billion on its MCI stock. In addition, British Telecom
will be paid $465 million because MCI broke its previous contract to
merge with BT.
WorldCom also would assume $5 billion in MCI debt. The deal would eclipse
the largest U.S. merger so far, a $25.6 billion marriage between Bell Atlantic Corp.
and Nynex Corp. that was completed in August. The combined MCI WorldCom would be a
telecommunications behemoth selling a full range of services, from local and
long-distance to Internet service to 22 million customers in the United States
and 200 other countries. As such it would fundamentally alter the telecommunications
landscape, and also speed up merger talks by other companies adapting to changes
in federal rules for
competing in long-distance and local service.
WorldCom, currently the No. 4 long-distance phone company, upped
its bid to $51 a share in stock for each of MCI's shares, from $41.50 a
share early last month. Details were announced by the two companies
Monday morning.
As the deal moved forward, WorldCom's president and chief executive,
Bernard J. Ebbers, said the companies found new ways to save money beyond those
considered when WorldCom first proposed its brash takeover bid.
"We have been able to identify significantly greater synergies," he said
when asked to justify the higher offer by WorldCom. Executives said the additional
savings would come from such areas as fees each of the companies pays the other for
completing overseas calls. After studying MCI operations for the past month,
for example, WorldCom said it found a combined company could save $500 million
a year in such access fees, up from an original
estimate of $150 million.
Any deal would require approval from government regulators.
The warring bids had seemed lavish for MCI, which grew from a
startup mobile radio company more than three decades ago to become
the fiercest challenger to AT&T Corp.'s once-solid monopoly on long-distance
phone service. But the company has a unique position in a business
that has undergone enormous regulatory and technological changes the past
two years.
A federal law intended to force more competition in
telecommunications has touched off a spate of attempts by the industry's
biggest players - not all successful - to buy their way into each other's
businesses. MCI, more than other players, is in a unique position to take
advantage of those changes, particularly new opportunities in local markets.
MCI has been spending billions to build local networks of fiber-optic
cable to handle calls in more than two dozen cities so far. That
contrasts with plans by No. 3 long-distance company Sprint and AT&T to lease
lines from local phone companies and then resell them to customers.
MCI also is a leader in selling long-distance service to large companies
and currently gets more than half of its revenue from big businesses. It has made
MCI enormously attractive to companies such
as GTE, a hybrid local and long-distance company, and to WorldCom. Both are
attempting to expand into a range of communications businesses to take
advantage of the regulatory reform.
Under the agreement, MCI's chairman, Bert C. Roberts Jr., will
become chairman of MCI WorldCom, and WorldCom's chief executive, Bernard J.
Ebbers will be president and chief executive. "We have aligned ourselves
with a management team and employees who share our entrepreneurial spirit
and continue to pioneer competition in our industry," Ebbers said.
WorldCom is counting on big cost savings to make the deal worth it. It
wants to slash $2.5 billion in costs in 1999 and $5.6 billion three years
later. Another $2 billion a year would be saved in capital spending.
British Telecom still holds 75.1% of Concert Communications Services,
a global telephone joint venture it created with MCI. British Telecom
has an option to purchase the remaining 24.9% of the venture, but said
it was not sure whether it would exercise that option or try to work with
WorldCom. The company would not disclose the price it would have
to pay to get all of the venture.
"This agreement clearly gives an immediate benefit to our
shareholders and retains both BT's ability to meet the needs of
customers and the flexibility to pursue an aggressive global strategy
with a strong U.S. presence," said the British Telecom chairman, Sir Iain
Vallance.
British Telecom says it has been approached by several smaller U.S.
telephone companies that might be up for sale but it would not identify
them. 
