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Tolmes News Service 16
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# <Tolmes News Service> #
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# > Written by Dr. Hugo P. Tolmes < #
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Issue Number: 16
Release Date: December 23, 1987
This first article comes from the December issue of Popular Communications
(actually it's an editorial).
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TITLE: The Celling of America
FROM: Popular Communications
DATE: December 1987
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) has been on the books
for several months now and (as many folks expected) hasn't crimped anybody's
monitoring activities because it it mostly unenforcable. It seems that there
aren't any federal agencies particularly interesting in doing so. As
previously analyzed, it was primarily a bit of window dressing fluf high
pressured into existance by the cellular (CMT) industry in order to mislead
cellular customers into thinking that CMT calls are assured of privacy by
federal law. Still, what the law threatens for the future is unpleasant to
think about.
The CMT industry, flushed with success at learning how easy it was to
dazzle our Congressional representatives with their baloney, has been
attempting to extend the ECPA to ban the sale and manufacture of equipment
that is capable of receiving CMT frequencies. Regency Electronics has been
attempting to defuse those efforts by suggesting that equipment should still
be made available for receiving those frequencies, but would carry a label
stating that the ECPA forbids monitoring of certain frequencies.
Radio Shack, as widely noted, brough out their sensational PRO-2004
scanner minus the set's originally announced coverage of the 870 to 890 MHz
CMT band. PRO-2004 owners have been able to easily restore those frequencies
with a very simple modification (explained in our August issue). Reader Robin
D. Colles of Battle Creek, MI was the first of several POP'-COMM readers to
write to us saying that their newly-purchased PRO-2004's made it into factory
sealed cartons with the CMT frequencies fully intact!
Ed Jones, WB2DVL, of Somerset, NJ is a POP'COMM reader who regulary writes
to politicians and industry leaders concerning relevant matters. A recent
letter Jones received from an executive within the CMT industry provides one of
the most interesting and informative insights yet obtained on industry
attitudes and plans concering support for the ECPA, CMT privacy, etc.
For starters, I raked for expressing outspoken anti-ECPA sentiments,
stating "an editor with strong feelings on an issue has the advantage of a
substantial private forum, and... complete control of printing opposing
views." They added, "We find that it seldom paysys his ink by the barrel, even a nice guy and respected editor like Tom
Kneitel." Curiously, they were complaining that I wouldn't print opposing
views, then they said that it's not their policy to even bother offering
opposing views. Figure that out!
Strange, too, was their perception that I had "strong feelings" about the
ECPA, because the CMT man followed that observation with the thought that
maybe, down deep, I actually supported the ECPA because it's "hard to believe
anyone would lobby for folks to listen in on his private or business phone
calls or conversations with his wife or girlfriend...no matter how interesting
those calls might be."
The cynical inference that I expressed insincere opinions to appease my
readers was, until now, about the only venal sin which I hadn't thus far been
accused in my career. And anybody who wants to monitor my CMT calls is more
than welcome to do so. The only conversations duller than my business calls
are those to my wife an whatever girlfriends this fellow suspects I have.
Furthermore, for the 25+ years I was writing prior to the development of
CMT's, I always loudly advocated unrestricted monitoring access to all
communications frequencies.
The CMT industry man then went on to tell Jones how "it's frightening
that the government might close down the airwaves," a concept that this
fellow didn't endorse. Actually, he went so far as to note that his company
"will lobby long and loudly for open airways in virtually all other services."
The word "virtually" here does leave open the door for future modification of
this policy. With scanners in the millions in the hands of the public for
about twenty years now, it's difficult to think that any airwaves, at this
point, could effectively be "closed down."
Insofar as CMT's go, the industry memeber said that he considers
"cellular phone service a unique case... The very technology of which makes
cellular radio so appealing, makes it function almost exactly your home or
office phone. That similarity creates an illusion that expectation of privacy
found in no other radio service." This statement provides, in a nutshell, an
international insight into the philosophies of the CMT industry.
In view of the availiability of voice scramblers, it's hard to see how
anybody can continue to insist that assuring the privacy of CMT calls becomes
the responsibility of persons other than those using the CMT devices. Why
should CMT users be so "unique" that they are entitled to more communications
privacy than taxi drivers, tow truck operators, boaters, pizza delivery vans,
Hams, CB'ers, or anybody else using two-way radio?
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NOTA:
The article has been edited but the major points concerning listening in on
cellular phone calls has been printed.
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TITLE: Tales That Just Do Not Compute
FROM: The Chicago Tribune
DATE: November 24, 1987
The story has many variation attributed to a computer
user who is a friend of a friend, but "user friendly" has nothing to do
with it. Quite the opposite.
As the computer operator works, the Cookie Monster suddenly appears on
his screen, with a message: "Gimme Cookie," "Want Cookie" or "Me Want
Cookie." If the operator fials to respond by typing "cookie," the monster
destroys his work.
Jan Harold Brunvand, University of Utah professor of folklore and author
of three books about urban legends- "The Mexican Pet" is the latest -has
three computers and a raft of legends to go with them.
In an alternate version, Richard Nixon pops up on the screen, with the
message "Want Pardon." The operator types "pardon"- or else.
Computer legends, Brunvand said the other day, speak to the operator's
worst fear: that he'll lose all his data- programs, valuable records,
everything.
Killer programs are said to enter computers when hackers "download"-
or take into their own computers -programs offered over telephone
lines.
The most fearsome is called the Trojan Horse, contained in a "utility"
program, one that ostensibly organizes or catalogues existing programs or
otherwise helps in managing stored data.
When the hacker downloads the utility, instead of assisting him, a
"secret, undetectable, unremovable program" eats away at his files,
destroying them.
"I think there probably have been some programs like that cooked up,"
Brunvand said, "but I can find no evidence that it's actually been done,
and isn't as though it couldn't be detected and destroyed."
Not all computer myths entail disaster: "The 5 Yard Penalty," for
example. "Without warning," Brunvand said, "a message appears on the screen:
'You've just been penalized 5 yards,' and suddenly your printer comes to life
and five yards of blank paper comes rolling out.
"Yeah, I think you could hide a program like that somewhere. But again,
it's not the end of the world. As soon as it happened, you could just go in
and take the program out."
Clarence Petersen
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I'm sure we've all heard of programs like these. For more information on
Trojan Horses, see earlier issues of Tolmes News Service (TNS).
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In TNS #12, I presented an article on Blue Boxes. The article came out of
Radio Electronics. I'd now like to take the opportunity to print some things
out of the following issue. These are letters to the editor. The letters
deal with the article on Blue Boxes.
-For The Information on The Earlier Article See TNS Issue #12
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* BLUE BOXES *
Having just read Herb Friedman's article, "The Blue Box and Ma Bell,"
(Radio-Electronics, November 1987) I am convinced that he knows very little about Automatic Message Accounting
(AMA) in particular, and the phone company's use of it in general.
For instance, customer billing tf electromechanical
meters has been used since the turn of the century. The photographing of the
meters started in the early 1920's. AMA came into being in 1948, as a natural
adjunct to a new telephone switching system, namely Number Five Crossbar.
(Number One Crossbar used the meters for billing at the time, as did other
types of switching systems.) Thus, the introduction of AMA was evolutionary-
not a direct result of customer complaints.
The AMA system was not designed to record the details of local calls.
It simply recorded the number of message units for message-rate
subscribers, exactly as the electromechanical meters did. Flat-rate
calls were by far the most numberous, and they didn't need to be recorded
since there was no charge associated with them. (Subscribers served by AMA
could have their billing complaints by being connected to a special circuit
that forced the AMA to record local-call details.) Knowing that, it seems
that Ma Bell was telling the truth when she said there was no detailed record
on local calls.
One AMA billing center handled the output of scores of AMA offices on
a three-shift basis using electromechanical computers. To imply that
sorting through millions of call records to trace criminal or obscene
calls was a simple task shows a lack of familiarity with the system. Besides,
most obscene calls are of local origin, and no record is generated.
Finally, the mention of service observing and the reference to Senator
Dodd had nothing to do with the Blue-Box story. It was Senator Long of
Missouri who conducted the investigation to which the article referred.
Ma Bell had many types of switching equipment and a variety of crossbar
switching types. I have never seen detailed instructions or even a
so-called manual. (Switching offices were described in documents known as
"Bell System Practices.")
RICHARD R. PLUM
Bell Communications Research
Red Bank, NJ 07701-7020
<I will now print Herb Friedman's Reply -Hugo>
The manual shown in Fig. 1 of the article is a Bell manual, and it
details the AMA billing procedures- including detailed local calls.
The Number Five Crossbar manual had the circuit and recommended monitoring
procedure for operators.
In the New York area, at least, the local office had the AMA. It
wasn't handled by just one billing center.
Senator Dodd handled the investigation of the Westchester
County Fire Department telephone delay, at which subscriber monitoring was
first mentioned in the media. -Herb Friedman
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* FREEDOM OF PRESS *
Thank you very much for your October 1987 cover story, "Build This
Laser Listener." I strongly disagree with Mr. Mim's criticisms (Letters,
November 1987.) The people have a right to know everything. Crooks have access
to the information, so nothing is lost- and much is gained -by letting the
rest of us know also. We gain the awareness of the existance of those
devices, and how they are designed. Design details are critical because
theow the device is used, how it looks, and what its
capabilities and limitations are.
It's refreshing to know that 200 years after the signing of out
Constitution, you can still find freedom of the press alive and well in
publications such as Radio-Electronics. You also provide an important service
by helping to keep electronics a rewarding and fascinating profession
and hobby, and by keeping the public informed about new technologies,
products, and techniques. With the ever-increasing technological competition
world-wide, and the slippage of our educational system, you do a
tremendous service to our country.
I also found "The Blue Box and Ma Bell" (Radio-Electronics November 1987)
to be well-written and most informative. However, it has one glaring
mistake- the Red Box, also described in the article, is the Black Box. The
Red Box was used to generate tones that emulated those made by coins deposited
in payphones to place free payphone calls. I would have like to see a little
on Captain Crunch and others who "pioneered" boxing; more explanation
on the effects of ESS, automatic tone monitoring and computerized billing
on boxing; and at least a tabulation the many other phone color boxes.
JOHN J. WILLIAMS
Alamogordo, NM
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Tolmes News Service (TNS) Issue #12 pointed out many of the errors in
Herb Friedman's article. Mr. Plum and Mr. Williams (who runs ConsumerTronics)
have helped to point out some of these errors. The mistake of calling a Black
Box a Red Box was the most obvious one. One other error that hasn't been
pointed out by anyone is the mistake of calling the 2600hz key a Key Pulse.
For the entire article, see Tolmes News Service Issue #12. Thank you.
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*TNS Quick /\/otes*
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TNS QuickNotes:
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I'd like to announce that when there's space, I'll be making this section
"TNS QuickNotes" a filler. I've come across a number of small news items
lately and I'll be reporting them in this section.
This will always occur at the end of an issue (but not every issue).
All of the TNS Issues are availiable at these two bulletin boards:
Executive Inn...................(915) 581-5145
Pirate-80.......................(304) 744-2253
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