==Phrack Inc.== Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Eight, File 12 of 15 PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ { CFP-2 } ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ ^*^ PWN P h r a c k W o r l d N e w s PWN ^*^ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ^*^ PWN Special Edition Issue Six PWN ^*^ ^*^ PWN Computers, Freedom, & Privacy II PWN ^*^ ^*^ PWN March 18-20, 1992 PWN ^*^ ^*^ PWN Written by Max Nomad PWN ^*^ ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ { CFP-2 } ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN ^*^ PWN Computers, Freedom, & Privacy II Random Notes and Mission X Telegraphs from the Nation's Capitol by Max Nomad Originally, when I read the brochure on the second "Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference," I saw opportunity knocking at my door: Three days at the Loew's L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. stalking around a series of meetings all geared toward telecommunications, as well as the high potential for mischief; techno-gurus, privacy advocates, computer outlaws, corporate bigwigs, and lastly feds, a few of which who were casually walking around with automatic weapons disguised as black tote-bags. There was no telling what those hackers were capable of, I'm sure, so the beefed up security was necessary. Upon learning that Basil Rouland, Inc., an information systems security firm, had secured a press pass and transportation, my excitement grew. I wasn't sure what kind of story I would bring back from the trip, or if I would find a unique story at all. Fortunately, the conference topics provided dozens of angles to take on, more than I care list. My previous article and notes alone on the event were upwards of 25k, mostly filled with mundane excerpts and quotes from various panelists. If you're interested in a blow-by-blow account of CFP-2, it's available on VHS; contact bkoball@well.sf.ca.us for more details. For the readers of PHRACK, a different perspective was in order. The following commentary has been taken strictly from my notes and thoughts on the underground showing. Overall, this year's CFP was a success. The panel discussions on everything >from the issues of privacy to Internet to cryptography and security were informative, even enlightening. After three days of non-stop conferences on these subjects I realized just how much of a runaway horse technology is to our federal government. Big Brother is definitely out there, but he's got fast competition coming up from the private sector. And special thanks to CRAIG NEIDORF, who graciously donated his name to modern science and the EFF. This individual's case was referred to more times than Roe v. Wade; personally, Craig, if I were you, I'd put a trademark on it and charge by the usage. In any case, this year's CFP conference was a success. Congrats are in order for the organizers and volunteers. Anyone who is seriously interested in computer networks, security, and what the big fish are up to should attend. Also, members of the press are welcome. Daily, in the aftermath of the conferences, "Birds of a Feather" sessions were held in the meeting rooms. At best, these were well structured discussions for people of similar interests. At worst, they were lame farces, such as the "Why Don't They Understand" discussion, where unofficial representatives of the underground were given a forum to supposedly voice their opinions. The panel consisted of Glen Tenney (organizer of the annual Hacker's conference), Knight Lightning (founder of Phrack, abused civil rights poster child for the EFF), Dispater (current publisher of Phrack), Emmanuel Goldstein (editor/publisher of 2600 magazine, host of "Off the Hook" [WBAI radio, New York]), Phiber Optik (hacker/phreak currently receiving a great deal of "fan harassment" by the authorities), Steven Levy (MacWorld, author of _Hackers_), Dorothy Denning (Computer Science Department, Georgetown University), and the panel chair was John McMullen of McMullen & McMullen. Aside from a few hackers and law officials in the audience, the curious and uninformed filled the meeting room to capacity. There was definitely a sense of anticipation prior to the start of the discussion; it didn't take a private eye to know that one way or the other, this was going to be a show. And it was. Steven Levy gave a neutral dissertation to the meaning of the word "hacker" as it was when he published his book by the same name back in 1986: programmers and electronics hobbyists supposedly with purer intentions, many of which that went on to make revolutionary waves in the computer industry. Hackers and phone phreaks like Wozniak and Jobs are two of those heroes of yesteryear's underground. But as with the rest of society, nostalgia always casts a darker tint on the present. Those heroes would be considered the maniacal high-tech terrorists of today, thanks to a combination of media sensationalism, a few malicious idiots on both sides of the law, and the general public opinion that hackers are to be feared like hardened outlaws -- all of which stems from varying degrees of ignorance. Dorothy Denning appended Levy's statement with an objective view, pointing out the fact that neither side seems to fully understand what it's like to walk in the other's shoes, befitting the title of the next session. Another perfect neutrality. Tenney interjected with a somewhat polished speech about what it was to be a hacker (i.e. programmer) back in his day, uttered a few slants directed at certain people, both of which smoothly establishing the slight anti-hack tone that would end up carrying on until this session ended. Upon finding out this man is supposedly running for Congress in some state, I was even less surprised. It was as if he smelled what the crowd wanted to hear, then cooked it up enough to feed everyone. He's pretty good. He'll probably get the seat he's shooting for. In his best radio voice, Emmanuel Goldstein immediately returned the volley to previous statements, also adding a few interpretations of his own: the feeling of learning and exploring, even in forbidden regions, how it is unhealthy to put restrictions on thought and discovery, and how it is the complacency of the other side that the underground is making use of. He also brought up a very good point concerning the Dutch and how many of the system administrators over there are making use of hackers in the bullet-proofing of their systems. The distrust of most American sysadmins along with the level of arrogance in some cases almost makes such cooperation ludicrous over here in the states. Shame. Each underground member of the panel eventually made his or her statement, including Phiber Optik's tale of how a certain New York State Police officer and gang rolled up on his home like the DEA and awakened him from his sleep at gun point. Whether by coincidence or not, the officer in charge of the arrest was standing in the back of the room. Of course, the voice of authority had to make a statemental come-back on the topic. In that instant it became obvious that having hacks and law enforcement in the same room wasn't the best vehicle for accurately portraying views. Neither side was prone to be open and honest with the other watching with anticipation. Any hack who was not under investigation wouldn't dare open up and speak, and any hack currently under investigation couldn't speak honestly; no one wants to speak his piece bad enough to get indicted. The feds were in the same boat, since they couldn't openly discuss any pending cases, as well as keeping a lid on any of their trade secrets; a catch-22 that further solidified the misconceptions of those in the middle: the image of hackers as chaotic compu-hoodlums and law enforcement officials as determined yet uninformed trackers. In all honesty, this session came off like a side show, and the hackers like circus freaks. With two prominent underground publishers, an ex-hack/publisher turned representative of the EFF, and a hack/phreak currently under investigation, there was no alternative but to stutter and give vague answers to delicate questions and even then that only applied to those occasions where they could speak their minds uninterrupted. Self-preservation and the felonious core of this topic made every answer a forfeited one before it was given. Any well-informed spectator knew this. So did the feds, who were probably chuckling to themselves the entire time. Absolutely no resolutions were made either way. Truthfully, the feds gained brownie points on this one. The hacker perspective wasn't accurately presented and the masses would continue to live ignorance of the underground. The next night, random reports of strange activity churned through the rumor mill shortly after the hackers hijacked one of the meeting rooms for Knight Lightning's "Frank" Party, the kind of talk most people weren't bold enough to investigate or so "unthinkable" that no one wanted their name attached. The room itself was easy to identify -- "Fire Line Do Not Cross" tape covered the front doors, as well as a chaotic chatter that roared from within. There was no agenda to speak of. Most of the hackers I've met during my travels were leaders and rugged individualists and here was no different. None wanted to take charge -- to do so would have been useless. Each generally did his own thing and, if it looked interesting enough, others would follow. Some of the name-tagged feds would have probably wandered in if they weren't already having a session of their own. Speculatively, they were discussing matters about targeted individuals present at our gathering. The evening's entertainment was an old cult-classic tape, Frank & The Phunny Phone Call, the hilarious and unexpurgated recordings of an old man driven to aggravated dementia by some anonymous phone phreaks making his phone "go berzerk." Earlier at one of the literature tables, free promotional 2-in-1 screwdrivers were given away (a gift from Hayes Modem Corporation) and it seemed that every hack in here had at least one or two. Granted, these tools are handy for any computer buff, but a room full of hacks and phreaks with them was almost as unpredictable as handing out matches at a Pyromaniacs Anonymous meeting. Soon, RJ-11 phone jacks were being unscrewed from the wall and studied. Lineman's Test Phones appeared, soon followed by a small expedition stalking around the service hallways and finding the unlocked telephone closet for the hotel. The rest is, shall we say, up to reader interpretation as to what happened after that, ironically ten yards and a set of double doors away >from a room full of state cops and feds. The Last Day Instead of rushing the microphone during the final statements in the main conference room, our rogue gang had coagulated in the hall (next to the payphones no less) around an Air Force special investigator and Phiber Optik. At first the mood resembled that of a James Bond movie, where Bond and an arch nemesis would meet and chat, each anticipating the downfall of the other beneath polite exteriors. This seemed to be the sublime tension between all the feds and hacks who talked at the conference, but it was especially delicate in this case -- Phiber was high on the priority list this agent's department was currently investigating. Eventually the mood lightened, and an impromptu Q&A pow-wow session between the hacks and the agent broke out, spawning all sorts of conversations that seemed much more interesting than the finale taking place inside. And, like clockwork, a little mischief came into play. As a show of good faith and a sign that the hackers would be returning for next year's conference, several prominent organizers found that the answer messages on their hotel voice mailboxes had been mysteriously "changed." Sources say the culprit was described as an old Yiddish, but all reports on this matter were unconfirmed. Shortly after this impromptu gathering, it was apparent that the conference had finally adjourned. Except for the underground types and a few observers, the halls were thinning out, and eventually we all wandered our separate ways. And once again, this environment began to take the look of a hotel. To The Underground At Large: This was just one conference; the feds will continue to do what they do and so will we. After the hacker panel fiasco, I overheard John Markoff (New York Times reporter and co-author of the book _Cyberpunk_) and Steve Levy talking about how topics like this were being discussed in conferences like this ten years ago. Only the names and circumstances had changed -- the song and dance steps remained the same. Chances are, ten years from now these same subjects will share some portion of the limelight in regard to growth and development of cyberspace. As society becomes more technologically complex, the bugs, loopholes, and defaults will exist and the underground will thrive. Whether the masses choose to acknowledge this or not, we are a subculture of and to ourselves, much like the Grateful Dead followers. Some will move on, die off, or fade away, and others will stream in to fill the empty spaces. A few words of interpretive advice to the newbees: study everything you touch carefully, covet and respect the knowledge you gain like a gun, and never drive faster than you can think. The feds are out there and, trust me, these motherfuckers didn't come to play. To The Feds And Hacker Trackers Present At The Conference: There isn't much that can be said. You have a much better understanding of the computer underworld than most, even than by some of those in it. By virtue of the job you do, this is a given. Respect is due to you for your showing at CFP-2, how you presented yourselves, and the subtle way you furthered the brainwashed concepts of "the hacker" in the public eye. You knew the presentations would be slanted in your favor, and probably took great pride in this. Smooth. Very smooth. To The Uninformed: Don't blindly believe the hype. Whether you wish to face it or not, hackers and phone phreaks are an integral part of this technological revolution. Advancement cannot come without the need for change and to improve, both micro- and macroscopically. Positive direction is the result of an equal but opposite force that presses it forward. Because of the hackers (old, new, and even the malicious), software and hardware developers have made radical improvements on the networks and supermachines that are undeniably molding the foundation of tomorrow's world. Our society is based on complacency. And any social institution or machinery that seems to work without weight to tip the scales of change simply goes unchecked, eventually to become a standard. The hijinx that Congress gets away with and how little the public truly reacts is a perfect example. If hackers didn't truly love computers and telecommunications or have an unnatural need to explore and learn, the technological growth curve would be stunted. Long after these embryotic times have faded into our grandchildren's history books, hackers will exist, and the bulk of high-tech crimes will continue to be perpetrated by minions of the people in power, the elite white- collar. Regardless of the long-term insight, computer intrusion is still an illegal art and science. There is no rationale for why hackers hack, at least nothing that will withstand the scrutiny of the unenlightened masses or one's inner beliefs. "Hackers," like any other subculture, yield a range of personalities and perspectives from the careful explorer to the callous marauder. Inexperienced sociologists would probably try to classify this underground sect as a movement, possibly even subversive in its intentions. The problem with this lies in the fact that a movement needs a leader or spokesman. Aside from the individual nature of these people, anyone who becomes a mouthpiece for this culture cannot rightly be a hacker, or at least hacking around with anything unlawful. Chances are, others would shy away from such a person, seeing him as either an informant or too dangerous to be around; the feds would pursue him passionately, like tracking a trophy-sized bull in a deer hunt. Hackers cannot be categorized as a movement, fad, or pre-packaged subculture like bubble-gum rock music or the pseudo-hippies of the 90's. Most hackers have their own directions and forward momentum. It is a shared mindset, ironically paralleling that of the feds that chase them. One group has no rules or set channels to adhere to. The other is backed by the establishment and a badge. This statement was not intended to rationalize their actions, only give insight to the uninitiated. To summarize the spectrum of motives with the hacker intellect, I give this analogy: the need to come onto someone else's property, some for peaceful exploration, others to inhabit, and in some instances to misuse or destroy is not a new phenomena. The early settlers of this country did the same thing to the Native Americans. I\/Iax I\Iomad [Mission X Tribe Out] [---------] Thanks and respect are due to: Basil Rouland Inc. (for getting me there) and URban Lividity, Jet Heller, Silkworm, and the rest of the "In The Flesh" (804-489-7031) posse that couldn't make the trip. mXt. _______________________________________________________________________________