Human-Nets-Request%rutgers@brl-bmd.UUCP (Human-Nets-Request@rutgers) (10/28/83)
HUMAN-NETS Digest Friday, 28 Oct 1983 Volume 6 : Issue 65
Today's Topics:
Computers and the Law - "Crime" and Enforcement (4 msgs),
Computers and People - "Hackers" and Newspeak (2 msgs) &
Videogames: military uses?
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Date: Sat 22 Oct 83 11:33:04-PDT
From: Mark Crispin <MRC@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
Subject: electronic vandals
What the FBI did was too little, too late. It is about time an
example was made of some of these electronic vandals. I am not
advocating putting high school kids into prison with hardened
criminals, but I DO think they should be scared shitless (pardon my
French). Certain individuals who think computers should be "less
fascist" (lacking, of course, any understanding of what Fascism is)
should work to get these vandals stopped. Then the pressure won't be
on various systems and their managers to tighten security.
The problem is, certain individuals HAVE been egging these kids
on. One individual at MIT has been quoted (several times) as stating
there is nothing wrong with breaking into computer systems. These
kids have gotten the message: if you want to be hot shit, all you have
to do is vandalize a few computer systems and everybody will respect
you. Soon you too will be driving a BMW and making mucho bucks
annually. Talk about SICK!
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From: vortex!lauren at RAND-UNIX
Date: Saturday, 22-Oct-83 14:18:20-PDT
Subject: Computer "crime" and enforcement activities
I'm sorry, but I must strongly disagree with the idea that law
enforcement entities are totally overreacting to the "kids" who are
screwing around with every system they can get they hands on. It's
about time that SOMEBODY started reacting.
Let's put a few facts into perspective. First of all, this is 1983,
not 1973. Ten years ago, relatively few persons had the technology
available to go around trying to crack systems, and those who *did*
tended to be people who were already professionally involved (in some
way) with the industry and only very rarely had any "negative" goals
(like crashing systems or destroying files). All in all, though the
problem existed, it was of a very small order of magnitude. Now, the
situation is completely different. You can buy the equipment needed
for such activities for $100 at Radio Shack, and we're seeing many
persons who have as their goals *damaging* systems -- this was of
course bound to happen as the "masses" got involved in such activities
-- a broader cross section of society became involved.
Some of these "kids" (many are far too old to really be called kids)
are playing supposedly "innocent" games -- but others are hell bent on
crashing systems and destroying files. It is unreasonable to expect
system administrators and enforcement personnel to be able to clearly
differentiate one group from another -- you never know when some guy
who was just "playing around" may someday decide to try "change"
something and do damage. Even worse, many of these kids really aren't
very smart. Many are just blindly following instructions they hear
from other "friends" or read off of BBS systems. In this sort of
situation, even when no "evil" intent exists, the potential for
accidental damage can be very high. This appears to have been what
nearly happened at Sloan-Kettering, where the kids' antics could,
potentially, have *killed* someone through damage to radiation therapy
files.
The kids busted in the recent Irvine raids claimed "they didn't know
they were doing anything wrong". Sure! They just took some accounts
from a guy called "The Cracker" in San Diego and figured they were
legit, huh? "The Cracker"??? Gimme a break -- I can't believe those
kids were THAT stupid. What else can they say but, "we didn't
know..." -- they have no real excuse.
In the last few years, I've somewhat changed my mind regarding tougher
laws relating to unauthorized computer usage. While wording must be
precise to avoid too-broad legislation, it is obvious that such access
must be considered to be some sort of crime. We cannot simply ignore
the situation by saying that "some" of the intruders are relatively
benign. Better to have some decent legal coverage of the issue and
let the courts decide on a case by case basis when serious criminal
penalties should be invoked, or when a "slap on the hand" is more
appropriate. But overall, I feel that we are not living in as
"friendly" an environment in terms of computer users as we used to,
and some forms of protection are becoming very necessary. Yes,
computer systems should be technically protected as well as possible,
and the use of default passwords and the like must be loudly
discouraged. Still, even leaving your door completely unlocked does
not make it legal for someone to walk in, explore your house, and pick
up what he/she wants.
One final point. There has been criticism of the FBI`s tactics in the
Irvine raids (simultaneous raids, going in through windows, etc.) In
my view, they acted in a fairly appropriate manner. Note that they
did *not* go in guns blazing or even drawn. The reason for
simultaneous raids and such entry techniques is obvious: if they had
tried just knocking on the front door and going from house to house in
sequence, there was a good chance that the kids could have deleted
evidence by the time agents could get to the equipment. Remember that
it wasn't really those kids that the FBI was after, but "The Cracker"
in San Diego -- and they needed those files that the kids had to help
catch this much more "important" person who was causing much more
damage. Given that law enforcement entities have been burned in the
past by people who took bulk tape erasers to their floppies and wiped
out all evidence in 30 seconds, their "through the window" tactic
seems more reasonable, especially since they didn't physically harass
the kids, and simply told them to stay on the other side of the room
from the computers.
I'm not claiming that all of these kids should be thrown into the same
cells with the father rapers and mother stabbers of the world, but
some "tougher" enforcement efforts might just help convince the more
"innocent" of these kids to think twice before blithely screwing
around with any systems/accounts that they may discover.
--Lauren--
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Date: 24 October 1983 11:40 EDT
From: Phyllis E. Koton <ELAN @ MIT-ML>
Subject: HUMAN-NETS Digest V6 #64: Privacy
I found the juxtaposition of Larry Layton's and /Rob's messages very
interesting. Apparently when the army pokes its nose in peoples files
and gives them grief, that's bad, but when high school kids do it,
it's ok.
I'm not trying to make the army investigators out to be good guys, but
those kids are no little innocents, either. I bet they will be
charged with something akin to trespassing or breaking & entering. Is
/Rob objecting only to the "thuggery" associated with their arrest
(which may or may not have been overdramacized by the media), or with
the fact that they were arrested altogether?
Elan
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Date: 26 October 1983 03:58 edt
From: SSteinberg.SoftArts at MIT-MULTICS
Subject: 414 and real games
- Did the 414's get what they deserved? I think so. Anyone
walking up and down my block trying to pry open windows with a
screwdriver should be locked up or at least be asked to leave
the block and have their screwdriver taken away. It's one
thing to knock on doors selling encyclopedias and another
trying to break in, even if it's just to look around.
If you don't see anything wrong, don't get upset when someone
sticks their hand in your pocket to see if you have change of a
dollar to play Donkey Kong.
- The best article I ever read on paranoid theories of game
programs came out in Saga magazine around 1970! There was also
an article on a guy and his girlfriend who were kidnapped by
the Hell's Angels which might help you find this fabulous piece
of journalism.
The article was complete with a picture or Kresge and the Green
building and involved the author being invited for a friendly
game of spacewar. Needless to say after a few rounds on the
controllers his mild mannered friend had a certain demonic glow
and a slightly reptilian cast. The game was being played for
real.
After describing the game and play a bit, the author speculates
on why a million dollar machine at MIT is being used to play
such a game. Maybe the US and USSR have decided that earth
battles are obselete and the war will continue in space or
worse, they have detected an alien menace that they aren't
talking about and this game is being used to train the all new
space army.
I have since tried to track down this article, but Saga, like
the Lady's Home Journal is not kept by most libraries since it
is considered a rag (justifiably). I have not even been able
to find Saga on fiche. I have tracked down LHJ recipes at the
Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe which specializes in woman's
studies but I know of no such library for men's studies which
is probably just as well.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 83 8:40:49 EDT
From: Stephen Wolff <steve@brl-bmd>
Subject: Re: "Hacker" victim of Newspeak !!
Yes -- that's the definition Dan Rather used on the national news a
week or two ago. That probably makes it Gospel. Sorry.
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From: vortex!lauren at RAND-UNIX
Date: Saturday, 22-Oct-83 14:18:27-PDT
Subject: media use of the term "hacker"
Whenever I've talked to the media lately, I've attempted to clearly
explain that the popular use of the term "hacker" as a synonym for
"computer criminal" is inappropriate. It's a losing battle though,
since it's just too "cute" a word and they just love using it as a
generic descriptor for computer crime perpetrators.
--Lauren--
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Date: Sat 22 Oct 83 09:30:15-MDT
From: Walt <Haas@UTAH-20.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Whiz Kids, episode #2
After hearing a few war stories from some psychiatrists that I know
socially, I've become convinced that all of Computer Science is really
just an elaborate delusional system.
By the way, how do the fraud-by-wire statuates apply to this type of
communication? /Do/ they?
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Date: Mon, 24 Oct 83 09:23 EDT
From: MJackson.Wbst@PARC-MAXC.ARPA
Subject: Re: Whiz Kids, episode #2
Well, you may or may not be paranoid, but if it actually comes to pass
don't blame yourself for coming up with the idea.
There is a science fiction novel (by Philip K. Dick?) in which the
protagonist earns his living by entering a daily number-pattern
contest run by some company or another as an advertising come-on. He
wins several times a week. As it transpires, his WHOLE WORLD is a
carefully-contrived charade (talk about paranoia. . .); in fact, his
"contest entries" are targeting instructions for the daily missile
barrage against the enemy. He has a unique talent for target
selection, you see, but the guilt drove him over the edge so the
military constructed this fantasy so he could continue to funcion.
So how do you think you earn your living?
Mark
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Date: Sun 23 Oct 83 15:49:54-PDT
From: Ken Laws <Laws@SRI-AI.ARPA>
Subject: Free Consulting
REM's suggestion about military use of game playing has already
entered the SF literature. Many years ago I read a story about
a young man who was the reigning champion in the "Where will the
Little Green Man Appear Next" contest. Each day the newspapers
would print the latest "random" appearances and millions of readers
would send in their guesses as to the next hits. Supposedly.
Actually, the young man was the only game player and was living
in a simulated "normal" environment to keep him from learning that
the Earth was being hit daily by bombs from Mars. His predictions
of ground zero were the best available.
Another story involved an organization that put people into
suspended animation. The customer could choose which of many
standard or customized dreams he wanted to experience. The
company, however, had secretly replaced the dreams of long-term
sleepers (i.e., thousands of years) with dream scenarios of
strategic importance to the company. For centuries, it had been
collecting the results. Word was about to leak out, however, and
the current president of the company decided that the only way
the organization could survive was to announce the database and
make it freely available to all.
-- Ken Laws
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Date: 24 Oct 1983 9:53:39 EDT (Monday)
From: Mark Day <mday@ddn1>
Subject: Insidious Video Games
With regard to the potential for video games being used to solve
"real" war problems (a la Whiz Kids #2), I should mention that I have
heard of people who refuse to sign their initials to a machine after a
high score, believing that a camera takes their picture for future
drafting by the Armed Forces if they thus acknowledge their prowess.
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End of HUMAN-NETS Digest
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