TK0JUT1@niu.bitnet (jt) (12/08/90)
There was a post on The Well, citing a wire story, that indicated that
the yearly *total* phone bill for the Johnson Space Center is only
about $3 million. According to the story, NASA went public to deny
that hackers could have possibly run up such a sum over two years:
"It's simply not so," said NASA spokesman Brian Welch.
"There is no universe you can find in which this set
of math will hold up."
If there were four lines being abused (as the {Houston Chronicle}
indicated), and if those lines were used *only* be hackers every
second of every day, it means that charges were calculated at over
$2.80 a minute. Disputing exaggerated claims of losses isn't simply a
technical quibble. We have seen consistent distortion by law
enforcement, and the result is creating a pseudo-reality that inflames
public images, leads to erroneous claims in indictments, and, in the
case of the three Atlanta Hackers, contributes to the writing of a
sentencing document filled with hyperbole, over-statement, and false
reasons for imposing incarceration.
Law enforcement, as documents from various legal proceedings indicate,
insist on holding people (whether suspected of wrong-doing or not)
accountable for every nuance of comments made on BBSs and elsewhere.
When will law enforcement agents become accountable for their cavalier
disregard of reality? Or, perhaps they expect the rest of us to share
the rich fantasy life that they accuse hackers of. (Sorry -- I know a
preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with). The credibility of
any agency that, despite netinfo and other sources, can still confuse
a $79,000 "program" with a $13.95 public document, diminishes.