KLUB@MARISTB.BITNET (Richard Budd) (05/24/90)
Re: Berkley and Mr. McMahon's comments on Cuckoo's Egg The Reader's Digest article in question appears in the April, 1990 edition. It describes in detail Mr. Stoll's experience with the German hackers up to the time of the latter's discovery and arrest. The article is home, so much of this information is also off my head. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I will skim through it and send further details. Karl Koch was the hacker who allegedly committed suicide after Marcus Hess was discovered. I am not sure if he was the contact between the hackers and the KGB, which did pay the hackers (about $50,000, a relative pittance in the spy world) for the data Hess stole from Berkley. Many hackers see Koch as a hero who was murdered by the establishment for his involvement in the "Cuckoo's Egg" incidents. For those who happen to read the Reader's Digest article (please do not interpret this as flaming, I just think it ought to be mentioned now to preclude any flames), one may gain the impression that the Computer Chaos Club, to which the German hackers belonged, was responsible for the break-in at the California databases. There is a counterculture within the CCC that believe that databases are made to be broken into and viruses are the way to protest the invasion of privacy that they perceive computer databases do. The CCC itself is concerned with developing and promoting computer and network applications in German-speaking Europe and does not endorse database tampering by unauthorized personnel. - ------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Budd*********: Learning the ropes of the computer world. Marist College*******: Poughkeepsie, NY*****: Like Clifford, I also commute to work by KLUB@MARISTB.BITNET**: bicycle. - -------------------------------------------------------------------