langz@asylum.SF.CA.US (Lang Zerner) (04/03/91)
In the April 8, 1991 U.S. edition of Time magazine, on page 81, the regularly-appearing Law column discusses issues of interest to this newsgroup. It is among the first articles I have seen in the mainstream media that does not advocate hysteria about an alleged hacker menace. Since posting the entire article here would be illegal, but I'll summarize. If EFF can get permission to republish the article, it would probably make a good addition to the archives. The author is Philip Elmer-Dewitt, and he lives in San Francisco. Elmer-Dewitt begins, as usual, with a description of Sun Devil. In contrast to the common presentation of Sun Devil's target as a tightly-knit organization of dangerous computer hackers, Elmer-Dewitt describes a "loose-knit group of youthful computer enthusiasts suspected of trafficking in stolen credit card numbers, telephone access codes and other contraband of the information age." Time also notes that the intended "crime does not pay" message backfired, sending "a very different message--one that chilled civil libertarians. ... [The Secret Service] shut down dozens of computer bulletin boards that may be as fully protected by the U.S. Constitution as the words on this page." Elmer-Dewitt continues by describing some of the issues discussed at the First Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy, noting that while the conference was "short on answers, it was long on tantalizing questions." He summarizes a few of the questions, and mentions Lawrence Tribe's 27th amendment proposal. Elmer-Dewitt doubts that the proposal will become law. Nevertheless, despite the fact that he teaches at Harvard (joke! :-), Tribe is a highly respected scholar of contitutional law, and Elmer-Dewitt believes this fact will at least raise the judiciary's conciousness with regard to the issues raised by Tribe's proposal. The article continues by briefly describing the Prodigy, Lotus Marketplace, and Calling number ID, and Steve Jackson Games controversies. Elmer-Dewitt cites the Secret Service's statistics on U.S. phone company losses due to fraud, but notes that "it is not clear...that the cyberpunks rounded up in dragnets like last May's are the ones committing the worst offenses." Finally, Elmer-Dewitt devotes a paragraph to the EFF. Unlike most mainstream media articles, which describe the EFF as a "hacker defense fund," Elmer-Dewitt opens with Mitch's quotable quote, "I regard unauthorized access into computer systems as wrong and deserving of punishment." EFF folks, this is a good propaganda piece, especially given its source. The article is also a good starting point for getting your non-technical (and technical) friends familiar with the issues EFF is addressing. Recommended. Be seeing you... Lang Zerner -- langz@asylum.sf.ca.us "Karma means `getting caught.' The secret to not creating karma is getting even without getting caught." --Rodent Kapoor
theo.bbs@shark.cs.fau.edu (Theo Heavey) (04/09/91)
langz@asylum.SF.CA.US (Lang Zerner) writes: > EFF folks, this is a good propaganda piece, especially given its source. > The article is also a good starting point for getting your non-technical > (and technical) friends familiar with the issues EFF is addressing. > Recommended. > I agree --- GREAT article . Lang mentions an EFF archive --- how do I access? Anon ftp? Theavey Florida Atalntic University Dept of Computer Science theo@cs.fau.edu
dbarberi@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Barberi) (04/10/91)
> >Lang mentions an EFF archive --- how do I access? Anon ftp? > >Theavey >Florida Atalntic University >Dept of Computer Science The EFF archive is FTP'able at: EFF.ORG Anonymous FTP, of course.
lucrezi@univaq.sublink.org (Gino Lucrezi) (04/16/91)
In article <13809@asylum.SF.CA.US>, langz@asylum.SF.CA.US (Lang Zerner) writes: > In the April 8, 1991 U.S. edition of Time magazine, on page 81, the > regularly-appearing Law column discusses issues of interest to this > newsgroup. Unfortunately, in the international edition that was substituted by a piece on the Yazuka. -- Gino Lucrezi @ Universita` "V. Rivera" - L'Aquila - Italy SUBLINK: lucrezi@ingeaq.sublink.org FIDO: 2:335/408.1 2:335/307.4
axolotl@socs.uts.edu.au (Iain D. Sinclair) (04/19/91)
lucrezi@univaq.sublink.org (Gino Lucrezi) writes: >In article <13809@asylum.SF.CA.US>, langz@asylum.SF.CA.US (Lang Zerner) writes: >> In the April 8, 1991 U.S. edition of Time magazine, on page 81, the >> regularly-appearing Law column discusses issues of interest to this >> newsgroup. > >Unfortunately, in the international edition that was substituted by a piece >on the Yazuka. It was in Time Australia. I thought it was a good article, too, if a little glib. Not really useful to someone who's slightly informed, or uninformed, for that matter; but good to see it, nevertheless. -- Iain Dick // axolotl@socs // University of Technology, Sydney ,', Sinclair // .uts.edu.au // (Research Assistant) +61 2 2812552 ,`