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K N I G H T L I N E
Issue 03/Part III of III
17th of November, 1990
Written, compiled,
and edited by Doc Holiday
KL ^*^ KL ^*^ KL ^*^ KL ^*^ KL
---
What is this? Information Society's new album is called "HACK"? Just
what do these guys know about hacking? How did they come up with the album
title? Why are they taking such an interest in the Computer Underground?
Knightline got the chance to ask Kurt Valaquen of InSoc about the new
album and his involvement with the CU.
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RINGing New York .. .
KV: Hello
Me: Kurt?
KV: Yes, Doc ?
Me: Yea, you ready for the interview?
KV: Sure, shoot.
Me: Okay, this is DH with Phrack Classic--
TC: This is the Conflict
PH: And this is Pain Hertz
KV: I uh, hope you ask me what my hacker handle is..
Me: Ok, what's your handle?
KV: Because I believe that I have one of the coolest hacker's handles that I've
ever heard.
TC: uhh
Me: What is it?
KV: TRAPPED VECTOR.
Me: "Trapped Vector" ?
KV: yep
Me: How did you come up with that?
KV: What? You don't recognize it ?
Me: haha
KV: What.. . and you guys call yourselves hackers?
Me: ah
KV: My god. . you guys must be so young that you've never had to deal with
assembly language.
Me: Who would want to-- It was a sarcastic question..
Me: Now, Kurt..
KV: Trapped Vector is a term from deep deep down in the functioning's of a CPU.
Me: Right.
Me: Uh, uh What kind of involvement, if any, have you had in the
telecommunications field?
KV: In telecommunications what?
Me: In the telecommunications field.
KV: Uhh.. I majored in computer science at the University of Minnesota.. . Just
long enough to get interested and not long enough to get a degree.
Me: ah. So you didn't graduate?
KV: No. After my 5th year I finally gave up and went to Vienna.
Me: Uhh. Let's get into the new album .. uh now, what was the inspiration for
involving the "hacking" theme in your new album?
KV: Umm, well, it's not like we were inspired to do it -- and we sat around all
day and said "Hey, let's like put this hacker's moltese into it." -- it's
more like we just left all that stuff out on our first album because we
were trying to .. uh.. to not make any waves, since it was our first album.
And now were cocky and think we can do whatever we want. So we just did
whatever we wanted. And whenever we do whatever we want, some of that
stuff inevitably creeps in because .. were into it.
Me: uhh.. have you been following all of the recent hacking busts that have
plagued the country this year .. ?
KV: Hacking "buzz" that has plaged.. .
Me: BUSTS.. yea hacking busts..
KV: Oh, I haven't been following it, but I've been hearing a little bit about
it from my friends..
Me: Yea, because your album comming out titled "HACK" really does tie in
with this time period of hackers getting alot of press..
KV: Yea
Me: And I just thought that could have been one of the inspirations.. .
KV: Well, actually, believe it or not, we don't really know what it means to
title an album "HACK". We have a list of about nine different
interpretations that we thought we could leave open and anyone else could
decide which is the real one and strangley (Gruhm) the computer hacker
concept is pretty far down on our list. The first one we always think of
is uh.. the hack versus .. uh.. respected professional-- meaning-- like,
you know, their just hack, he's just a hack writer.. .
Me: Right.
KV: Their just hack musicians-- because uh, I guess we wanted to be
self-deprecating in a sarcastic and easily marketable way.
Me: Yea..
Me: What about your personal involvement in the Computer Underground? Is there
one? With hackers?
KV: Well, umm.. if I were not being a "pop tart" (which is our personal lingo
for rock star) I would probably be trying to make my money off of
programming.
Me: Aaah!
KV: Ummm, however.. that's not the case.. I am trying to be a "pop tart" so my
involvement is more limited that I would like it to be. I mean I do all my
work on IBM.. When I'm composing..
Me: Hm, Kurt, what are your thoughts and attitudes toward hackers and hacking?
KV: Umm, this is my thoughts and attitudes towards it: I am somebody who --
always. . always -- like when I had that telephone job, I just was, I
hardly did any work. I just spent the whole time trying to come up with
tricky things to do you know. Like I'd screw up other people's phone calls
and stuff and so like I'm way into it. And I understand why people want to
do it. BUT, I always kinda, knew that I just .. . shouldn't. Just because
it's stupid.. It was childish. And, I just wish that hackers could come up
with something better to do than get things without paying for them.
PH: Like something more productive?
KV: Yea, like .. uh.. umm, crash some sort of umm, killing organization's
computer system.
Me: Have you always had these thoughts or..just because of your popularity?
KV: Umm, I've had this attitude as I got older, because .. um, I'm just
becomming really bored with people devoting all this intelligence and
motivation into like avoiding paying their phone bill.
TC: Well, actually, that's getting away from the hacker as such. Because alot
of hackers are really into systems more than their into .. you know, toll
fraud.
KV: Well I sure hope so..
TC: Yea, I mean..
KV: My Idea of great hacking is gathering information that other people are
wronmgfully trying to withhold.
TC: Right.
KV: But, most hacking to me seems to be petty ways of getting things without
paying for them.. and that is just silly.
Me: That is the "90's hackers" Kurt.
PH: Yea, it's moving that way alot..
Me: It's in that direction.
Me: Tell us about the telephone job you mentioned?
KV: Well, I worked at a market research place. You all know what that is-- you
call up and say, "Hello, my name is Kurt and Im calling for marketing
incentives incorporated, and we are conducting a survey in your area
tonight... about toothpaste!"
PH: Hah
TC: ahha
Me: Bahaha
KV: "And I would like to know if I could ask you a few questions?" .. "What! I
don't wanna buy no toothpaste!" .. "No we were just going to ask a few
questions.." -- Ewwwwph..
KV: Like... you would try to come up with ways to not make the phone calls
because it was so painful to do.
TC: heh
KV: The best thing was when I umm. . this was a time when I didn't know much
about telephones.. or how they really worked.. umm. . but I managed to run
a little thing-- wires with alligator clips --uhh, from the phone that I
was at to the central switcher. And uhh, whenever I like got up to goto
the bathroom, or something, I'd go in there, and by connecting and shorting
the two wires out I'd break up someone's phone call.
PH: ha
KV: You know, but after a while, I thought to myself, WHY? I wish I could have
pulled something more creative like umm.. . installing a uhh.. a pitch
transposer on the outgoing signals, so that the people on the other end of
the phone would hear, "AND NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU: HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT COLEGATE?"
Me: Bahaha
TC: ahha
PH: heh!
KV: That would have been funny-- aha.
KV: But, I never did that..
Me: Hmm, Do you know any other bands that are involved or interested in the
computer underground?
KV: No, I don't know that there are any-- most uh musicians are either
anti-tech or if they are into tech they arnt into it enough-- or they arn't
into it for it's own sake. Like, like hackers.
Me: Did you guys have any problems with the title of your new album?
KV: Like what do you mean?
Me: Well, do you find that most of your fans think you guys are into the
"hacking scene" because of the title?
KV: They can think of it anyway they want-- it a bunch of different meanings.
KV: Like uh, one member of the band thinks of it refering to him being a cook
and he likes to cut up meat.
Me: Hah
TC: heh
TC: What about like on the 12" with the "BlueBox 2600" mix and the
"Phone Phreakers" mix?
KV: What about it?
TC: Yea.. uh
KV: And the Virtual Reality mix?
TC: Yea, has that uh.. have you heard anything about that?
KV: Umm, no people in large just don't notice. I mean when your a hacker, I
mean you kind of forget how little people know. But it's unbelieveable how
much people don't know. And I'm sure one person in a thousand thinks that
those are anything other than, "Oh another wacky mix name!"
Me: Baha
KV: Most mix names are just inside jokes-- so most people don't bother trying
to understand them.
TC: Right.
KV: Umm, basically the only thing that has happened is that people have umm..
really responded to the concept of uhh.. us trying to tie into computer
hacking-- way more than we were really trying to. We just wanted it to be
a reference. And the people around us are kinda pushing us into it being a
theme. Were not really prepared for that. Because, while were into it, of
the three of us, Im the only one who can hold down a conversation about
tech. And even I have to move over and admit that I am not ane expert
hacker. I just dont know enough. Like.. Uh.. I know what an FAT is, but
I wouldn't know how to rewrite it.
TC: Well, that's another thing. Do you make a distinction between hacker as
someone who breaks into computers or a hacker who is an intense system
programmer?
KV: Do I make that distinction?
TC: Yea.
KV: Umm.. No.. Im not involved enough in the hacker world to make that
distinction.
Me: Do you have anything you want to say to the computer underground?
KV: Umm.. .yes let me think. . "Roller-skating is not a crime".
TC: Hah
PH: ah!
KV: You know that I live on skates don't you?
PH: Well on the album cover your wearing skates.. next to that car ... with
your..
KV: My teledestruction gear!
KV: And, I have to add a grain of salt to the phrase "Hackers of the world
unite" thats on our album cover..
PH: Right.
KV: We didn't actually intend it to be a huge banner.. it was suppose to be a
tiny little comment on the side.. and our label misunderstood our
intentions for that. We didn't think it was quite good enough to have it
be a huge .. in such huge print.
Me: Hmm
KV: Not a grain of salt.. A tounge and a cheek.
TC: hehe
<SILENCE>
Me: Well, I guess thats about it.. Do you have anything you wanna sum up with?
KV: Umm..
<SILENCE>
Me: Uh, Kurt, do you have an Email address somewhere?
KV: AH, well, Im embarrassed to say it but only on Prodigy.
TC: HAH
Me: Bahah!
PH: Heh
Me: Okay.. Well, if that's it..
KV: Wait. I do know something I can sum up with..
KV: Please.. In the case of our album try to overcome your instinct of hacker
tendancies and buy an original disk rather than just waiting for a copy..
KV: Ok?
Me: Hah
KV: We need the money.
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[The following is a press release for InSoc's new LP. --DH]
INFORMATION
SOCIETY
"Hackers have no regard for conventional wisdom. We have no regard for
musical conventions..."
-- Paul Robb
"Hack has multiple meanings, some of them self-deprecating. You can't
take any of this too seriously or you've missed the point. It's about
a playful use of technology, about breaking codes. It's a post-modern
aesthetic that comes through in our music..."
-- James Cassidy
"After having devised, erased and blotted out many other names, we
finally decided to call our album _Hack_ -- a name that, in our
opinion, is lofty, sonorous and significant. It explains that we had
been only ordinary hacks before we had been raised to our present status
as first of all hacks in the world..."
-- Kurt Valaquen
There you have it...as complete a definition of the vision of _Hack_ as
you're likely to get short of actually listening to Information
Society's superb new album of the same name. And if, after reading the
trio's treatises on the term, you suddenly have a clear understanding of
what the meaning behind _Hack_ really is, then something's gone wrong.
_Hack_ is more than the definition. It's a way of life. With its own
soundtrack.
"We're musical hackers of the first order," continues InSoc's Paul Robb.
"What we do is similiar to computer hackers breaking into sophisticated
systems to wreak havoc."
"Our music is really different from other progressive styles," adds
James Cassidy. "It's funnier and scarier...a mix of pure pop and sub-
versive stuff underneath the surface."
TOMMY BOY MUSIC, INC. 1747 1ST AV. NY, NY 10128 (212) 722-2211
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N E W S * B O L T S
{A - G}
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A> Four direct telephone circuits linking Seoul to Moscow were set to open
at midnight last night. South Korea's Communication Ministry said telephone
calls between South Korea and the Soviet Union have jumped from four calls in
all of 1987 to some 5,000 a month this year.
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B> In the latest issue of IEEE Spectrum (November, 1990), on pages
117-119, there's an interesting article entitled "The Great Blue Box Phone
Frauds", subtitled "Until the phone company separated signaling information
from the voice signal, long-distance calls could be made without charge by
anyone who could whistle at 2600 hertz."
It even has the illustration from the June 1972 "Ramparts" magazine, showing
how to constuct a "black box" to prevent the calling party from being billed
for the call.
There's also a list of about five or six other references at the end
of the article which sound interesting.
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C> Registering for AT&T Mail on-line: make a modem call to 1 800 624 5123
(2400, 1200, or 300 baud, 8 bit, no parity); give one (or more) <CR>'s; and at
the login prompt, type REGISTER followed by another <CR>. The system will walk
you through its on-line registration procedure. Have a creditcard number or
EFT number handy. You can back out at any time with a ^C (<cntrl>-C) and a
QUIT.
A couple further AT&T Mail features:
"Mail Talk" permits retrieval of messages w/o a terminal from any DTMF phone --
text messages get "spoken" by a synthesized voice; and there are "Autoanswer"
and "Autoresponse" options permitting fairly flexible automatic response to
either all or selected incoming messages.
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D> Detroit, Michigan time 313-472-1212. May soon be replaced with
a 900 number that charges.
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E> In Australia, the hacker known as Phoenix was charged with Defrauding
the Commonwealth, Conspiracy to Commit Treason, and Conspiracy to Commit
Murder. The United States has sent representatives from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) overseas to
help investigate the situation and aid in prosecution of Phoenix. In the
meantime, the "eccentric" Phoenix is maintaining ties to hacker friends in the
USA by use of the Internet.
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F> Bellcore reports that we have only 9 unused area codes. The current
system of generating the codes was supposed to last 100-200 years. Not to
worry, a representative at the Bell organization says a new plan is already in
the works. The new system consists of replacing the 2nd digit (either 0 or 1)
with a number between 2 and 9. Bellcore says the new plan should last 200 more
years. Hm.
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G> A new BBS has been set up for a communication flow between hackers,
fed, and journalists. 713.242.6853 Instant validation for all. The BBS is
called FACE to FACE.
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