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I have saved and collected a **huge** amount of data from the 80s, 90s and early 00s from the UK Hacking and Phreaking scene. Many of it has been lost over the years, so I will be dumping it here over the next while in the hopes someone finds it interesting!
First up though we have ARCV, a virus writing group from the early 1990s!
Around late 1992 a group emerged calling themselves the Association of Really Cruel Viruses (ARCV). The group was initially small, and by all accounts relatively unskilled, and was made up of two people, Apache Warrior who was the leader of the group, and ICE-9. They soon recruited two more, Toxic Crusader and Slartibartfast, and became one of the first virus writing groups in the UK.
Over the next year, they would write around 100 viruses, the first few were created using a virus generator called Virus Creation Laboratory (VCL) but they would soon end up writing their own virii, apparently, they were also very well written! Apache Warrior would also end up creating the group's engine, Cybertech Mutation Engine (CME).
ARCV didn't last too long before Scotland Yard caught up with them in an unsuspecting way. A year after they entered the scene around December/January 1993 Apache Warrior and ICE-9 were arrested in the Salford area in the UK. The group had been distributing their viruses and newsletters to a BBS in Cornwall as well as others via beige boxing. In their great wisdom, they decided that the best target of the beige boxing would be their neighbours' line. Scotland Yard did not even realise these two phone phreakers they just caught were also the founding members on ARCV until the confiscation of their computer equipment.
Apache Warrior cooperated with the police, and further examination of the confiscated equipment confirmed that not only had the police caught some phone phreakers, but they also caught the leader of ARCV. On Wednesday, January 27 1993, four other ARCV members in Manchester, Cumbria, Staffordshire and Cornwall were raided by Scotland Yard and their computer equipment confiscated. This was ICE-9, Toxic Crusader, Slartibartfast and the arrest in Cornwall was the SYSOP of the BBS where ARCV transferred files too so not officially a member of ARCV. In total there were six arrests and all were released on police bail pending further investigations.
DC Noel Bonczoszek of the Computer Crimes Unit failed to identify anyone affected by any ARCV created viruses. Due to this Apache Warrior, ICE-9 and the two other members were let off with cautions. One was cautioned relating to another matter, the BBS SYSOP, and the last one was released with no further actions.
You can download all the files I have on ARCV from the following gemini site.
Got any of these files? Let me know!
Feb, 1993 : Spreading Viruses
Personal Computer World Magazine
We are a bunch of programmers who, depressed with the lack of viruses that
have originated in England, have sought to change matters. We presently
write viruses for the PC, Archimedes and Atari ST. We have increased the few
viruses written in England by about 25, though this number is increasing all
the time as our programmers churn out more quality computer viruses.
Although there are many viruses about we hope to dominate the UK 'market'.
Won't it be nice, though, for England to have at least one export? Finally,
we as an organisation like to stress that, contrary to public opinion, we are
beaten as children and so grew up with a hatred of humanity. We are highly
intelligent and good at programming and are just ordinary people. But we are
gonna get you soon!
- ARCV (Association of Really Cruel Viruses)
4 Feb, 1993 : Apache scalps virus cowboys
Police raided the homes of suspected computer virus authors across the
country last week, arresting five people and seizing equipment. "The raids
were carried out last Wednesday by police in Manchester, Cumbria,
Staffordshire and Devon and Cornwall." Scotland Yard's computer crimes unit
co-ordinated the raids under the codename Operation Apache. A spokeswoman for
the Greater Manchester Police said: 'The investigation began in the
Manchester area following the arrest of the self-styled president of the
virus writing group in Salford last December.' Police would not reveal the
man's name, but said he had been released on bail. "Last week's raids led to
the arrest of a further two people in Manchester. Three other suspects were
also arrested in Staffordshire, Cumbria and Cornwall." PCs and floppy disks
were seized in all the raids. "All those arrested have been released on
police bail pending further investigations."
4 Feb, 1993 : UK Virus Writers Group Foiled by Scotland Yard
British police have arrested four members of a virus-writing group that calls
itself the Association of Really Cruel Viruses (ARCV).
The Scotland Yard Computer Crime Unit coordinated the raids carried out on
suspects in Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, Devon, and Cornwall. The
arrests last Wednesday, January 27, bring to six the number of ARCV members
found by police, after they initially arrested one caught "phreaking" in
Manchester in December. ("Phone phreaking" is the illegal practice of
obtaining free use of telephone lines.) The arrests were made under Section 3
of the Computer Misuse Act, which prohibits unauthorized modification of
computer material, said Detective Sergeant Stephen Littler. The suspects, who
cannot be identified at this stage under British law, have been released on
bail pending inquiries and may face further charges.
The members of ARCV used PCs to write viruses, which they shared via a
bulletin board operated by one suspect in Cornwall. The police confiscated
hardware and software, which is being studied by virus experts to determine
how many viruses were written and what the viruses were intended to do,
Littler said. The British anti-virus community became aware of ARCV through
the group's own publicity efforts, such as a newsletter that it had uploaded
to various bulletin boards in the U.S., according to Richard Ford, editor of
the monthly "Virus Bulletin", which is published in Abingdon, Oxon, England.
The newsletter was described in detail in the November, 1992, issue of "Virus
Bulletin".
To the best of my knowledge, none of their viruses are in the wild, out
there spreading" said Ford. But they have been found on virus exchange
bulletin board services, and we've had reports of them being uploaded rather
widely in the UK. ARCV claims, in its newsletter, to have links with
PHALCON/SKISM in the U.S. and other virus writers in Eastern Europe. "The
world is a very small place when you've got a modem, or are on the Internet",
Ford said. The newsletter invites new members to join even if they are not
virus writers but prefer other "underground" activities such as hacking and
phreaking. It also betrays ARCV's fears of being perceived as nerds (a term
not used in Britain) saying, "Now the picture put out by the Anti- Virus
Authors is that Virus writers are Sad individuals who wear Anoraks and go
Train Spotting but well they are sadly mistaken, we are very intelligent,
sound minded, highly trained, and we wouldn't be seen in an Anorak or near an
Anorak even if dead."
ARCV has already failed at one of the objectives mentioned in its premier
newsletter issue, which said, "We will be dodging Special Branch and New
Scotland Yard as we go."
From: m...@doc.ic.ac.uk (Mike C Holderness)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: This just in from London...
Date: 3 Feb 1993 13:57:06 -0000
Department of Computing, Imperial College, University of London, UK.
Police have arrested Britain's first computer virus-writing group in an
operation they hope will dampen the aspirations of any potential high-tech
criminals. Four members of the Association of Really Cruel Viruses (ARCV)
were raided last Wednesday in a joint operation in four cities co-ordinated
by Scotland Yard's computer crimes unit. The arrests in Greater Manchester,
Cumbria, Staffordshire and Devon and Cornwall, bring to six the members of
the group that have been tracked down by police. Two others, also writing for
ARCV, were arrested a month ago in Manchester. This six are thought to have
written between 30 and 50 relatively harmless viruses....
[continues. By Susan Watts. (C) 1993 Newspaper Publishing plc.]
Comments, especially from survivors and even more from people in the UK who
are into a little light looking around but nothing Really Cruel, very
welcome. Yes, I am a journalist.
16 May, 1994 : Urnst Couch / Crypt Newsletter
About the same time, a hacker was arrested for stealing phone service from
his neighbor's line and his equipment confiscated, too. The hacker turned out
to be Apache Warrior, a member of the small United Kingdom virus-writing
group called ARCV (for Association of Really Cruel Viruses).
Some background information not included in the book: Alan Solomon was
apparently able to convince New Scotland Yard's computer crime unit that they
should also try to prosecute Apache Warrior as a virus-writer and that the
rest of the group should be rounded up, too. In conversation, Solomon has
said Apache Warrior turned over the names of other group members.
Subsequently, New Scotland Yard and local constabularies conducted raids at
multiple sites in England, arresting another man. Paradoxically, prior to the
arrests, Solomon joked that ARCV was better at cyber-publicity than virus
programming and its creations were little more than petty menaces. The book
offers no reported incidences of ARCV viruses on the computers of others,
although Virus News International, by extension S&S International, solicited
readers for such evidence in 1993.
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 93 09:17:21
From: aryeh@mcafee.com (McAfee Associates)
Subject: Forwarded message from Scotland Yard
Hello All,
I was recently contacted by DC Noel Bonczoszek of the Computer Crimes Unit at
New Scotland Yard in London. As some of you may be aware, Noel is one of the
folks responsible for arresting the members of ARCV, a UK-based group of
virus-writers. He would like to speak with anyone who suffered an infection
from any of their viruses. If you have been infected by one of their
viruses, or know of someone who has, then please give him a call at +44 (71)
230-1177 during office hours (GMT), or send him a fax at +44 (71) 230-1275.
Please bear in mind that I'm only forwarding this message for DC Bonczoszek.
If you have any questions, please contact him directly.