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Computer underground Digest Wed Oct 6 1993 Volume 5 : Issue 78
ISSN 1004-042X
Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
Ian Dickinson
Copie Editor: Etaoin Shrdlu, III
CONTENTS, #5.78 (Oct 6 1993)
File 1--The Elansky Case (A Response to CuD's Editors)
File 2--CuD and the Elansky Case (Response to L. Detweiler)
File 3--CA state Legislative Info Bill
File 4--U. Minn. Campus Police Investigate Software Theft Ring
File 5--Computers & Writing Call for Proposals
File 6--ACTIVIST ALERT-CPSR Solicits CLIPPER/SKIPJACK comments
Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
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or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL
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Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 93 02:23:12 -0600
From: "L. Detweiler" <ld231782@LONGS.LANCE.COLOSTATE.EDU>
Subject: File 1--The Elansky Case (A Response to CuD's Editors)
Editor: your theories on the "hacker culture" among adolescents,
including the ideas of unique vocabulary and initiation ceremonies
etc. in the line of sophisticated and evolved social customs, are
interesting, and certainly have some degree of validity in general and
apropos application to the Elansky case in particular.
Nevertheless, your agenda in painting Elansky as a clear cut "victim"
is very obvious. Now, I agree that the Elansky case shows some rather
outrageous excesses of the legal system and the rooted paranoias
therein. In particular, I find the latest news that Elansky is
languishing" and that the extraordinary bail of $500K has not been
challenged or revised quite shocking.
However, I'm writing because you note in a previous newsletter that
Elansky supposedly had a record of breaking into a high school science
supply room to steal chemicals. Now this is an extremely incriminating
action that you wholly failed to address. In fact, you skipped right
over this piece of information almost without comment. It really
rather significantly damages your argument and portrayal of Elansky as
nothing but a victimized BBS operator with nothing but an academic
interest in explosives recipes. To the contrary, your own academic
bias is revealed.
Very rarely are we ever afforded an opportunity to have such clear cut
villains and heroes as in, say, the Steve Jackson Games case.
Polarized accounts condemning law enforcement for various overreaction
that selectively present various data are not a service to *any*
community. If you wish to continue to adhere to high academic
standards in your own published analyses and opinions, please exercise
the utmost impartiality. In burying the information about Elansky's
possible breaking-and-entering crime, and failing to follow it up as
diligently as all the other claims that tend to extenuate his guilt,
this standard has been compromised to the detriment of your own
journalistic, editorial, and academic integrity. I'm hopeful you will
rectify this partiality in future editorials.
Sincerely,
L. Detweiler
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Oct, 1993 21:18:20 CDT
From: CuD Moderators <tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu>
Subject: File 2--CuD and the Elansky Case (Response to L. Detweiler)
In criticizing CuD comments on the Elansky/Hartford case, in which
which Michael Elansky, a BBS sysop was arrested for two having to
"anarchist" text files on his board (see CuD #5.69, 5.71), "L.
Detweiler" <ld231782@LONGS.LANCE.COLOSTATE.EDU> (previous file)
writes:
>However, I'm writing because you note in a previous
>newsletter that Elansky supposedly had a record of breaking
>into a high school science supply room to steal chemicals.
>Now this is an extremely incriminating action that you
>wholly failed to address. In fact, you skipped right over
>this piece of information almost without comment. It really
>rather significantly damages your argument and portrayal of
>Elansky as nothing but a victimized BBS operator with
>nothing but an academic interest in explosives recipes. To
>the contrary, your own academic bias is revealed.
His above post perceives some unspecified "obvious agenda" that we
presumably hide, challenges our integrity, and objects to an
"academic bias," whatever that might mean. We thank him for sharing
his opinion. However, we're less charitable toward his beliefs that
more should have been mentioned of Elansky's previous legal troubles
and that the lack of primacy of previous charges, unrelated to the BBS
anarchist files, somehow subverts CuD commentary on the case and
weakens any First Amendment issues the case raises.
The basic facts in the Elansky case: 1) Elansky was arrested in early
August, '93, for making to common anarchy files available; 2)
According to existing public information, the arrest was solely for the
two anarchy files, written four years ago by a 15 year old teenager;
3) Elansky's bond for this offense was set at half a million dollars;
4) Elansky remains in jail as of October 6, awaiting his next hearing
on October 10. In CuD 5.72, we reprinted the Connecticut laws under
which Elansky was charged. Although both are felonies, neither
justifies the excessive bond. CuD explicitly summarized Elansky's
previous legal problems. Despite current evidence that those offenses
may have been far less serious than the language of the charges
indicates, they are not the issue. Cud was careful to qualify comments
by acknowledging that, because the relevant court documents are
sealed, it is always possible that the prosecutor possesses evidence
of more serious behavior. We think we were sufficiently clear: THE
ISSUE IS NOT ELANSKY, BUT THE CRIMINALIZATION OF TEXT FILES THAT ONLY
THE HARTFORD PROSECUTOR DEEMS ILLEGAL. This is a First Amendment
issue, pure and simple, and whether Elansky is a serial murder or a
squeaky-clean choirboy is irrelevant.
Elansky, we repeat for those who skipped the first 50 lines, was
arrested and remains in jail for posting two anarchist files on his
BBS. CuDs 5.69, 5.71 and 5.72 summarized the case, reprinted the
anarchy files, and reprinted what apparently was an investigation
report justifying the arrest. The files do not support the charges.
The two "anarchy" files in question are not only legal, and therefore
protected by the First Amendment, but they are, by "anarchy"
standards, considered mild, even "lame." As any highschool graduate
should know, the files contain little that cannot be constructed from
a highschool chemistry course. They contain absolutely nothing that
cannot be found in over-the-counter literature and television. The
_Anarchists' Cookbook_, in it's 29th printing since 1971, contains
hundreds of recipes for home-made weapons, pyrotechnics, and
psychedelics. It is legal. We note with amusement that the latest
catalogue from Delta Press, Ltd (PO Box 1625 Dept 93W; 215 S.
Washington St., El Dorado, AR 71731; fax (501) 862-9671; voice: (501)
862-4984) is available, along with its contents, without obvious
restrictions to anybody with the purchase price for publications.
Delta Press's inventory includes:
CIA Explosives for Sabotage ($9.00)
Improvised Munitions from Ammonium Nitrate ($7.50)
Death by Deception: Advanced Improvised Booby Traps ($14.00)
Terrorist Explosives Handbook ($6.95)
Counterbomb ("assassination by explosives") ($14.00)
Improvised Land Mines ($12.00)
Improvised Explosives ($12.00)
Boobytraps ($8.00)
The list is extensive. It includes manuals on full-auto conversion
and silencer construction for weapons; military manuals;
poaching manuals; killing manuals; survival manuals;
blowing-people-away manuals; poisoning manuals. They are legal. They
appear easily accessible. Yet, Elansky posts two juvenile files
demonstrably written by others, both of which are "lame," and he's
arrested and slapped with a $500,000 bond. This is the issue.
Is CuD off-base in the assessment of the case? Perhaps. If so, though,
we're in excellent company.
Lance Rose, perhaps the most knowledgeable legal guru on BBS law, and
columnist for BOARDWATCH MAGAZINE, calls the case "ridiculous." He
summarizes the facts of the case in his October, '93, column, and
alludes to Elansky's cat-and-mouse game with local police. He
concludes:
Regardless of their motivations, however, the police made a
big mistake in jailing Elansky for a text file on his BBS.
The 1ST AMENDMENT prohibits government officials from acting
against anyone for distributing material containing
political content. If, as Elansky's parents claim, he did
not even know the file was on his BBS until after he was
arrested, then he is entitled to even greater legal
protection from prosecution, such as accorded to book stores
and magazine distributors. Distributors are not responsible
for materials like obscene or infringing publications, unless
they are specifically aware of the material in question. This
rule is necessary to assure the smooth flow of 1st Amendment
materials through mass distribution systems for both printed
and electronic materials.
......
Even if Elansky made bombs all those years as the police
believe, this gives no support to jailing him based on the BBS
file. The police acted criminally in penalizing him for
speech on his BBS.
The Harford Courant, on September 17 (pp A1, A3: "Free Speech and
Computers Central to Bomb-Recipe Case," by John M. Moran), was equally
adamant. The reporter, John Moran, is an experienced user of the Net
and of BBSes, and it shows in a thoughtful and incisive commentary.
Moran, too, distinguishes between Elansky's run-ins with the police
and the issues underlying his arrest. His well-researched article
alludes to the availability of _The Anarchists' Cookbook_ in local
bookstores and libraries, and concludes by raising what appears to be
the double standard between Constitutional protections granted to
print and electronic media:
This apparent double standard between printed text and The
Deth Vegetable's ((the author of the disputed files))
computer text files is precisely what makes the Ionizer
((Elansky's BBS handle)) so important, say public interest
groups familiar with the Elansky case.
"It's pretty clear that the First Amendment's been trampled
on the way to the riot in this case," said David Banisar, a
policy analyst for Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility. "It appears that the prosecutor doesn't
realize that electronic publications have the same
protection as printed publications."
Ralph G. Elliot, a Hartford lawyer who has represented The
Courant on First Amendment issues, agreed that the Elansky
case does raise free-speech questions. He likened it to a
well-known case in which The Progressive, a Wisconsin
magazine, was found to have the right to publish publicly
available information about how to construct a nuclear bomb.
Mike Godwin, legal counsel for the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, another advocacy group, said Connecticut's
"inciting injury to persons or property" charge is
unconstitutional.
"Traditionally, we've understood the First Amendment to
apply to all forms of expression," Godwin said. "I think the
prosecutor in this case has shown monstrous disregard for
the Constitution that he has sworn to uphold."
"There are very few law-enforcement actions that qualify as
genuinely evil, but I think this is one of them," he said.
The relevance of this case for cyberspace lies in the danger of any
local prosecutor to define Constitutionally protected electronic forms
of expression as illegal. If Elansky is guilty of crimes, then it is
those crimes for which he should be charged. However, on no account
ought prosecutors be allowed to subvert the Constitution in order to
develop a case against any U.S. citizen, regardless of what other
offenses they might be *suspects*. To compound the error with an
excessive bond while the suspect languishes in jail strikes us as a
gross abuse of prosecutorial power. Perhaps the wrong people are in
jail.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1993 20:00:09 GMT
From: kiddyr@GALLANT.APPLE.COM(Ray Kiddy)
Subject: File 3--CA state Legislative Info Bill
Here is the text of the bill that is waiting on Gov Pete Wilson's desk.
i hope other states begin to use this as a model.
thanx - ray kiddy, ray@ganymede.apple.com
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 30, 1993
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 1993
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 1993
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 17, 1993
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 1993
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE--1993-94 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1624
Introduced by Assembly Member Bowen
(Principal coauthor: Senator Torres)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Areias, Bornstein,
Goldsmith, Isenberg, Johnson, Karnette, Katz
Mountjoy, Nolan, Polanco, Speier, and
Vasconcellos)
(Coauthors: Senators Dills, Hayden, Killea, Morgan, and
Rosenthal)
March 4, 1993
An act to add Section 10248 to the Government Code,
relating to the Legislature;
LEGISLATIVE COUNSELUS DIGEST
AB 1624, as amended, Bowen. Legislature: legislative
information: access by computer network.
Under existing law, all meetings of a house of the Legislature
or a committee thereof are required to be open and public, unless
specifically exempted, and any meeting that is required to be open
and public, including specified closed sessions, may be held only
after full and timely notice to the public as provided by the
Joint Rules of the Assembly and Senate.
This bill would make a legislative finding that it is desirable
to make information regarding matters pending before the Legislature
and its proceedings available to the citizens of this state,
irrespective of where they reside, in a timely manner and for the
least possible cost.
This bill would require the Legislative Counsel, with the advice
of the Assembly Committee on Rules and the Senate Committee on Rules,
to make available to the public, by means of access by way of the
largest nonproprietary, nonprofit cooperative public computer network,
specified information concerning bills, the proceedings of the
houses and committees of the Legislature, statutory enactments,
and the California Constitution.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares that
2 it is now possible and feasible in this electronic age to
3 more widely distribute legislative information by way of
4 electronic communication in order to better inform the
5 public of the matters pending before the Legislature and
6 its proceedings. The Legislature further finds that it is
7 desirable to make information regarding these matters
8 and proceedings available to the citizens of this state,
9 irrespective of where they reside, in a timely manner and
10 for the least possible cost.
11 Sec. 2. Section 10248 is added to the Government
12 Code, to read:
22 (a) The Legislative Counsel shall, with the advice of
1 the Assembly Committee on Rules and the Senate
2 Committee on Rules, make all of the following
3 information available to the public in electronic form:
4 (1) The
5 legislative calendar, the
6 schedule of legislative committee hearings, a list of
7 matters pending on the floors of both houses of the
8 Legislature, and a list of the committees of the
9 Legislative and their members.
10 (2) The text of each bill introduced in each current
11 legislative session, including each amended, enrolled,
12 and chaptered form of each bill.
13 (3) The bill history of each bill introduced and
14 amended in each current legislative session.
15 (4) The bill status of each bill introduced and
16 amended in each current legislative session.
17 (5) All bill analyses prepared by legislative
18 committees in connection with each bill in each current
19 legislative session.
20 (6) All vote information concerning each bill in each
21 current legislative session.
22 (7) Any veto messages concerning a bill in each
23 current legislative session.
24 (8) The California Codes.
25 (9) The California Constitution.
26 (10) All statutes enacted on or after
27 January 1, 1993.
34 (b) The
36 information identified in
37 subdivision (a) shall be made available to the public by
38 means of access by way of the largest nonproprietary,
39 nonprofit cooperative public computer network.
40 The
1 information shall be made available in one or more
2 formats and by one or more means in order to provide the
3 greatest feasible access to the general public in this state.
4 Any person who accesses the information may access all
5 or any part of the information. The information may also
6 be made available by any other means of access that
7 would facilitate public access to the information.
11 The information that is maintained in the
12 legislative information center that is operated and
13 maintained by the Legislative Counsel shall be made
14 available
15 in the shortest feasible after
16 the information is available in the information system.
17 The information that is not maintained in the information
18 system shall be made available in the shortest feasible
19 time after it is available to the Legislative Counsel.
26 (c) Any documentation that describes the electronic
27 digital formats of the information identified in
28 subdivision (a) and is available to the public shall be
29 made available by means of access by way of the
30 computer network specified in subdivision (b).
2 Personal information
3 concerning a person who accesses the information may
4 be maintained only for the purpose of providing service
5 to the person.
6 (e) No fee or other charge may be imposed by
7 the Legislative Counsel as a condition
8 of accessing the information that is accessible by way of
9 the computer network specified in subdivision (b).
10 (f) The electronic public access provided by
11 way of the computer network specified in
12 subdivision (b) shall be in addition to other electronic or
13 print distribution of the information.
14 (g) No action taken pursuant to this section shall be
15 deemed to alter or relinquish any copyright or other
16 proprietary interest or entitlement of the State of
17 California relating to any of the information made
18 available pursuant to this section.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 02 Oct 93 04:15:34 EDT
From: jackmcnac@AOL.COM
Subject: File 4--U. Minn. Campus Police Investigate Software Theft Ring
Minnesota Campus Police Investigating Software Theft Ring
By Nancy Livingston
Saint Paul Pioneer Press
Sep. 30--Call it a hijacking on the nation's information
superhighway - a crime of the 90s.
University of Minnesota police are investigating allegations that
a group of university students have copied computer software games and
other programs protected by copyright and sold them via Internet, the
international computer network.
Internet is a global network of 1.7 million computers used by 15
million to 30 million people. Growing by one million users a month,
Internet has been dubbed the information superhighway. It is heavily
used in academia for research, electronic mail, software transfer and
other purposes, and many faculty members and students have accounts to
use the Internet.
Last May, a supervisor in the Institute of Technology computer lab
became concerned when he noticed that the amount of disk space on the
lab's Sun Microsystems computer system was running low.
A search for users who had taken up unusual amounts of disk space
revealed that three users had a large amount of commercial software in
their files that cannot be used on the Sun computer. It was stored in
a format for transmission over the Internet.
The university supervisor surmised that the students were selling
the software in violation of Minnesota law, and he locked the
accounts.
More extensive checking turned up six more users with what
appeared to be a large amount of commercial software in their
directories along with a large amount of mail. Their accounts were
also locked and police were contacted.
University police Capt. Francis Gernandt obtained a search warrant
in June to gain access to the computer files in question, but he did
not receive the information he needed until this week. The delay was
due to a change in personnel at the computer lab.
Gernandt said Wednesday that he will be asking university computer
experts to help him analyze the computer files. Meanwhile, Gernandt is
checking on the whereabouts of nine students who had the commercial
software in their files. He is also looking into how much the software
is worth and how the students came to possess it.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1993 16:04:37 CDT
From: Eric Crump <C509379@MIZZOU1.BITNET>
Subject: File 5--Computers & Writing Call for Proposals
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please forward this announcement to appropriate mailing
lists, newsgroups, bbs, and individuals.