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THE STORY OF C0SMOS
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Downloaded off Scan Line
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Distributed by: Twisted Sector
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The story that follows was reproduced
by the original 'Time Lord' now know to all as The Scanner. Contrary to belief he is not a Fed. In fact he is back on-line again with a new board!
----------------------------------------March 28, 1987
Edited for Scan Line systems under
C0SMOS communications. 313/851-0912
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By Kieth Gave
Free Press Staff Writer
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He called himself The Time Lord and
he ruled 'Cosmos' from a bedroom in his
parents' West Bloomfield home - untill
the FBI came and shut down the 15 year
old who had masterminded one the coun-
try's most notorious computer bulletin
boards.
A sophomore at Birmingham Groves High
School, he ran the electronic equival-
ent of a street gang with the Apple //e
computer he recieved as a birthday gift
two years ago.
The hackers traded information on how
to make bombs and scramble the phone
company. They swapped illegally obtain-
ed credit card numbers that many of
them used to charge thousands of
dollars worth of merchandise.
The youth said only the 'elite'
among computer hackers frequented his
board, which took the name Cosmos from
Bell Telephone Co's. computer systems.
He is not named here because he is a
juvenile, he has not been charged and
his parents asked his name not be used.
"I had about 80 regular users on the
board" he said, adding that only about
a handful were from the Detroit area.
Probably 75 percent were into credit
card fraud.
Although Time Lord was not charged,
he was questioned at length by federal
authorities.
The FBI agent in charge of computer
hackers in the Detroit area would not
comment other then to say the youths
he has talked with 'seem to be bright,
affluent and board kids."
John Anthony, FBI spokesman in De-
troit, said authorities "have no idea
how many are involved." "Thats one of the problems. I don't
think we know for sure how amny are out
there," Authony said. "These type of
crimes are hard to detect and when you
do, its usually the tip of the iceberg"
The FBI's April 18 visit to Time
Lords home turned up plenty, thanks to
a willing young man who admitted think-
ing like most of his friends, he would
never get caught.
'They knocked on the door and my
mom answered, she told me the FBI was
here to see me about Cosmos," said
Time Lord, a slender, well-spoken
young man. "I just froze right there."
Amoung the material tunred up was a
printout of Cosmos' user list that in-
cluded such names as Ima hacker, The
(414) Wizard, The Anarchist and various
other popular hackers.
Agents also found the youths pass-
words to other similar systems around
the country. These Included The World
of Cryton, a Milwaukee board popular
amoung credit card theives who were
arrested last month.
Time Lord talked with with agents
from the FBI and the Secret Service
and Farminging Hills police officer
Paul Cavan (WHO WAS OUTA HIS FUCKEN
DISTRICT AT THE TIME AND SHOULDN'T OF
BEEN THERE ANYWAYS) for a short time
before they were joined in his room by
his unwitting parents.
"They were totally shocked. They had
no idea" said Time Lord, the oldest of
six children, who said he tried to ex-
plain to his parents why the phone rang
at all hours of the night.
Indeed, C0SMOS built quite a rep-
utation. Newsweek mentioned it in one
of its stories about computer hackers.
Other reporters also have called since
the interrogation.
Cosmos apparently was a pacesetter
amoung bulletin boards, Cavan said.
"Anybody interrested in setting up a
board in the Detroit area, thats the
one they modeled it after," Cavan
said. "There were eight levels of
access. (HA. THERE WERE NINE BUDDY!)
You could by your way up with credit
card numbers or other criminal infor-
mation." (YEAH RIGHT, YOU HAD TO PASS
A TEST TO GET ACCESS, SHOWS WHAT THIS
DUDE KNEW ABOUT IT.)
Subject matter found on the board
was trashing, phreaking and hacking.
This was the usual stuff you would
find on these types of boards.
John Maxfield, (ALIAS: CABLE PAIR)
a self described 'hacker tracker' who
has compiled a list of then 1,200 com-
puter bad guys concurred.
"These guys are real pros," said Max-
field, a computer security consultant
for several firms. "There running the
credit cards to their limit".
"These guys have graduated from War
Games fun to a real kind of electronic
underworld," Maxfield said from his
Detroit office.
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Well, we all know how much the media
blows things up and you should re-
ize that this took place a while ago.
The good boards only TALK ABOUT the
way phoco works and don't post stupid
c0dzes (heh) or anything that would
get you busted.
I hope you enjoyed reading this little
bit of information as much as I enjoyed
participating in it.
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For those of you who were asking what
C0SMOS communications was/is, I hope
this kinda cleared things up.
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