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"As you are surveying a dark and misty swamp you come across
what appears to be a small cave. You light a torch and enter.
You have walked several hundred feet when you stumble into a
bright blue portal...with a sudden burst of light and a loud
explosion you are swept into...DragonFire... Press any key,
if you dare..."
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| red menace |
| -&- |
| mephisto madware |
| textfile systems |
| present: |
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[#] [#]
[#] "Night of the Hackers" [#]
[#] by Richard Sandza [#]
[#] From "Newsweek" November 12th, 1984 [#]
[#] [#]
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Edited from a badly-done version to this
lovely one (HAH!) by the one, the only,
Mr. Pez.
(What a guy.)
You have programmed your personal computer to dial into Dragonfire, a
computer bulletin board in Gainsville, Texas. But before you get any
information, Dragonfire demands your name, home city, and phone number. So,
for tonight's tour of the electronic wilderness you become "Montana Wildhack"
of San Francisco.
Dragonfire, Sherwood Forrest(sic), Forbidden Zone, Blottoland,
Plovernet, The Vault, Shadowland, PhBI, and scores of other computer bulletin
boards are hangouts of a new generation of vandals. These precocious teen
agers use their electronic skills to play hide and seek with computer and
telephone security forces. Many computer bulletin boards are completely
legitimate: they resemble electronic versions of the familiar cork boards in
supermarkets and school corridors, listing services and providing imformation
some one out there is bound to find useful. But this is a walk on the wild
side, a trip into the world of underground computer bulletin boards dedicated
to encouraging -- and making -- mischief. The phone numbers for these boards
are closely guarded as a psychiatrist's home telephone number. Some numbers
are posted on underground boards, others are exchanged over the telephone. A
friendly hacker provided Dragonfire's number. Hook up and you see a choice
of topics offered. For phone phreaks -- who delight in stealing service from
AT&T and other phone networks -- Phreakenstein's Lair is a potpourri of phone
numbers, access codes, and technical information. For computer hackers --
who dial into other people's computers -- Ranger's Lodge is chock-full of
numbers and passwords for government, university, and corporate computers.
Moving through Dragonfire's offerings, you can only marvel at how
conversant these teen-agers are with the technical esoterica of today's
electronic age. Obviously,they have spent a great deal of time studying
computers, though their grammar and spelling indicate they haven't been as
diligent in other subjects. You are constantly reminded of how young they
are. "Well, it's that time of year again. School is back in session so
let's get those high school phone numbers rolling in. Time to get straight
A's, have perfect attendance (except when you've been up all night hacking
school passwords), and messing up your worst teacher's paycheck."
Moving through Dragonfire's offerings, you can only marvel at how
conversant these teen-agers are with the technical esoterica of today's
electronic age. Obviously,they have spent a great deal of time studying
computers, though their grammar and spelling indicate they haven't been as
diligent in other subjects. You are constantly reminded of how young they
are. "Well, it's that time of year again. School is back in session so
let's get those high school phone numbers rolling in. Time to get straight
A's, have perfect attendance (except when you've been up all night hacking
school passwords), and messing up your worst teacher's paycheck."
Forbidden Zone, in Detroit, is offering ammunition for a hacker civil war
...tips on crashing the most popular bulletin board software. There are also
plans for building red, black, and blue boxes to mimic operator tones and get
free service. And here are the details for "the safest and best way to make
and use nitroglycerin," compliments of Dr. Hex, who says he got it from "my
chemistry teacher."
Flip through the "pages." You have to wonder if this information is
accurate. Can this really be the phone number and password to Taco Bell's
computer? Do these kids really have the dialup numbers to dozens of
universtiy computers? The temptation is too much. You sign off and have
your computer dial the number to Yale University Computer. Bingo -- the
words Yale University appear on your screen. You enter a password. A menu
appears. You hang up in a sweat. You are now a hacker.
Punch in another number and your modem zips off touch tones. Here comes
the tedious side of all this. Bulletin boards are popular. No vacancy at
Bates Motel (named for Anthony Perkins' creepy motel in the movie "Psycho");
the line is busy. So are 221 B. Baker Street, PhBI, Shadowland, and The
Vault. Caesar's Palace rings and connects. This is a different breed of
board. Caesar's palace is a combination phreak board and computer store in
Miami. This is the place to learn ways to mess up a department store's
antishoplifting system, or make free calls on telephones with locks on the
dials. Pure capitalism accompanies such anarchy. Caesar's Palace is
offering good deals on disk drives, software, computers, and all sorts of
hardware. Orders are taken through electronic mail messages.
"Tele Trial": Bored by Caesar's Palace, you enter the number to
Blottoland, the board operated by one of the nation's most notorious computer
phreaks -- King Blotto. This one had been busy all night, but it is pretty
late in Cleveland. The phone rings and you connect. To get past the blank
screen, type the secondary password, "S-L-I-M-E." King Blotto obliges,
listing his rules: you must leave your real name, telephone number, address,
occupation and interests. He will call and disclose the primary password,
"if you belong on this board." If admitted, do not reveal the phone number
or the secondary password, lest you face "Tele-Trial," the King warns and
dismisses you by hanging up.
You expexted heavy security,but this teen-ager's security is, as they
say, awesome. Computers at the defense department and hundreds of businesses
let you know when you've reached them. Here you need a password just to find
out what system answered the phone. Then King Blotto asks questions, and
hangs up. Professional security experts could learn something from this kid.
He knows that ever since the 414 computer hackers were arrested in August
1982, law enforcement officers have been searching for leads on bulletin
boards.
"Do you have any ties to or connections with any law enforcement agency
or any agency which would inform such a law inforcement agency of this
bulletin board?"
Such is the welcomig message to Plovernet, a Florida board known for its
great hacker/phreak files. There amid a string of valid Visa/MasterCard
numbers are dozens of computer phone numbers and passwords. Here, you also
learn what Blotto means by tele trial. "As some of you may or may not know,
a session of the conference court was held and The Wizard was found guilty of
miscellaneous charges, and sentenced to four months off bulletin boards." If
The Wizard calls, system operators like Blotto will disconnect him.
Paging through the bulletin boards is a test of your patience. Each
board has different commands to follow, leaving you to hunt and peck your way
around. So far you haven't had the nerve to type "C" which summons the
system operator for a live, computer to computer conversation.
The time, however, has come for you to ask a few questions to the
"sysop". You dial a computer in boston. It answers & you begin working
through the menus. You scan through a handful of dial-up numbers, including
one for Arpanet, the Defense Department's research computer. You bravely tap
"C", and in seconds, the screeen blanks and your cursor dances across the
screen.
"Hello... What kind of computer do you have?"
Contact. The sysop is here. You exchange amenities and get "talking." How
much hacking does he do? Not much, too busy. Is he afraid of having his
computer confiscated like the Los Angeles man facing criminal charges because
his computer bulletin board contained a stolen telephone credit card number?
"No," he replies. Finally, he asks the dreaded question, "How old are you?"
"How old are you?" you reply, stalling. "15." he types. Once you confess
that you are old enough to be his father, the conversation gets very serious.
You fear each new question. He probably thinks you're a cop. But all he
wants to know is your choice for President. The chat continues, until he
asks you what time it is. Just past midnight, you reply. Expletive, "it's
3:08 here," sysop types, "I must be going to sleep. I've got school
tomorrow." The cursor dances. "*********** Thank you for calling." The
screen goes blank.
Richard Sandza
The News Line]