____ _____________ ___________ _____ ____\ |_\_ | _ _ |_\_ | _ | _ |__________ _ _ ___ | _ | _ | | | | _ | | | | |-| _ | | ______\ | /___ | | | | | | | | | |____ | ___| | | | |-| \ |zZ! /___ l______|_____|__|-|__|_____|__/__|___\___|_|_|___|_ ___________ ___________ | _ | _ | |-| | ___/_ | | _ \_ __/_|_ _ | \_ D a m a g e , I N C .| | | | | | | |___ | | | | | \_ _/ | | |__/ | | | ___| | | | | | |--| ___| | | ___| | N e w s l e t t e r |__|__|___\ |_______|_____|_____|___\ |__|__|___\ |__| Volume 2, Issue #15 (Released: 05/31/99) "For Whom the Bell Tolls." http://surf.to/damage_inc email: damage_inc@dope.org ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� C O N T E N T S : � INTRODUCTION - An Introduction to the Damage, INC. Newsletter. � ADVISORIES - More information on telco mergers and alliances. � Search String: {ADVISORIES} � BIG BROTHER BASHING - TEMPEST Eavesdropping. � Search String: {BIG BROTHER} � BLACKENED'S TIP OF THE MONTH - Detecting phone taps Part 1. � Search String: {BLACKENED} � BREAKER'S REVIEWS - H/P Con Reviews. � Search String: {REVIEWS} � CONSPIRACIES AND COVERUPS - Bob Lazar/Area S-4 Part 2: Lazar's experiences. � Search String: {COVERUPS} � CROSSED WIRES - Advertisement for CyberCrime International Magazine. � Search String: {WIRES} � H/P INFORMATION AND NEWS - Inside Merlin Mail. � Search String: {H/P} � INTERVIEWS AND INTERROGATIONS - An interview with Overfien of 9x. � Search String: {INTERVIEWS} � OBJECTIVE OPINIONS - America the Hateful. � Search String: {OPINIONS} � REPORTS FROM THE FRONT - Intel's Pentium III chips and other privacy issues. � Search String: {REPORTS} � THOUGHTS, POEMS AND CREATIVE WRITING - Oppression. � Search String: {WRITING} � CLOSING COMMENTS - BLACKENED's Explanatory Closing Comments. � Search String: {CLOSING} ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� < DISCLAIMER > All articles contained in the Damage, INC. Newsletter are for informational purposes only. Damage, INC. is not responsible for how any of the information presented is used. It is not intended to be a manual with instructions to be followed. We won't be held responsible for any damages caused, illegal acts committed etc. by our readers. If/how you use the information given is entirely up to you. < COPYRIGHT NOTICE > All articles and source code contained within this file are (C) Copyright by Damage, INC. (unless stated otherwise). No part of this work can be modified, reproduced or changed in any way without the expressed written consent of Damage, INC. That means, electronically or otherwise, in part or in whole this file must not be altered. It cannot be included with any other releases. You cannot claim that you wrote it, or alter any articles and source code that has been written and Copyrighted by us. Also, do *not* distribute any Damage, INC. releases in "packages" with other text files or utilities. They must only be distributed alone in their present, original form. You are permitted to read and distribute the Damage, INC. Newsletter freely to quality h/p boards only. Copyright 1999 by Damage, INC. All Rights Reserved. _______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION: "For Whom the Bell Tolls. Time marches on." - Metallica. There's irony in our use of that quote for this 15th issue. As many of you know, the quote that we've chosen for this issue is the name of a song, a movie and a book by Ernest Hemmingway. It's also a fairly common expression. But that isn't why I chose it. And it wasn't selected just to spoof or mock Bell either. I'll attempt to explain. Many unforseen, disturbing events have occurred in the last two months or so. On Thursday April 8th, 1999 the house of one my friends was raided. The RCMP in Quebec (along with the Provincial Police and Bell Canada security officials) performed a search and seizure at the residence of THC Phreak, a Damage, INC. Member. With a search warrant in hand, they broke in and proceeded to gather up everything with an electric cord attached, including all of his computer and electronics equipment, stereo equipment, disks and CDs, etc. They also confiscated hard copy materials such as manuals, documents, scrap paper, etc. Basically, anything that was near his computer system on the desk, shelves or stored in drawers. Everything was hauled away and taken into their custody, excluding clothing, furniture and large household appliances such as his dishwasher, fridge and stove. Other than that, everything was removed from the premises. With complete and utter disregard for his humble dwelling and belongings, they broke two of his doors down and ransacked the house. They charged in like cowboys with their guns drawn, hands on their triggers. He was placed in custody (in handcuffs) and questioned by a detective with an officer standing guard. Needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant experience for him, nor did I feel too good after he told me about what happened. Here's the irony. I chose the quote for this issue several weeks before any of this occurred, after having been in contact (not by choice) with Ma Bell. Originally, it was meant towards them... and them alone. However, that all changed once I was notified of THC Phreak being busted. So, the *least* that I can do is dedicate this issue to him. Man, I had heard that the RCMP in Quebec are a bunch of goons that love doing this type of shit (from Err418, THC Phreak and others) but now they've really shown their true colours. I can't go into detail regarding any circumstances of the case, since I don't want to do anything that will adversely affect THC Phreak. But I can say that once again I'm sickened by the actions of the RCMP. Those power tripping, trigger happy, bust hungry bastards have proven once again that they have absolutely no respect for the rights of citizens and are just out to destroy people's lives at any cost. They're as bad as the Secret Service in the U.S. No matter what I say, I cannot go far enough in bashing them. And each time the RCMP is publicly humiliated and discredited, they get away with it. They aren't bothered in the least by bad publicity. They might even enjoy their image of corruptness. They don't follow the laws of this country. In fact, they're allowed to break them at will by the corrupt judges that are without ethics and have no conscience. To say that is pisses me off is an extreme understatement. I'm extremely angry over this whole situation. What evidence did they have to get a search warrant signed? If they'd been monitoring his activities for months (like they claimed to be), why the hell couldn't they have given him a warning? Is it legal for non-law enforcement personnel to be present at the time of a search and seizure, witnessing the arrest? Plus, even though this will be his first offence, they admitted that they want to make an example out of him in court while interrogating him. Is it proper to make statements such as that while the person is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty? Fuck the RCMP and their lame investigations of innocent people. They victimize people without any reason or cause. In my opinion THC Phreak is being used as a scapegoat and they gave him the shortest straw. They want to punish someone, *anyone* for what they believe to exist in Quebec. That is, they actually think he's involved in some sort of crime ring. Obviously he isn't and the so-called conspiracy they're seeking to unravel is only real in their puny minds. So, they hastily decided to go after him and make him into their poster boy of the moment. I had instructed THC Phreak before this that if something like this ever happens, not to volunteer any information or say anything that would harm him or the rest of the group. However, I'm sure that I'm under investigation now as well... even though I don't believe he would turn on us and rat us out like that. In my last brief conversation with him, I advised him to get a competent lawyer that understands the laws pertaining to "computer crimes". I also told him that I'd assist him in whatever ways I can, including testifying on his behalf (as a character witness or whatever) if necessary. Finally, I just want it to be known that THC Phreak won't be forgotten. He won't just fade to black. Even though I only knew him for approximately a year, I consider him to be a good friend of mine. In that short time, I spoke with him often enough to get to know him well. It is of my opinion that he won't just quit and allow "the system" to destroy him. Meaning, I honestly don't think he'll plea bargain with them and plead guilty. He always said that he'd fight it out, and I believe he will fight until the end. Hopefully he'll win, but with the fucked up laws in this country, in order to be found not guilty he'll have to go against the odds that are stacked against him. At this point, nothing is in his favour, including his age. So, he does have a fighting chance, but it won't be easy by any means. The RCMP just invites these kinds of attacks against them. I'm definitely not going to back down from those corrupt pigs, even though it could be used against me as "evidence". In fact, I don't give a fuck what happens. If they want to try to arrest me, they will meet some opposition as I'm not just going to lay down and die. So, a resounding "FUCK YOU!" goes out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police force and their petty show of force. We're never going to back down, so if you want to fuck with Damage, INC. then go right ahead. ADVISORIES - {ADVISORIES} More information on telco mergers and alliances. In the last two months, telcos all over the world have been busy merging into a conjoined mess of bigger, fatter telcos. While it isn't possible for us to tell you about every telco merger, we will keep you informed on what the greediest telcos are doing. If you want to keep track of all telco mergers, the internet is a good tool for that. On the Damage, INC. web site, there is a links page dedicated to telcos. That is a good starting point. "MCI WorldCom and Bell Canada Forge Strategic Alliance" ----------------------------------------------------- On March 3, 1999, MCI WorldCom and Bell Canada announced that they have formed an alliance to "provide seamless North American and global services to customers." The alliance will create an opportunity for businesses to use MCI WorldCom's and Bell Canada's resources to obtain North America wide voice and data services, as well as MCI WorldCom's On-Net global services from a "single point of contact." This alliance has been brewing since 1992, as Bell Canada has been developing a closer relationship with MCI WorldCom. Together, those customers that want to use the alliance cab gain access to MCI WorldCom's On-Net, which boasts of being "the industry's" first single, high-capacity, end-to-end network." Bell's network is a monopoly that has over seven million residential customers and does business with Canada's biggest and greediest businesses. Their Canadian customers will have "easy access" to MCI WorldCom services that Bell is unable or unwilling to provide. "MCI WorldCom's agreement with Bell Canada strengthens the competitive positions of both our companies. By partnering with Bell Canada, we extend the MCI WorldCom On-Net global services portfolio into Canada, building upon the company's seamless North American network platform," said Walter Schonfeld, senior vice president, Alliances, MCI WorldCom. "MCI WorldCom experienced 120 percent growth in Canada-U.S. cross-border data communications over the past two years alone, already the largest business telecommunications corridor in the world," added Schonfeld. Terry Jarman, president and CEO of Bell Nexxia, added "to reach out to new markets, streamline operations, and generate new revenues, Bell's customers need to be able to conduct business on a North American and a global basis as effortlessly as they do at home. By working with MCI WorldCom, we will deliver this competitive advantage to our customers." Specific services that Bell Canada can extend to its customers through MCI WorldCom are "an enhanced set of voice and data products including managed international private line, frame relay, ATM and virtual voice and call center services." In return, Bell Canada will give MCI WorldCom all its non-Canadian customers that currently obtain similar (poorer) services. Bell and MCI WorldCom estimate that the alliance will be active in the first quarter of 2000. Bell Canada's masterstroke is that this alliance kills the deal that MCI WorldCom has with the (Canadian) Stentor Alliance. The Stentor Alliance is a weak group of Canadian telcos, most of which are owned by BCE. Customers that are in other Canadian telco monopoly regions (BCT.Telus, etc.) will continue to obtain services from MCI WorldCom until the alliance with Bell Canada takes full effect. "MCI WorldCom is a global communications company with revenue of more than $30 billion and established operations in over 65 countries encompassing the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. MCI WorldCom is a premier provider of facilities-based and fully integrated local, long distance, international and Internet services. MCI WorldCom's global networks, including its state-of-the-art pan-European network and transoceanic cable systems, provide end-to-end high-capacity connectivity to more than 40,000 buildings worldwide. For more information on MCI WorldCom, visit the World Wide Web at www.wcom.com ." "Bell Canada, the largest Canadian telecommunications operating company, markets a full range of state-of-the-art products and services to more than seven million business and residential customers in Ontario and Quebec. Bell Canada's Internet web site is located at www.bell.ca ." "AT&T Canada to Merge with MetroNet Communications" ------------------------------------------------- On March 4, 1999, America's Ma Bell continued its cable buying rampage as they acquired 31% of MetroNet Communications, Canada's biggest "facilities-based competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC)." The deal is worth $7 Billion. It was accomplished through Ma Bell's Canadian subsidiary, AT&T Canada. "The merger of MetroNet and AT&T Canada will create Canada's premier telecommunications company, to be called AT&T Canada Corp. The merged company will be the first national, network-based company to meet all of the telecom needs of Canadian business customers with one-stop shopping for local and long distance voice, data, Internet and electronic commerce solutions, as well as wireless services through Cantel AT&T." When the merger is approved, AT&T Canada will have an estimated revenue stream starting at $1.4 billion, 4000+ employees, and over $3.5 billion in assets. "The merger combines AT&T Canada's extensive customer base, nation-wide facilities-based long distance network, powerful brand and global reach with MetroNet's state-of-the-art telecommunications facilities, data networks and over $900 million of cash to execute its strategy." Because of Canadian regulations that currently don't allow foreign ownership of telecom companies (GTE's ownership of BC Tel predates this law), AT&T Corp. owns 31% of shares, while Metronet shareholders will "indirectly" own 69%. The merged company, which will include ACC TelEnterprises, will market its services under the AT&T Canada brand. Once Ma Bell is allowed to own Canadian companies, I'm certain that they'll "complete" the transaction by owning 100% of the new AT&T Canada. In fact, Ma Bell wants to purchase all the outstanding shares through another Canadian entity to get around the Canadian regulation. All of the shares currently held by MetroNet shareholders for the greater of at least C$75 per share or the then appraised fair market value, AT&T shares, or a combination of both. The exact timing will likely be partially dependent upon the future status of federal foreign ownership regulations. "The complementary strengths and assets of these companies make the `fit' of this merger perfect for customers," said Dan Somers, Chairman of AT&T Canada Corp. and Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AT&T. "MetroNet customers gain access to AT&T Canada's established long-distance voice and data network and the vast AT&T global network; AT&T Canada customers gain access to the country's most modern local service networks." "This transaction is fantastic for our customers, our shareholders, and Canadian telecommunications overall," said Craig Young, President and Chief Executive Officer of MetroNet Communications. "Our customers will immediately have access to not only an advanced, end-to-end national network for `any distance' and `any bandwidth' service, but to a global network and services, supported by the world's preeminent name in telecommunications." "The boards of directors of the companies have approved the transaction, which MetroNet shareholders will be asked to approve at a shareholder meeting expected to be held in May, 1999. If approved by MetroNet shareholders, the merger of the companies is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 1999." The combined company will try to sell "a full suite of advanced business telecommunications solutions completely over a state-of-the art network, from basic local dial tone to global data networking." "The network of the combined company will boast national, high-speed fibre-optic capabilities with unequalled bandwidth for local and long distance voice, data and Internet services. Backed by the unparalleled reliability of SONET rings and with more border crossings than any other telecommunications provider in Canada, the merged company will be able to deliver the finest global solutions of any telecom company in Canada." "A new Board of Directors for MetroNet with 12 members will be assembled, on which AT&T Corp. will have 4 seats upon consummation of the transaction." "Jim Meenan will serve as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the new company, Craig Young will serve as Vice Chairman and President, and Bob Bicksler will serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Other senior management appointments will be announced as merger integration planning commences and the new board is assembled." Merger of AT&T Canada and MetroNet Communications Summary of Combined Company Combined Company Name: AT&T Canada Corp. Estimated 1999 Revenues: Approximately $1.4 billion (85% from business customers). Property, Plant and Equipment: Nearly $2.0 billion. Total Assets: More than $3.5 billion. Total Employees: More than 4,000. Sales Employees: More than 700. Local Service Access Lines: Approximately 200,000. Long Distance Minutes: Approximately 5 billion. Internet subscribers: Approximately 165,000. Buildings Accessed: Over 2,400. Fiber Optic Intracity Route Kilometres: More than 3,800. Fiber Optic Long Distance Route Kilometres: Nearly 16,000 (includes intercity and cross border fibre routes currently being constructed by MetroNet). Frame Relay Switches: More than 70. ATM Switches: More than 400. About AT&T Canada Corp.: AT&T Canada Corp., a pioneer in competitive long distance, is a national, facilities-based telecommunications carrier serving business and residential customers with a variety of long-distance voice and data services. AT&T Canada delivers service from 147 offices across the country, including 40 sales offices. ACC TelEnterprises, a member of the AT&T Canada family, is one of Canada's largest resellers of telecommunications services, including long distance, Internet, paging, toll free, local line and data services, and is a particularly strong competitor in the university, affinity and small business markets. More information about AT&T Canada can be found on the company's web site at: www.attcanada.com. About MetroNet Communications: Built for Business', MetroNet Communications is Canada's first national provider of local telecommunications services and the country's largest competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC). Deploying the most advanced fibre-optic networking and switching platforms, MetroNet offers business and government customers across the country a full suite of local and long distance voice, data and Internet services with one point of contact, excellent customer service and competitive pricing. MetroNet is a public company with its common stock traded on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges under the symbol MNC.B and on the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol METNF. Visit MetroNet's web site, www.metronet.ca , for more information about the company. "BCE and Ameritech Form Strategic Partnership" -------------------------------------------- BCE, Canada's Ma Bell, has been crying lately that it isn't fat enough to compete globally. Well, on March 24, 1999, BCE added $5.1 billion in Canadian funds to its girth. In exchange, BCE's new partner Ameritech obtains 20% of Bell Canada, BCE's most engorged, monopolistic child. "Under terms of the partnership, Ameritech will invest approximately C $5.1 billion (US $3.4 billion) for a 20% minority stake in Bell Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BCE and Canada's premier telecommunications company, which is being reorganized to hold certain telecommunications assets previously held by BCE. Following the investment, BCE will retain 80% ownership of Bell Canada. The binding agreement has received approval of the companies' boards of directors and is expected to close by the end of May, pending customary regulatory approvals." "This partnership assures Bell Canada's place at the forefront of the global communications industry," said Jean C. Monty, BCE president and chief executive officer, "while keeping Bell Canada firmly under Canadian control. The partnership with Ameritech a talented, high-performance partner with a global record of success significantly augments the scale and resources of Bell Canada and will translate into greater choice, and innovation for our customers." Monty stated that BCE would use the money to invest in its other children that are involved in "high-growth sectors such as electronic commerce, satellite services, systems integration and content." BCE is also considering a share buy-back program to partially offset the loss of revenue caused taking only 80 percent of Bell Canada's huge profits. Typical BCE behaviour. They gain $3.4 billion in American cash, and still cry poor because they lose 20% of Bell Canada's money pot. "Ameritech is excited to partner with Bell Canada, which will strengthen our international position and speed our global growth," said Richard C. Notebaert, chairman and chief executive officer of Ameritech. "As the largest foreign investor in European communications, Ameritech brings Bell Canada unparalleled experience in international partnerships. Through this strategic partnership we will share best practices, speed new products to market and develop new growth opportunities--delivering benefits to customers, shareowners and employees in Canada and the United States." As mentioned above, there must be restructuring within BCE and Bell Canada in order to complete the transaction. First of all, Bell Canada and Ameritech will trade people (just like any other commodity to these fat cat companies), cooperation in sales and marketing, and the exchange of operational knowledge and strategic skills. Bell Canada had to be fattened like a sacrificial cow in order for it to be attractive to Ameritech. BCE will give Bell Canada the following: 65% of BCE Mobile Communications Inc., BCE's equity in NewTel, Bruncor (holding company for NBTel), MT&T, Northwestel, and T�l�bec. Bell Canada will also retain possession of its shares of BCE Nexxia, Bell ActiMedia, and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. Basically, BCE is sharing with Bell Canada the title of "Ma Bell." Based on these holdings and on a pro forma basis, Bell Canada had 1998 revenues of C $12.7 billion (US $8.3 billion), assets of C $20 billion (US $13.2 billion) and 43,000 employees. Ameritech and Bell Canada will also share technologies, like Ameritech's new Privacy Manager service (see REPORTS FROM THE FRONT for more details) and Bell Canada's profitable voice mail services. BCE Inc./Bell Canada/Ameritech Highlights of terms of the partnership: A. Ameritech to make a 20 per cent equity investment for C $5.1 billion (US $3.4 billion) B. Key features of the agreement will include: o Marketing sales co-operation o Exchange of know-how o Traffic exchange o Seek other business opportunities C. Ameritech is entitled to: o Nominate two directors to the Bell Canada board (out of ten). o Nominate one director to the BCE Mobile board. o Appoint the CFO of Bell Canada. Plus the two way exchange of approximately 15 professionals. D. The agreement also provides for other customary rights between the two companies. Reorganization of Bell Canada: Bell Canada will acquire from BCE the following investments: * 65% of BCE Mobile Communications Inc., a wireless company with 2 million customers. * 21.5% of Teleglobe Inc., a provider of international telecommunications services * BCE's equity investments in six regional Canadian telecommunications companies. Bell Canada will transfer to BCE: * its investments in BCE Emergis Inc., an electronic commerce company * its investments in CGI Group Inc., the largest information technology consulting company in Canada * its investment in Telesat Canada, the country's leading satellite services supplier As a result, on a net aggregate basis, Bell Canada will be acquiring C $4.1 billion of additional investments at market value (C $2.8 billion book value) in telecommunications services companies and will be assuming C $2.4 billion of additional indebtedness owed to BCE. Four Atlantic Canada Telcos merge to form AtlanticCo. ----------------------------------------------------- On March 22, 1999, Maritime Telephone & Telegraph Co., Bruncor Inc. (holding company for NBTel), Island Telecom Inc. and NewTel Enterprises announced that they would be merging into a new company named AtlanticCo. Although this merger was very newsworthy in Canada, it is a joke. MT&T, Bruncor, and NewTel are all owned by BCE. As you read above, Bell Canada will gain control of these three telcos once the partnership with Ameritech is finalized. Island Tel has been joined with fat BCE at the hip for decades, and is a proud member of the Stentor Alliance. The truth of the matter is that these four telcos have all been puppets of BCE since the beginning as far as Damage, INC. is concerned. The name of the new company is "AtlanticCo". "With an initial market capitalization of $2.8 billion, it will be launched as a growth company with four core lines of business: telecommunications, information technology (IT), mobile satellite communications, and emerging business. The merged company would be one of the largest private sector employers in Atlantic Canada, with almost 9,000 employees. Stephen Wetmore, President & CEO of NewTel Enterprises, has been named President & CEO of the new company, and Lino Celeste, Chairman of Bruncor, has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors." After the merger takes effect, AtlanticCo will become the third largest telco in Canada, behind Bell Canada and BCT.Telus. AtlanticCo has estimated total revenues of $1.7 billion. AtlanticoCo companies boast that they will be "one of the largest mobile satellite service companies in the world." Seems like the telcos are still extremely rich, even though a lot of their customers can't find employment. "In addition, our combined IT operations, with more than 1,800 professionals, will make us the second largest Canadian owned information technology services company," said Fred Morash, president of Island Tel. "As well, our range of investments in emerging businesses, positions AtlanticCo for growth in these emerging markets." As Damage, INC. has known for years, Morash stated that AtlanticCo "is deepening its relationship with BCE and the Bell Canada subsidiaries." "We have entered into a Strategic Alliance Agreement with BCE which gives us access to intellectual property and telecommunications services which we can then deliver to our customers," he said. Despite the fact that the four Atlantic Canada telcos are merging, they are all going to keep their current names. As an example, Morash stated at the press conference that the Island Tel logo will still be used on Prince Edward Island because they want to fool customers into assuming that nothing has changed. They want customers to believe that the Atlantic telcos don't want to be big and fat... like telcos in the rest of the world. These telcos have a terrible lack of respect for the intelligence of their customers (just like the other telcos around the world). AtlanticCo's information technology business represents the aligning of two Atlantic Canada-based IT powerhouses: xwave solutions and MITI. "We will grow our IT business by focusing on the total technology needs of clients in telecom, oil and gas, and public sectors worldwide," Morash said. "We will be adding to our 1,800 employees in our centres of expertise across the country and internationally." AtlanticCo IT business units are located in St. John's, Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton, Charlottetown, Calgary, Edmonton, and Dallas. The mobile satellite communications business will be driven through AtlanticCo's 60% ownership in Stratos Global Corporation. Through this investment AtlanticCo will be a major player in satellite communications worldwide. Morash emphasized that AtlanticCo, in line with the general restructuring which has been taking place in the industry, will see a rebalancing of employment from traditional areas of operation to the growth areas of the business. These losers will never admit that a huge factor in mergers is to eliminate jobs. Such is the case of the new AtlanticCo. Bell Canada moves into security ------------------------------- Bell builds ``smart home'' foundation with Bell Gardium Montr�al, Qu�bec (March 17, 1999) - By moving into the security industry with Bell Gardium security products, Bell Canada is taking the first step toward providing a full range of automated services for the residential and business markets. This move will springboard Bell into the future of the ``smart home'' concept, by providing integration of video, audio and data systems to automate and manage appliances. ``In the near future, probably using an Internet platform, Bell Gardium will integrate many smart home features,'' said Louise Villeneuve, Vice President, Home Services, Bell Canada, and Chief Operating Officer, Bell Gardium. ``Consumers will be able to use Bell Gardium products to create an intelligent home or office system that can, for example, turn on lights, boot up a computer, control a sprinkler system, manage energy consumption or warm up the cottage for Friday evening arrival.'' Bell's entry into the residential and office automation market will allow homes and businesses to improve their security, comfort and communications. Bell Gardium security products The company is capitalizing on the 20 per cent growth rate expected in the home security business. By 2005, it is estimated that 25 to 33 per cent of North American households will be equipped with monitored security systems. ``Bell Gardium security products help fulfill Bell's strategy to be a full-service company that responds to consumers' needs, be they communications, information, transactions or entertainment,'' Villeneuve added. ``Bell's reputation for reliability, customer service and advancing new technologies sets the stage for Bell Gardium and its commitment to offer added value to its residential and business customers.'' Bell Gardium products are monitored security systems that provide safety, security and peace of mind by protecting property from burglary, smoke and fire, natural gas or propane leaks, flooding, sump pump failures or heating malfunctions. Consumers can obtain Bell Gardium security products at competitive prices and benefit from discounts from 5 to 20 per cent on household insurance. Bell Gardium also provides magnetic access-card control to restrict entry into sensitive areas or closed-circuit television for monitoring locations such as hallways or front walks. For as little as $24.95 a month, residential and small-business customers can enjoy peace of mind with Bell Gardium's security package, that includes the basic equipment and around-the-clock monitoring. Other features such as additional door and window contacts, smoke detectors and motion detectors that can differentiate between pets and humans are also available. Consumers can purchase Bell Gardium security products by calling 1-877-268-4273 or by visiting Bell Phonecentre stores in Ontario and T�l�boutique Bell and Espace Bell stores in Qu�bec. Information about Bell Gardium products can be obtained on the Web site at www.bell.ca/gardium. Bell Gardium Inc., formed in 1998 after Bell Canada acquired two security companies, J. A. Provost of Montr�al and Via Security Networks of Ottawa, has approximately 120 employees, offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Montr�al with customers across Canada. Bell Gardium is a trademark of Bell Canada. For further information: Irene Shimoda Media Relations Bell Canada (416) 581-3311 1 888 482-0809 irene.shimoda@bell.ca Shirley Bishop Media Relations Bell Canada (514) 786-3655 1 800 465-9625 shirley.bishop@bell.ca I'll leave it up to you to decide whether "Bell" and "security" mix and whether or not you'd rely on them for protecting and securing your home. In my opinion though, it's just another example of a monopoly running wild and trying to usurp other sectors of business. "BellSouth Takes 10 Percent Stake In Qwest" ----------------------------------------- On April 19, 1999, BellSouth Corp. and Qwest Communications International Inc. finalized their "strategic relationship that will significantly accelerate the companies' efforts to provide a full set of integrated digital data, image and voice communications services to their customers." The two companies have summed up the most important features of their "relationship." *Qwest and BellSouth immediately begin coordinated marketing of services, with Qwest offering its full portfolio of data networking, Internet and voice services. BellSouth will offer a full complement of local networking services. *Once BellSouth is allowed into the long distance business, the companies will jointly develop and deliver a comprehensive set of end-to-end, high-speed data, image and voice communications services to business customers, with a heavy emphasis on the fast-growing broadband and Internet-based data services. BellSouth will assume retail leadership with customers based in the South; Qwest will provide support resources to assist BellSouth in the region as required, with the primary emphasis of the Qwest sales force will be focused on the rest of the country. *And finally, as part of the agreement, BellSouth will invest approximately $3.5 billion at $94.50 a share for about a 10 percent equity stake in Qwest. Qwest will issue 20,350,000 new shares to BellSouth in exchange for approximately $1.93 billion in cash. At BellSouth's request, Qwest's principal stockholder, Anschutz Company, will sell 16,650,000 shares to BellSouth for approximately $1.57 billion. This will reduce Anschutz Company's ownership interest in Qwest to approximately 39 percent. "This is a significant step in our objective of becoming the premier data communications provider to our customers," said Duane Ackerman, Chairman and CEO of BellSouth. "This relationship allows our customers to enjoy the range of benefits from a comprehensive set of Internet and broadband digital solutions." "We are delighted to have this strategic relationship with a like-minded, customer-focused company that is committed to offering customers end-to-end high-speed communications services and who understands the tremendous potential the Internet and data communications marketplace has to offer," said Joseph P. Nacchio, Qwest Chairman and CEO. "Moving forward, the BellSouth/Qwest relationship will provide customers with a comprehensive communications solution set and global reach that is unmatched in the industry." This strategic alliance will benefit both BellSouth and Qwest when BellSouth and the rest of the RBOCs are allowed to compete in the long distance market. When this happens they plan to "offer long distance data and voice services, the agreement will enable both of them to use each other's assets to develop infrastructure and/or distribution capabilities in serving their respective customers across the globe. BellSouth has extensive operations throughout Latin America as well as significant presence in Europe. Qwest has a stronger presence in Europe and is beginning to move into the Asia/Pacific and Latin American regions. In addition, the relationship will also use the strategic alliances each has with key Internet and technology companies including Microsoft, Cisco, Lotus and others to the customers' advantage." "AT&T and Comcast agree to swap cable systems." On May 4, 1999, AT&T Corp. and Comcast Corporation "announced that they had reached an agreement under which Comcast will be able to increase its cable subscribers by about two million households and the two companies will collaborate in bringing competitive local telephone service to Comcast's customers." This deal leaves the door wide open for Ma Bell to acquire MediaOne Group, a cable company that Comcast previously had a merger agreement with. "Under the agreement, AT&T and Comcast will exchange various cable systems, resulting in a net addition to Comcast of approximately 750,000 subscribers. The swaps are designed to improve each company's geographic coverage by better clustering its systems. Because Comcast will receive more subscribers than it is contributing in the swaps, it will pay AT&T consideration having a value of approximately $4,500 per added subscriber for a total value of $3.0 to $3.5 billion. The majority of the exchanges are subject to completion of the AT&T/MediaOne merger, as well as to customary closing conditions." "Comcast will also receive an option from AT&T to purchase, over the next three years, additional cable systems with a total of approximately 1.25 million subscribers. The exercise of this option is also contingent on the completion of the AT&T/MediaOne merger. The price for these additional systems is expected to be consideration having a value of approximately $5.7 billion (subject to reduction for any long-term debt and other liabilities of the acquired systems)." In return, Comcast is required to offer Ma Bell's telephony services in all of its "markets on an expedited basis" after AT&T completes separate telephony agreements "with at least two other non-AT&T affiliated multiple system operators." Comcast has been guaranteed the sweetest deal, regardless how Ma Bell makes out with the other cable companies. "These agreements are great news for millions of American families who will now have a choice in local phone service," said AT&T Chairman and CEO C. Michael Armstrong. "This transaction makes strategic sense for both companies. Geographic clustering enables more effective telephony competition. And AT&T is proud to join with Comcast in bringing AT&T-branded communications services to its customers." "This is a terrific outcome for Comcast shareholders. Through this transaction, Comcast firmly establishes its leadership role in the industry by becoming the third-largest cable company, with more than 8 million subscribers. While growing significantly in absolute terms, we have strengthened our local and regional presence through additional clustering," said Brian L. Roberts, President of Comcast Corporation. "In addition to these valuable cable assets, this agreement greatly accelerates our entrance into telephony and will enable us to more quickly create and provide important new products to our customers. This is a different outcome than our MediaOne proposal, but it is an elegant win-win result." "Comcast Corporation is principally engaged in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks and in the provision of content through principal ownership of QVC, Comcast-Spectacor and Comcast SportsNet, a controlling interest in E! Entertainment Television and through programming investments." Ma Bell acquires MediaOne. Scant days after AT&T received approval for its merger with TCI (see last issue's ADVISORIES for more details), Ma Bell got her hooks into another big telecom company. On May 6, 1999, AT&T Corp. and MediaOne Group announced that they "have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which MediaOne Group's shareowners will receive .95 of a share of AT&T common stock and at least $30.85 in cash for each share of MediaOne Group stock they own, the companies said." You may have heard that MediaOne finalized a merger agreement with Comcast. However, MediaOne opted out of that agreement in order to take a much more lucrative offer from fat Ma Bell. In compensation for being dumped in favour of Ma Bell, Comcast received a pre-agreed sum of $1.5 billion. "This is an excellent agreement for consumers, who will be able to take full advantage of packaged services on broadband networks," said Chuck Lillis, MediaOne Group chairman and chief executive officer. "Our shareowners are getting great value for their investments, and more of the nation will get a great competitive brand in the local phone market." "Obviously, we're delighted," said C. Michael Armstrong, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T. "We look forward to completing the merger as soon as possible, probably in the first quarter of 2000, so millions of consumers will have more choice in phone and Internet access services." "MediaOne Group is one of the world's largest broadband communications companies, bringing the power of broadband and the Internet to customers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company also has interests in some of the fastest-growing wireless communications businesses outside the U.S. For 1998, the businesses that comprise MediaOne Group produced $7.1 billion in proportionate revenue." Ma Bell, Micro$oft cut a deal for the "deployment of broadband services." The AT&T/MediaOne merger wasn't the only big deal that Ma Bell completed on May 6, 1999. Ma Bell and the corrupt, mega fat cat corporation Micro$oft announced a "series of agreements in which the companies will work together to accelerate the deployment of next-generation broadband and Internet services to millions of American homes." "Under the agreements, Microsoft will purchase $5 billion of AT&T securities, AT&T will increase its use of Microsoft's TV software platform in advanced set-top devices, and both companies will work together to showcase new digital cable services in two U.S. cities." "We're gratified that Microsoft shares our strategy of using broadband cable to bring a new generation of digital communications, information and entertainment services to millions of American families," said AT&T Chairman and CEO C. Michael Armstrong. "We look forward to expanding our relationship with Microsoft and adding its creativity and technical know-how to our own. This will accelerate the work we're already doing with many other software and hardware companies." "Our agreement today represents an important step in Microsoft's vision of making the Web lifestyle a reality," said Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates. "Working with AT&T, a leader in the delivery of cable and telephony technologies, we will expand access to an even richer Internet and television experience for millions of people." "AT&T said it will increase its use of Microsoft's Windows CE-based operating system software in its digital set-top devices, which enable applications from a number of companies to deliver communications, entertainment and information services. AT&T currently has a commitment to use the Windows CE-based system in 5 million set-top devices. Under the non-exclusive agreement announced today, AT&T will expand its Windows CE-based license to cover an additional 2.5 million to 5 million set-top devices." "Microsoft will pay $5 billion for newly issued AT&T convertible trust preferred securities and warrants. The preferred securities, which will have a face value of $5 billion and be priced at $50 per security, will make a quarterly payment of 62.5 cents per security. The preferred securities, which will be convertible into 66.7 million shares of AT&T common stock at a price of $75 per share, will have a maturity of 30 years, and the conversion feature can be terminated, under certain conditions, after three years. The warrants will be exercisable in three years to purchase 40 million AT&T common shares at a price of $75 per share." You may have heard that Micro$oft was interested in acquiring MediaOne out from under Comcast and Ma Bell. However, Micro$oft got a cut of MediaOne from Ma Bell through this deal. Micro$oft has gained 29.9% interest in Telewest Communications plc previously owned by MediaOne through "tax-free exchange of Microsoft shares, subject to certain approvals." Once again, fat cat companies have taken an independent company, thus eliminating competition. Nortel's Canadian plants waiting for axe to fall ------------------------------------------------ By Robert Cribb Thursday, April 29, 1999 --------------- TorStar News Service If the hints and innuendo coming from Northern Telecom Ltd. executives offer any glimpse into the company's future, its Belleville manufacturing plant could be up for sale soon or closed altogether, say plant workers. Light could be shed on the subject as early as Friday (April 30) when union officials meet with management. "They're not giving us any information," said Diane O'Brien-Harry, chairwoman of the Canadian Auto Workers Union Local 1839, representing about 480 workers at the plant. "I've never seen it so closed-mouth. We're just hoping it's going to be a sale at this point." And Belleville may only be the beginning. As the Brampton-based company, which is changing its name today to Nortel Networks Corp. sheds its home-grown image to become a player in the global economy, industry watchers say the company's Canadian plants have become and endangered species. While Nortel officials are not saying anything about their Canadian facilities, speculation among Belleville workers has turned to anxiety in light of recent statements from Nortel executives and a "distinct" change in atmosphere at the plant where about 1,200 people work. "There's definitely a lot of concern and stress here," said O'Brien-Harry. "The company has made it clear that its vision doesn't include manufacturing. Clearly, there will be an impact here. I wouldn't rule out anything at this point." Jacques Guerette, a Nortel spokesman, said that while his company has already announced an intention to move away from its traditional role as a manufacturer, it is making no further comments about the Belleville rumours. "We are looking at our operations globally... but we are not announcing any specific plans." At Nortel's Brockville plant, rumours of a sale or closing are also flying, said Mark Quigley, an analyst with the Brockville-based Yankee Group. "I know some internal product lines have been moved out. I'm sure every Nortel facility across the country is thinking the same thing. And sooner or later they'll start to come true." In January, Nortel chief executive officer John Roth said his company was looking to consolidate its hardware production operations in order to focus on the higher-end--and more lucrative--work of designing and assembling telecommunications networks. That fundamental corporate shift will affect up to 8,000 of the company's 80,000 employees worldwide through plant selloffs and layoffs, Roth said. About 25,000 of the company's employees and six of Nortel's 24 plants are in Canada. Larry Doyle, a committee member of the CAW's Local 1530, which represents about 230 office and technical workers in Belleville, said evidence of that manufacturing divestiture was supposed to appear in June. "There's a lot more panic now because people are looking at that deadline and trying to find something concrete." Last week, Clive Allen, executive vice-president and chief legal officer of Nortel, said that his company and other Canadian high-tech firms facing high tax rates in this country "owe no allegiance to Canada... Just because we were born there doesn't mean we'll remain there. Canadians shouldn't feel they own us." "The place has to remain attractive for us to remain interested in staying there." That sentiment is not only an ominous harbinger for the future of Nortel facilities in Canada, but a slap in the face of Canadian workers responsible for building Nortel into an internationally competitive telecommunications giant, said Gerry Pope, president of Belleville's CAW Local 1839. TORONTO STAR ----- Merger madness isn't restricted to North America. While testing telco links on the Damage, INC. web site, I discovered information on two recent European telco mergers proudly displayed on their english index pages. "Agreement Between Owners Finalised for Merger of Telenor and Telia" ------------------------------------------------------------------ On March 30, 1999, Swedish telco Telia, and Norwegian telco Telenor announced that their owners [governments] have finalized the merging of the two companies. At the time of this press release, Telia and Telenor were still awaiting acceptance from the EU Commission. Until the merger has been approved by all the involved parties, Telenor and Telia are still competitors just as they were before the merger plans were made public. No financial terms were available in the press releases I read. "Now [that the merger is complete] we will be devoting all our energy to creating an international and expansive telecommunications company. With the strong position we enjoy on our home markets as our point of departure, our ambition is to become a leading actor in Europe and globally in areas where the new company will have unique competence." These are the words of Tormod Hermansen, the future president and CEO of the merged Telenor/Telia, in a comment on the signing of the final agreements for a merger of the companies. Sweden will own 60% of the new international telco, while Norway will maintain a 40% stake in Telenor/Telia. They say in time they'll gradually reduce their ownership stakes to 33.4% each initially. The goals of this new international telco are to use their monopolistic power to allow them to compete equally with other telcos on a European and global scale; to increase profitability "through further development and continued efficiency improvement" (i.e. layoffs); and finally to develop the company's international business activities, primarily in the Baltic region and the rest of Europe. "GTS and Esprit Telecom Complete US$5 Billion Merger" --------------------------------------------------- On March 5, 1999, Global TeleSystems Group, Inc. (GTS) and Esprit Telecom Group announced that GTS' shareholders approved the merging of the two international telecommunications companies. The new company becomes one of the biggest telecom companies in all of Europe. They combine GTS' position as the leading alternative network operator in Europe and Esprit Telecom's position as one of Europe's largest independent pan-European telcos. The deal is worth $5 billion in U.S. currency. Commenting on the successful conclusion on the deal, Gerald W. Thames, GTS's vice chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO), said: "This is a great day for our combined company. Today, GTS is one of the fastest-growing pan-European telecommunications companies, with a network that currently has a significant advantage over its nearest competitors. Looking forward, I believe that about 70 percent of the market's growth will come from providing IP-based services for data as well as voice. In particular, we need to help customers overcome the network access bottlenecks they face. We are therefore planning to have 50 Network Access Points and several web hosting centers up and running in the next two years. "Through FA-1, our transoceanic cable JV, GTS's end-to-end European network will be connected across the Atlantic. In turn, we anticipate this will lead to an increased customer base, both in the U.S. and in Europe. We are also growing our Internet business based on our Ebone network and have recently made significant investments in ISPs in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic." GTS/Esprit Telecom highlights * Europe's largest cross-border fiber optic network, with over 12,000 operational kilometers, a significant lead over any other operator * Operations in 20 countries across Europe * Over 35,000 business customers in Western Europe * A broad portfolio of business and carrier telecommunications services * Competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) in five Eastern European cities, with plans for 12 in Western Europe over the next three years * Announced joint venture (JV) to build world's first 1.28 terabits capacity transatlantic cable system * 3,000 employees * Market capitalization of approximately $5 billion * Latest quarter annualized consolidated revenues of approximately US$565 million for the two companies combined This merger will create six subsidiaries, all under the GTS banner: * GTS Business Services - Western Europe under Dr. Hans Peter Kohlhammer * GTS Access Services under Les Harris, which includes the Central European region managed by Lou Toth * GTS Carrier Services under Jan Loeber * GTS Wholesale Services under Kevin Power * GTS Business Services - CIS under Stewart Reich * GTS Mobile Services under Gerard Essing For more information about this merger, visit the GTS website at www.gtsgroup.net. The Esprit Telecom website is at www.esprittele.com . ----- I'm sure by the time the 16th issue of the Damage, INC. Newsletter is released, there will be even more telco mergers and alliances announced. The only general thread between all of these super fat telcos is that they become more arrogant and unresponsive to customer complaints. I give a big "FUCK YOU" to all of these greedy telcos, especially to Bell Canada. As you should have read in the Introduction, THC Phreak, my friend and a Damage, INC. Member is going through legal hell because Bell Canada love to flaunt its "power and influence" by filing false charges against him. Bell Canada's arrogance is beyond measure. That arrogance has also been instilled into their employees, especially their bitchy ops. That is why Bell employees are vandalizing Bell's HQ in Montreal, while Bell Canada calls the riot squad so their scabs (75% of their workers) can enter "Bell World." It will make me feel good to continue to see Bell and their employees to literally be at each other's throats. They can kill each other for all I fucking care. Written by Shatazar � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. BIG BROTHER BASHING - {BIG BROTHER} TEMPEST Eavesdropping. This article is meant to explain Electromagnetic Eavesdropping, specifically one form of it known as TEMPEST. Without going into tremendous technical detail, I will cover the various aspects of this form of spying, describing what it is, the basics of how it works and countermeasures that you can take to prevent unwanted interception of your personal data/communications. What is TEMPEST? --------------- TEMPEST stands for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Surveillance Technology. Computers and other electronic equipment release interference to their surrounding environment. You may observe this by placing two video monitors close together. The pictures will behave erratically until you space them apart. The emissions from video monitors that are used with computers contain information in the form of digital pulses (1s and 0s). The channel for this radiation is in two arrangements, radiated emissions and conducted emissions. Radiated emissions are assembled when components in electrical devices form to act as antennas. Conducted emissions are formed when radiation is conducted along cables and wires. Most of the time these emissions are simply thought of as annoyances, or they just go unnoticed since a lot of people don't often think about the emissions given off by electronic equipment. However, these "waste emissions" are frequently used by certain people to take and gather data from someone else, without their knowledge and consent. For example, if law enforcement wanted to see what you were working on, without going near your system, they could park a van outside down the street at a reasonable distance from the location and by using sensitive electronic equipment they could attempt to pick up and decipher the radiated emissions from your video monitor. These emissions normally exist at around 55-245 Mhz and can be picked up as far as one kilometer away. Some suggest that the range is now even greater than a kilometer. And using a so-called 'low emission' monitor won't reduce that range. Nor will using a laptop with an LCD screen. In fact, many LCD screens actually give a better signal for eavesdropping, which makes them prime targets. A monitoring device can distinguish between different sources emitting radiation because the sources emanating the radiation are made up of dissimilar elements and so this coupled with other factors varies the emitted frequency. For example, different electronic components in VDUs, different manufacturing processes involved in reproducing the VDUs, different line syncs, etc. By synchronizing our raster with the target's raster we can passively draw the observed screen in real-time. This technology can be acquired by anyone, not just government agencies. The target could shield the emissions from their equipment or use equipment that does not generate strong emissions. However, TEMPEST equipment is not legal for civilian use in many countries. And furthermore, the laws in most nations aren't written in such a way as to protect innocent civilians against privacy violations through the use of TEMPEST either. That's why the whole idea and use of TEMPEST is such a threat, and why it's another tool of Big Brother. In fact, it is one of the most potent, silent weapons in their arsenal. The real key is that the interception is passive, so there's no way for the target that's being monitored to tell that someone is electronically eavesdropping on them, and that the security of their most private data has been compromised. In essence, they're none the wiser due to the fact that TEMPEST is an extremely "stealthful" means of spying on them. Countermeasures/Protection: -------------------------- There's ways of shielding cables and systems to reduce the chances of TEMPEST being used against you. There is also a new type of technology that's known as Soft Tempest, which when implemented properly prevents TEMPEST monitoring. And recently developed Soft Tempest fonts can be used to protect against government eavesdropping of what you're typing. What still needs to be done is the implementation of Soft Tempest for the various operating systems that individual end users are using today. PGP, Inc have a limited implementation of Soft Tempest fonts to protect password entry in PGP 6.02 (now available in an International version from http://www.pgpi.com) but a multi-platform, OS-level implementation of Soft Tempest is what is really required. There is another approach in which you attempt to reduce the quality and range of unintended emissions so that it makes the task of effectively eavesdropping on you more difficult and impractical. For example, if an agency wanted to monitor the emissions from your system, but you had taken several steps to block, shield and filter them already, instead of being able to park a van a kilometer or more away, they'd have to get much closer to the target system. And if you've done the job properly, they would have to be within a very short distance, say less than 100 feet or so, which makes them more obvious to being noticed by you. So, even though you didn't prevent all electromagnetic emissions from escaping, at least you limited enough so that they can't monitor you from a well hidden, safe distance away. What about zero emissions? Well, that's not a very practical, feasible goal to have. Reducing all unintended emissions to zero is extremely difficult to say the least, since it requires specialized "quiet" hardware, cables, connectors, etc. Here are a few ways to begin limiting and reducing EM emissions: - Use computer equipment that meets modern "Class B" level standards for emissions. Computers and peripherals that meet the Class B standard means that they have only one-tenth the power of spurious emissions than equipment with the Class A standard. For existing equipment (such as monitors) that you already own and use, check the FCC ID number. You can use that to find out which standard applies to your monitor by contacting the FCC Consumers Assistance Branch. - Never operate your computer system with the cover off, as that compromises the shielding integrity to a large degree. And make sure that all open expansion slots have heavy metal slot covers secured at the back so that electromagnetic emissions don't have a big gap with which to escape. - Always use shielded cables for all of your system's interconnections. A shielded cable is one that surrounds the core of wires with a metal braid or foil, which keeps signals confined to its core instead of allowing them to emit. Unshielded cables can act like an antenna for signals that are generated by computers and peripherals and should never be used. Also, avoid buying used, cheap, low quality cables. Try to keep the cables separate from each other and as short as possible. The reason for using cables of a reduced length is that it lessens the chance that they can act as an antenna. So, the shorter the cable is, the better. - Block radiation from the power cord(s) into the house wiring. Even though the majority of computers have an EMI filter built into them where the AC power cord enters the power supply, you should consider adding a special EMI AC filter to reduce the power retransmitted down the AC power cords of your equipment. They simply plug into a wall socket and generally they are reasonably priced. You should plug both your monitor and CPU into a filter. - Telephone lines are poorly shielded, so an EMI filter that's designed for modular telephone jacks should be used. You can plug your telephone, FAX/modem into them. So, invest in a modular telephone line filter and keep the line as far away from sources of power such as power supplies in computers, peripherals and the back of monitors. Since the internal thin telephone lines that are running through your house are unshielded, the magnetic field from those devices can transfer to them quite easily... through magnetic induction, which in turn may end up compromising your data. - Use other shields such as a good EMI "ground" shield for your computer equipment. Use a heavily shielded case, or shield off a small area surrounding the system, peripherals, cables, etc. If you're knowledgable in the area of electronics, you may want to consider using bypass capacitors on your actual motherboard... for increased filtering. However, these are difficult to implement and a working knowledge of electronics is definitely required. You can use copper foil tape to shield the exterior case of a system, or small external peripherals/devices. - Use an AM radio to check the effectiveness of your shielding efforts by putting the radio close to your system and it's cables. Make sure your computer and peripheral cables are apart so that each one can be checked individually. If you don't hear any static, move on to the next cable and check it. Finally, if you don't hear any significant amount of static, you'll know that your system is well shielded. You can also use a compass to detect magnetic field emissions by moving it close to the back of a monitor or near cables. The greater the amount of deflection, the higher the amount of emissions. Then move it further away to see how far the emissions are travelling. To conclude this article, if you're concerned about personal privacy and the security of your system and its data, you may want to think about taking steps to prevent TEMPEST eavesdropping from affecting you. In other words, take actions to stop it before Big Brother takes action against you first. Act now or forever forfeit your information and your privacy. Written by BLACKENED � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. BLACKENED'S TIP OF THE MONTH - {BLACKENED} Detecting phone taps Part 1. This article is the first part of a two part series that's dedicated to explaining various methods of detecting phone taps. The techniques described aren't complex by any means, but at least they're a start. The main focus of this article is on physical security and requires no expensive, detection hardware. In addition, some of the various types of phone taps will be explained so that you may gain a basic understanding of what they're capable of doing and what things to look for and be aware of. I'll start with a few tips that are based on the experiences of those in Damage, INC. Visual and Physical Inspections: ------------------------------- If you're suspicious of the existence of a phone tap, you should begin by doing a full inspection of all telecom equipment, phone jacks and internal phone wires/lines leading out of your residence. Carefully check the hookup of all pairs of wires/lines wherever they enter, and open up the telco box which is normally attached to the exterior of the house. In Canada, they're usually grey or beige in colour and made by Northern Telecom. Look for the small "NT" logo on them. Generally they can be opened without any tools as the covering isn't affixed by screws, but rather just clips on and off. If you notice anything abnormal, strange looking, or any devices attached that weren't previously there (or that you don't think are required to be on the line, and most often they aren't), remove it immediately. Then proceed to test your line to the best of your capabilities (on hook, off hook, ringing). At this point, you may want to dial your phone number from an alternate line to see if it rings. Or use a ringback. You may also want to call someone else to test outgoing calls. And of course, if you have a voltmeter, you can run tests on the voltages of the line itself. It might be a good idea to test the voltage before and after any such devices are removed, for comparison, even though it's only a basic, primitive test that obviously won't expose every type of line tap. After tracing the line and inspecting it from inside and outside of your house, the next step is to go as far back to the source as possible. Obviously most people won't break into switching stations or their CO, but at least figure out whether your line runs underground to a junction box, some other type of Bell Can on the ground or up on a telephone pole. After you've found that out, you'll need a beige box/lineman's handset, tools, a voltmeter and an ANAC number to use in order to find out which pair of wires is your line. Once you've determined which line is yours (by dialing the ANAC), inspect it for any abnormalities. Then test the voltage of the line and compare the result with that of other customer's lines. They may differ slightly, but any significant differences in voltage indicate that something is awry... and the line may be tapped. Again, if there are any strange looking devices attached to the pair of wires (Ring and Tip), then remove them and test the line again. You may want to bring along a small notebook and a pen to record your results. Another test is to try dialing your own number from your line to see if it will ring busy. If it doesn't, there's definitely a problem. If you do find anything out of the ordinary, and remove any device(s), make sure you re-check the line again several times for weeks. Just as, if you happen to notice a Bell worker near your house working on the lines, installing a new line (especially wires running to the box)... you should be suspicious. If you happen to live in an apartment, your task might be more difficult. To find out which line is yours, you may have to go into the basement or check outside for telephone wires... hookup a beige box to each line and dial an ANAC until it reads back the correct number for your phone line. Audible Anomalies: ----------------- While talking on the phone, be aware of any audible anomalies, such as strange clicks, weird tones (they may be extremely faint though and almost inaudible), buzzing noises, any other extraordinary sounds or even silences and sudden volume increases/decreases. Any of those can be a sign that your line has been tapped or is in the process of being tapped. So, be alert if you suspect that there's any possibility that your phone line may be monitored by someone. It could be someone at the junction box, or even the telco itself. If you experience these things on a regular basis, check your line as thoroughly as you possible can, as soon as possible. It could just be a poor quality line that's riddled with line noise or some other problem that's responsible and unrelated to a tap. Then again, it might just be that your line has been tapped. And if the latter is the case, you don't want the tap to remain there. So, check the voltages to make sure they're correct. If you don't know what they should normally be, cross reference them with a friend's line in your NPA by checking those. If they don't match to within +/-1 volt, you might want to take further action and due further testing with more sophisticated equipment such as an oscilloscope. If you're constantly hearing clicks (especially at certain times of the day, consistently), buzzing sounds or drops in volume, you may even want to hire someone to test your line for you. As in, hire a company that's independent from your local telco (if you suspect them in the least for being responsible). Sure, that isn't a free solution, but if you aren't technically inclined/knowledgable and don't have the necessary equipment to do the testing yourself, it's an option that you should consider if you're serious about your personal privacy and security. Possible Warning Signs: ---------------------- - You've noticed static, snapping, crackling, popping, or scratching sounds on your phone lines. This can be caused by the capacitive discharge which occurs when two conductors are connected together (such as a bug or wiretap on a phone line). - You can hear sounds coming from your phones handset when it's hung up. Typically caused by a hookswitch bypass, which turns the telephone receiver into a eavesdropping microphone (and also a speaker). If that's happening, there is probably someone listening to everything you say or do. - Your phone often rings and nobody is there, or a faint tone, or high pitched squeal and beep is heard. This is a key indicator of a slave device, or line extender being used on your phone line. It's also a key indicator of a harmonica bug, or infinity transmitter being used. - You receive unwarranted, unsolicited calls from the local telco (ie, they aren't returning your call). They may make an excuse such as "We're just running some tests on your phone line." - Your radio has suddenly develops strange interference on stations that normally have clear reception. Many amateur eavesdropping devices use frequencies within the FM radio band, these signals tend to "quiet" an FM radio in the vicinity of the bug. Look for the transmissions at far ends of the FM band, and at any quiet area along the FM band. If the radio begins to squeal then slowly move it around the room until the sound becomes very high pitched to locate the bug (this is referred to as feedback detection or loop detection). - You notice that "Phone Company" trucks and utilities workers are spending a lot of time near your home doing repair work. If they are in the same vicinity for several days, you definitely shouldn't ignore their activities and assume that they're not doing anything out of the ordinary. - Telephone repairmen show up to do work when they weren't called and asked to do so. - Service or delivery trucks are often parked nearby with nobody in them. These vehicles are commonly used as listening posts, so be very cautious of any vehicle which has a ladder or pipe rack on the roof. Also, be wary of any vehicles with tinted windows, especially service vans. They are used to conceal people and listening equipment in the back. Types of tapping devices: ------------------------ I was going to describe the physical appearance and workings of various tapping devices, but due to lack of time I decided to include that information in the next part of this article. It'll explain each device thoroughly, which is something that I wouldn't have been able to do at this point in time. In conclusion, everything that has been discussed in this article is just common sense. There's nothing that can be viewed as being too technical or impractical for the average reader. Therefore, as mentioned, I plan to write a second article on detecting phone taps, with the focus being on the more technical aspects, techniques, countermeasures, devices and equipment. So, look for that to be included in a future issue of the Damage, INC. Newsletter. Written by BLACKENED � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. BREAKER'S REVIEWS - {REVIEWS} H/P Con Reviews. After a little break, no pun intended here they come again. This issue is dedicated to cons. Cons are a great places to meet people and to get drunk and fall down. You can also learn some cool stuff, try to catch one where Mudge is giving a talk. Buy him a Guinness and he'll love you for life. www.defcon.org We all know this site. I have even reviewed it before, but no con list would be complete without mentioning the big one. This one is run by Dark Tangent and is the biggest hacker con of them all. It takes place in July of every year in the stinking pit that is Las Vegas and attracts hackers, phreakers, feds, and newbies alike. www.xcon.org Xcon is a relatively new con. It's held in Austin or Dallas, one of those Texas cities. www.cuervocon.org Cuervocon named after the dangerous tequila. It's held in the equally dangerous town of Brownsville, Texas. If you stumble out of the hotel in a drunken haze, you may end up in a Mexican prison. This con usually takes place around X-mas or New Years. HoHoCon used to occur at this time, but I don't know if it is dead or not. Pumpcon www.pumpcon.net Pumpcon is an invite only con. It is usually held in Philly every year around Halloween. Although two years ago it was in Pittsburgh. This con rox, my favorite. Because it is invite only, there are very few kiddies, tons of drinking, and you get to meet some weird amazing people. Access All Areas www.access.org.uk This is the premier UK con. However, I don't know if it is going to continue. The mailing list is still thriving, but the future of the con is suspect, it didn't happen last year. Conspiracy www.dac.org/conspiracy Conspiracy is the UK hacking preaking X-mas party. This party sounds like one hell of a time. Hopefully I'll make it one year. Phreaknic www.se2600.org/phreaknic A con put on by the South Eastern 2600 crew. They have a mailing list as well. I don't know much about this con, but it seems like they have been partying their phreaky asses off for the last two years. seccon www.seccon.org/main.html The con down under! I think this is Australia's first hacker con. I could be wrong. HOPE/BeyondHOPE www.hope.net Hope and BeyondHOPE in NYC. What can you say? The east coast mega con. I think BeyondHOPE rivaled Defcon in attendance by both hackers and the media. Many great speakers, contests, promos etc. Will there be another HOPE, only emmanuel knows. Summercon www.summercon.org The mobile con. This con officially has no fixed location it has been moving around every year. Usually held in June sometime. It was in D.C., was rumoured to be in Chicago one year, but for the past two years, it has been in Altanta. It also used to be invite only, then in 96 changed over to a public con. Chaos Computer Club www.ccc.de One of the oldest hacking groups in Germany. They hold the Chaos Computer Club Congress in Germany. The topics range from European phone systems and GSM to hacking and encryption. I would love to attend this some day. Hacking in Progress www.hip.nl I don't know whether this con is a yearly event or not. I know in 97 it coincided with BeyondHOPE. A can't imagine a more surreal experience, hundreds of hackers in tents with wires running all over the place in a field in the Netherlands. Sounds like a plan to me! Rootfest, no not the r00t who owns you and MTV apparently. www.rootfest.org Rootfest is a new con bringing h/p to a needy mid-west. Giddy-up! The first annual meeting will be in May in Minneapolis. The speakers list seems impressive. I want to see everybody there. RubiCon www.rubicon.org or www.rubi-con.org Another con in the mid-west, your kidding. Hell no, one week after Rootfest, it's rubicon. Are two cons in two weeks too much? We shall see. This one is in Michigan. I don't see both of these cons lasting, as Optimus Prime said "One shall stand, one shall fall." Controversy www.gateweb.co.uk/~controv/ This was another UK con. The site is down now. Havoc-con www.sel-mor.com/Krac/hav-con.htm This site is down as well. I have no clue about this con, or whether it happened or not. CAUcon www.caugh.org The Computer Academic Underground's con. These boys from 847 in Texas held their first local con in 1997. The second annual CAUcon is in the works. Canc0n members.tripod.com/~hwaO_2k/canc0n.html or come.to/cancon99 Someone call the RCMP because h/p is heading north to Canada in 1999. Plenty people have tried to have a Canadian con, maybe this one will be it. It's gonna be in August around the Niagara Falls area. They are going to be sending imacs over the falls. Blackhat Briefings www.blackhat.com This is a high priced con for hackers with jobs. It is held a few days before Defcon in July. It cost a few grand so expect to see many corporate types. Raincon The other west coast con, held in seattle. I can't remember the url, and I don't know whether this ever happened or not. * InfoWarCon (check to see if there's one being held for 1999) www.h2k.com Hope 2000 One of the biggest and baddest cons returns. If anyone attended Beyond Hope you remember how much it kicked ass. Well this one is still in the planning phase, but I'm sure it will be just as good. So until then join the mailing list and help with the planning. www.ccc.de.camp Updated of Chaos Computer Club Camp http://www.nswc.navy.mil/ISSEC/CID/shadowcon99/shadowcon.html There are also various other local Bar-b-ques, meetings, gatherings, bell bashes, etc. Check your local listings for these happenings. CONSPIRACIES AND COVERUPS - {COVERUPS} Bob Lazar/Area S-4 Part 2: Lazar's experiences. In my last article, I acquainted the readers of the Damage, INC. Newsletter with Bob Lazar, a physicist that claimed he was employed at Area S-4 in the Nevada Test Site during 1988-89. During the time Lazar worked there, Area S-4 housed 9 extraterrestrial craft. In this article, I will reveal to you Lazar's experiences with the alien technology that is in possession of a secret department of the U.S. Government. The reason I am writing this article is to share Lazar's story with you. It is up to you to decide whether to believe his story or not. At least you'll know some details about this extraordinary story, rather than just being ignorant about it. Lazar remembers the briefings he read: -------------------------------------- Last issue I mentioned that during his first day of work at Area S-4, Bob Lazar spent the day reading various classified briefings. Since he has come forward publicly, Lazar has revealed the contents of some of the briefings he read that day. However, he has stated that he doesn't like talking about them because they could have mixed in disinformation with other information that he confirmed during the hands-on experimentation he conducted at Area S-4. At least Lazar is wise enough to realize that. At that time he was in a secluded room (most likely with armed guards on the other side of the door) he was given 121 navy blue paper file folders. To his recollection, each folder contained an average of two or three pages. One of his first observations was that what he was presented with was censored, containing no titles or authors. He also concluded that the briefings he received were extracted from larger reports. Most of the briefings he read dealt with the propulsion system, the reactor, the fuel (which he discovered was Element 115) of what he assumed at that time was a highly advanced craft developed solely by base scientists and engineers. Even when he read about the reactor, it didn't dawn on Lazar that the technology was of extraterrestrial origin. Lazar: "We were developing [it]... because it was just a very brief overview of what was going on..." "It all made sense to me... of course, in my mind, I thought, boy, have we come far from what... I thought I was on the cutting edge of science here... how could this have possibly gone on?" As the day progressed, he read more briefings. Finally, he came across one that really blew his mind. It consisted of two black and white 8x10 photographs. The two pictures were of an alien being which looked like a classic "grey". Lazar: "Yeah. Actually the autopsy report we're talking about was two photographs with notations on the bottom... this is what I've called the autopsy report." "They [the notations] were mostly weights and measures. One was an upper torso... of the creature... And they had cut the chest open in a T fashion and peeled it back... and there was a separate inset on the photograph of... you know how fresh liver looks like it's liquid almost?" It took this kind of evidence to confirm that he was in the presence of alien spacecraft... and not the United States' "highest" technology. Lazar: "I know when I saw those photographs there was no doubt in my mind that we were dealing with alien technology... by that time I had already begun to realize what was going on..." After being stunned by the pictures, Lazar found a very strange book. The book looked like a standard book, but was two books in one. Just imagine two books with the back covers touching. Then take away the back covers and form it into one book. Lazar recalls that one side was very strange. It contained an eerie look at the human race. Lazar: " The text was about living conditions here... about different... there was a guy that lived in a hut... it was like a National Geographic book more or less... It was very simplistic and it just showed what lived in a dwelling like that... but the same thing... as you moved the page, this guy's clothes would drop... his skin would come off his muscles... it would do that... and instead of sitting there reading most of the text, I played with the photographs... because even looking up close, I could not see..." To understand what Lazar is saying, take a look at the "Human Beings" section in an encyclopedia like World Book. They have mylar plastic pages showing various systems of the human body. With each "page" of mylar, you can strip away a system of the body, eventually down to the skeleton. If you think that part of the book Lazar viewed is disturbing, wait until I describe what the other side contained. When Lazar flipped the book upside down and started to read, he was shocked yet again. It was about aliens... perhaps the aliens that provided the craft to the secret government department he worked for. In this book, Lazar states that the aliens came from Reticulum 4 in the Zeta Reticuli system, which is 30 light years away in the southern hemisphere sky. A few other pages contained general information about alien craft. What confused Lazar was that the book was written from an "alien point of view." Instead of the term "humans", the term "biological container" was exclusively used to describe us. Lazar: "Yeah, of the nature... but there are lots of if's here... cause you have to step back even... because... are containers actually people... is number one? Because at no point in there did it say -- containers are humans... okay? So... immediately you're on unsteady ground..." While being interviewed, Lazar also commented on the english used in the book. Lazar: "... but it was so neutral... it was edited to be so neutral that you really couldn't grasp anything out of it." In another briefing that Lazar read later on, he was again confused when he read that "containers" have been genetically corrected 65 times throughout "the containers evolutionary process." However, after learning that assumptions can only lead to being stunned, shocked, and unprepared to learn new things, he seems to have learned a lesson. Lazar: "The only thing that I've continued absolutely to stand on is the material that I read in the briefings that was corroborated by the hardware." "Right, just because someone actually came from another planet, does not mean they don't know how to lie. Or have motives to do it." During an interview, Lazar made a statement that he believed Area S-4 was not in existence before 1976. He also believes that Area S-4 was created because around that time is when the U.S. obtained the 9 alien craft. He says he based this assumption on the briefings he read. Hangar description: ------------------- The hangars were all connected together. Lazar described the area that the craft sat as being like a "car show room". Each hangar area was identical in size, and all the hangar bay doors led outside. There were also doors similar to garage doors that could be opened to allow access between each hangar area. That is why Lazar claims that there were nine craft. He was actually able to see a total of 9 hangar areas because all of the side doors were open at one time. Lazar had to tell his interviewer that he wasn't able to get close to any of the craft other than the "Sport Model" for fear of being beaten or killed by security forces. The "Sport Model" craft: ------------------------ One day while arriving at work, Lazar's supervisor Dennis told him that they were going to enter the facility through the hangar. This was the first time that Lazar encountered the craft which he later named the "Sport Model". At that point, he assumed it was a highly advanced fighter made by U.S. scientists. Lazar was excited when he realized that it was what he was going to be working on. Obviously, his emotional reaction was to examine the craft, but the oppressive guards told him to keep looking straight ahead. However, he walked close enough to the "Sports Model" to brush his hand against it. Lazar: "It was cold, so I thought it was metal. And to this day I still don't know... it felt metallic." However, Lazar admitted that till this day, he cannot confirm if the craft was indeed metallic. Despite being a scientist working on the project, he never got a metallurgical report. Using his own perception, the "Sport Model" had a diameter of approximately 52'. In all of the interview transcripts, Lazar didn't give a very detailed description of the "Sport Model". Lazar: "I only assume that that's what was going on in the top part of the craft and that's [piloting] what these windows... they aren't really windows... but I always assumed that they were sensor rays of some sort... that wherever the craft was that's how it got its lock on where it was... whether it matched up stars or whatever the thing was looking at, but I think that's where the sensor ray was from here up was everything to do with navigation." Inside the "Sport Model" craft: ------------------------------- There was one time in which Bob Lazar got the ultimate experience. With Dennis, he was allowed to enter the fully functional "Sport Model". This experience occurred after Lazar brushed his hand against it. As he entered the craft, Lazar experienced some very strong emotions. Lazar: "...it was such an eerie feeling... the feeling was that... it sounds stupid... the feeling was that I shouldn't be in there... that we shouldn't be in there... a feeling of trespassing... a feeling... because it felt so unbelievably alien... no pun intended, but there was nothing that seemed familiar at all..." Nothing familiar indeed. Lazar described the inside of the craft as a huge mass of seamless, colorless metal. There was no right angles or anything close to an earthly design. The interior was obviously not designed for humans because Lazar had to hunch down, and others inside the craft with him had to crawl because they were larger men. He even claims to have seen small chairs... much smaller than ones made for an average adult human. In an interview, Lazar summed up his experience. Lazar: "...I kept replaying the event of mainly being in the craft itself, trying to remember... wondering why so much empty space... wondering what was on the upper level... just thinking how absolutely simple everything was and comparing it to systems that I'm familiar with... telephones looked more complicated than what was going on there... no buttons... no anything... tremendous amounts of power being generated, but there's no wiring... it was... it's a first approximation." "... it's [first itineration is] the simplest cartoon drawing of how everything works and then the first approximation with all the technicalities to it... but it was a functioning first approximation... and it was just so simple... the way everything was laid out... that's really all I thought about... the other reports... I guess the technology had taken me so much because it was such an impression as compared to reading words... actually being there and facing it... that was what left an impression." Basically, it was unlike anything that Lazar had ever seen before and yet at the same time, the interior of the craft looked simplistic. Lazar's Lab: ------------ Before I can tell you about Lazar's experiences with the various systems of the alien craft, I should describe the laboratory that he and his colleague Barry worked in. The main laboratory was "fairly large". There the scientists had equipment for analysis, etc. In an area at the back of their laboratory sat one of the alien gravity amplifiers, and an alien anti-matter reactor. It was the location where Lazar gained his hands-on experience with alien technology. The anti-matter reactor: ------------------------ The anti-matter reactor that powers the alien craft is obviously the heart of all of the alien technology. Lazar believes that the 9 alien craft used the same type of reactor, since he claims to have seen more than the one in the "Sport Model". Despite the great amounts of power that it generates, it is extremely simple to turn on. Lazar: "It's a plate about 18 inches in diameter with a sphere on top. Inside that tower is a chip of Element 115 they just put in there. That's a super-heavy element. The lid goes on top. And as far as any other of the workings of it, I really don't know, you know, [such as] what's inside the bottom of it . . . 115 sets up a gravitational field around the top. That little wave guide you saw being put on the top: it essentially siphons off the gravity wave, and that's later amplified in the lower portion of the craft. But just in general, the whole technology is virtually unknown. That is it." According to Lazar there are no working parts. Just plug in some Element 115 and the reactor starts generating power through an anti-matter reaction. What amazed Lazar was the pure efficiency of the alien reactor. During an interview, he shared his thoughts. Lazar: "There's an annihilation reaction. It's an extremely powerful reaction, a hundred percent conversion of matter to energy, unlike a fission or fusion reaction which is somewhere around eight-tenths of one percent conversion of matter to energy." That is what I found very interesting. If our terrestrial resources could be converted from matter to energy at a rating of 100%, the fat power companies would be out of business. If Lazar is telling the truth, I can believe that an alien craft would have the power to cross star systems. In addition to a huge amount of electrical power, the anti-matter reactor also creates a gravity wave. Lazar: "Well, that reactor serves two purposes; it provides a tremendous amount of electrical power, which is almost a by-product. The gravitational wave gets formed at the sphere, and that's through some action of the 115, and the exact action I don't think anyone really knows. The wave guide siphons off that gravity wave, and that's channelled above the top of the disk to the lower part where there are three gravity amplifiers, which amplify and direct that gravity wave. In essence creating their own gravitational field." That is amazing considering we don't fully understand what gravity is and how it can be used yet. Even Lazar admitted to an interviewer that gravity isn't understood by human scientists. Why is the production of a gravity wave useful? Lazar explains this as well. Lazar: "It allows you to do virtually anything. Gravity distorts time and space. By doing that, now you're into a different mode of travel, where instead of travelling in a linear method -- going from Point A to B -- now you can distort time and space to where you essentially bring the mountain to Mohammad; you almost bring your destination to you without moving. And since you're distorting time, all this takes place in between moments of time. It's such a far-fetched concept!" The interviewer then immediately assumed that it was a time machine. Lazar answered this interesting question as well. Lazar: "No, not essentially. It would be easier with a model. On the bottom side of the disk are the three gravity generators. When they want to travel to a distant point, the disk turns on its side. The three gravity generators produce a gravitational beam. What they do is they converge the three gravity generators onto a point and use that as a focal point; and they bring them up to power and PULL that point towards the disk. The disk itself will attach ONTO that point and snap back -- AS THEY RELEASE SPACE BACK TO THAT POINT! Now all this happens in the distortion of time, so time is not incrementing. So the SPEED is essentially infinite." The propulsion system: ---------------------- Lazar's work was dedicated to back engineering the propulsion system. Lazar: "The amplifier form itself was about two feet in diameter and four feet long... the reactor was maybe eighteen inches... The entire propulsion system is powered by the alien anti-matter reactor. With such massive amounts of power and the gravity waves that are created, extremely simple design is possible." What does the amplifier do? How does everything link together? I'll let Lazar give you a very basic explanation. Lazar: "The power source is an anti-matter reactor. They run gravity amplifiers. There is actually two parts to the drive mechanism. It's a bizarre technology. There is no physical hookups between any of the systems in there. They use gravity as a wave using wave guides that look like microwaves." Lazar goes on and on about the possibilities of the alien technology. Lazar: "It [the propulsion system] was fantastically advanced, but, once you basically understand what's going on... especially with the reactor, all these things... even today... you look at science fiction... Star Wars... death rays and laser guns and all that... the technology isn't that far away, the main thing in all of the exotic science fiction technology type weapons and things laid out... is power... it really is... that's the reason there's no hand-held ray guns... and things like that... because you don't have 10 megawatts available in the palm of your hand and there's absolutely no way to get it." Element 115 - Bob Lazar's contribution to Area S-4: --------------------------------------------------- Obviously, Bob Lazar wasn't allowed into Area S-4 so he could rat them out at a later date. :) As a physicist, his job was to discover what the power source of the reactor was. Up until that point, the scientists at S-4 were at a loss. With Lazar's insight, they determined that the reactor was powered by an element that is not even on the current periodic table of elements. Lazar calls it "Element 115". What is Element 115? An interviewer asked that question, and got a decent answer from Lazar. Lazar: "Okay, it's a super-heavy element: On the periodic chart, which lists all the elements found on earth and that can be synthesized, I think the highest element we've synthesized has been about Element 106. Now from 103 -- or actually, anything higher than plutonium up -- the half-life begins to drop; in other words, the element disintegrates. When you get up to Element 106, it's only around for a very small amount of time. Even science today theorizes that up around Element 113 to 116 -- somewhere in there -- they should again become stable. This is in fact true. That's what Element 115 is; it's a stable element. To synthesize it would be impossible. The way we synthesize heavy elements is, we take a stable element like bismuth or something like that, or plutonium, whatever, put it in an accelerator, and BOMBARD it with protons. Essentially what you're trying to do is plug in protons into the atoms and increase the atomic number. To do that to the level of Element 115 would just take an infinite amount of power and an infinite amount of time." If Element 115 requires "an infinite amount of power and time" to create it, then how was it created? Fortunately, Lazar answered that question as well. Lazar: "The only place that 115 could be made would have to be in a natural situation, somewhere maybe on the fringes of a supernova or somewhere around maybe a binary star system, where there was more mass in the primordial mix of that system, where heavier elements would have had a chance to form, when the stars were collapsing and there were huge amounts of energy being released. It's something along these lines; it has to be a naturally-occurring element." Is it possible to create Element 115 on Earth? Lazar: "Well, the 115, it's impossible. And the FACT that the main job of everyone there is to find out how everything's made; I mean that just contradicts everything right off the bat. The materials are completely alien to us, and just the overall idea of the project is: Hey, can we duplicate this with materials that we have here? So obviously, it was something that was found or given, for that matter, and we're just trying to duplicate it." I can't disprove that Lazar has knowledge in this particular area of science, but "impossible" is an extremely strong word that has brought down greater men than him. What is deemed to be impossible at one moment sometimes has a way of becoming possible in the future. As he eluded to above, bombarding Element 115 with protons creates anti-matter. That is how Element 115 powers the space craft through the reactor. To compare it to current weapons, Lazar says that "2.2 pounds of Element 115 is the energy equivalent of 47 10-megaton hydrogen bombs". Through unconfirmed briefings, there were slightly over 50 pounds of Element 115 at Area S-4. Lazar's wild experiments and experiences: ----------------------------------------- Lazar's first visual demonstrations of the alien technology happened after his final briefings (a couple of hours after he first saw the "Sport Model"). He met his colleague, Barry and he showed Lazar how the entire system worked (which is explained above). Using tongs, Barry placed a triangular piece of Element 115 into the reactor. After Barry replaced the lid, etc. a "gravitational field" was created right away. Barry told Lazar to touch the field. Lazar:"...it felt like you bring two like poles of a magnet together; you can do that with your hand. And it was FASCINATING to do that, impossible, except on something with great mass!" The gravitational field was also a repulsion field. Lazar: "...we kind of fooled around with it for a little while. And we threw golf balls off it. And it was just a really unique thing." Lazar had another experience that was also very unusual. Lazar: "Yeah, they did. They were able to channel the field off in a demonstration that they created an INTENSE gravitational area. And you began to see a small little black disk form, and that was the bending of the light." Lazar then told his interviewer that a burning candle was placed into the dark disk. The candle was still lit, but it didn't burn or melt. It was in a "distorted gravitational field, which distorts time". During one day at work, Lazar was approached by Dennis. He wanted to show Lazar something that would give him an insight into the craft's amplifiers. Lazar: "He wanted to show me, because we were going to be dealing with the amplifiers themselves... how they hung in the lower portion of the disc and there's a hexagonal shaped grid on the floor... that's kind of a crawl space... well, for them it's a crawl space... for me you could squeeze in there... and it was a tinsel brilliant hole... you know you can buy a six pack of beer..." After he examined the amplifiers inside the "Sport Model", he then stood back and watched a test flight. He watched as the amplifiers glowed and the craft lifted off of the ground. He watched it do simple manoeuvres. Lazar was hoping that he'd eventually be given the chance to actually be inside of the craft during a test flight, but that never happened. More information about Lazar and the desert test flights: --------------------------------------------------------- In my previous article, I wrote about how Lazar, his friend Gene Huff and others went out to see what they believed to be the "Sport Model" being test flown. They claim to have watched the test flights on two consecutive weekends. What I didn't tell you is that on the third weekend, Lazar, Huff, John Lear, Lazar's wife and sister-in-law got caught by the local sheriff. To make an uninteresting tale short, the sheriff let them go. The next day Dennis took Lazar to an abandoned army base and he was questioned about his actions during a debriefing. After that experience, Lazar decided to quit. Shortly after that event his past started to disappear, and he was allegedly shot while driving on a freeway. Blackie Lawless' opinions on Bob Lazar/Area S-4 : ------------------------------------------------- As promised, I will offer my own opinions and insights into this topic. While doing a great amount of research before writing these last two Conspiracies and Coverups articles, it became evident to me that Bob Lazar doesn't possess a very good memory. In virtually all of his interview transcripts he admits that his memory is bad. Whether Lazar honestly has a bad memory, or simply has holes in his story is debatable. Obviously, the "memory gaps" could exist for a reason that Lazar isn't willing to share publicly. He also makes assumptions about certain things (such as the age of Area S-4), but on other topics he is very careful not to make an assumption. I've also read other writers' opinions with an open mind. Some people have a strong belief that Lazar is actually part of the debunking process. I do believe that Lazar was at Area S-4. The passed and inconclusive polygraph tests done by several polygraphers indicate to me that Lazar was involved there in some way. Also, I know what Big Brother is capable of doing, and that it's very possible for Lazar's past to have disappeared the way it did. The only troubling part of that is that his scientific credentials couldn't be easily verified. He claims that the government was involved in erasing them as well. However, if George Knapp is to be believed, Lazar did work at Los Alamos. What was his job though? One writer claimed that he was there as a service technician and not as a head physicist. I couldn't find any evidence supporting that claim either. Based on Lazar's statements, he is either legitimately a scientist or an actor that has been briefed for months by the U.S. government because he does prove that he has scientific knowledge. What he said about the alien craft and the subsystems he described sounds fairly believable. In my opinion, there has been too many UFO reports to discount the fact that there are alien beings, and that they have visited Earth. However, there isn't enough evidence to conclusively say that any of the UFOs are the craft that Lazar says he saw. Lazar himself is an enigma. He doesn't come across as a liar, but his personal quirks weaken his credibility. To believe in Lazar's story is a leap of faith because there hasn't been any one else to fully corroborate his story. My opinion is that Lazar did see and work (perhaps not extensively) on alien technology at the Nevada Test Site. I am definitely keeping an open mind, and am vigilantly looking for other reliable sources of information that could reinforce Lazar's story of his experiences at Area S-4. I hope that you will do the same as you can never possess too much knowledge. Knowing the facts about stories such as this one and having verifiable proof is something that should be of great importance to most people. Written by Blackie Lawless � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. H/P INFORMATION AND NEWS - {H/P} Inside Merlin Mail. I was recently given the documentation for the Merlin Mail Voice Messaging System by Lucent Technologies. After reading through the User's Guide, I decided that the information might be useful to others, and that perhaps a brief article should be written to cover it. Admittedly, this isn't the most technically advanced topic or anything, but it is something that may interest a few people that haven't run across these particular systems. Basically, this article isn't a copy of the entire manual, but rather a concise summary of Merlin Mail and its features. Thanks go to Shatazar for providing the complete docs to me. ;) Page 1: ------ A Lucent Technologies logo is displayed on the top right corner. Centered in the middle of the page is the following text: Merlin Mail Voice Messaging System Release 3 For the MERLIN LEGEND Communications System User's Guide Underneath that, in the bottom right corner it reads: 585-320-744 comcode 107542870 Issue 1.0 April 1995 Page 2: ------ The second page of the User Manual consists mainly of Copyright information, notices, a couple of paragraphs regarding the user's responsibility for system security (unauthorized use, toll fraud, the fact that Lucent Technologies won't be held responsible), Trademarks, etc. The end of the page contains ordering and publishing information. In case anyone is interested in calling them and ordering a copy, I'll include everything for your convenience. Call: Lucent Technologies BCS Publications Fulfillment Center Voice 1-800-457-1235 International Voice 317 361-5353 Fax 1-800-457-1764 International Fax 317 361-5355 Write: Lucent Technologies BCS Publications Fulfillment Center P.O. Box 4100 Crawfordsville, IN 47933 Order: Document No. 585-320-744 Comcode 107542870 Issue 1, April 1995 Published by BCS Product Documentation Development Basking Ridge, NJ 07920-2332 Page 3: ------ The third page has a comical little "MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System Release 3 Wallet Reference Card", with an extremely tiny Lucent Technologies logo above it that's barely readable. Basically, it's only for idiot users that can't remember how to login, listen and delete messages, etc. Beneath the reference card are a few short, telling paragraphs that are unrelated to this article, but I'll include them just for background info/interest sake. "Intellectual property related to this product (including trademarks) and registered to AT&T Corporation has been transferred to Lucent Technologies Incorporated." "Any references within this text to American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation or AT&T should be interpreted as references to Lucent Technologies Incorporated. The exception is cross references to books published prior to December 31, 1996, which retain their original AT&T titles." "Lucent Technologies -- formed as a result of AT&T's planned restructuring -- designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, com- munications systems and software, consumer and business telephone systems, and microelectronic components. The world-renowned Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm for the company." Page 4: ------ The fourth page of the manual just shows a Voice Mail Activity Menu, which demonstrates how to use the main functions after logging in, and explains the Outcalling menu, etc. All of the features it mentions are covered later in this article. Page 5: ------ The fifth page (labelled page 1 at the bottom) is the Table of Contents. It also includes some basic help information, such as their 24 hour toll-free Helpline number, at 1-800-628-2888. By dialing that number, you'll reach the Lucent Technologies National Customer Care Center. And from there, your call will be prioritized, you'll be put on hold and have to wait to speak with a representative. Since I'm not going to re-type and cover all 20 pages of the manual, listing the entire Table of Contents isn't necessary. But to summarize it, there's an Introduction, Helpful Hints, Voice Mail Tips, Logging In, Personal Administration, Message Administration, Transferring and Using Directory, Outcalling, Direct Voice Mail and various subsections to each after the Logging In section. The Introduction is self-explanatory and discusses the basics of voice mail, which are generally common knowledge. It also tells readers to contact their system manager if they have any questions or problems. The Helpful Hints section covers the basic instructions for commonly used functions such as: Press *# to go back through the voice mail menus and prompts. Press *4 to replay a voice mail menu. Press *7 to return to the Voice Mail Activity Menu. (main menu after login) The Voice Mail Tips section is directed at users that aren't familiar with voice mail systems and overall etiquette, etc. None of the so-called "tips" they've given are even worth mentioning. Next is the section dedicated to Logging In, which is a series of four steps that are outlined below: "To listen to your messages or to send voice mail, you must first identify yourself to the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System. The Login procedure tells the system that you are an authorized user. If your voice mailbox is locked because of too many unsuccessful login attempts, you must contact your system manager. (For more information, see the Security Violation Notification feature in the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System Release 3 Planning, Installation, and Use manual.) To log in to the voice messaging system use the following procedure:" Step 1 - Dial the MERLIN MAIL system extension, ___. (blank) Step 2 - Dial your extension number + #. NOTE: When dialing from your own extension you may press # without entering your extension number. Step 3 - Dial your password + #. Voice Mail announces the number of new and old messages in your Mailbox. NOTE: The very first time you log in, your password is not set. Enter # for Step 3. Go to Step 3 in the Changing Your Password section, found on the next page. Step 4 - Select an option from the Voice Mail Activity Menu: Record Messages: Press 1 to record and send messages. Get Messages: Press 2 to listen to messages. Name or Greeting: Press 3 to record your name or personal greeting. Personal Operator: Press 4 to choose your personal operator. Password: Press 5 to change your password. Outcalling: Press 6 to administer Outcalling (if you have this feature). Transfer: Press *T (or *8) to transfer to another extension. On the next page is the Personal Administration section, which for the most part is uninteresting other than the short "Security Alert" paragraph, which reads: "If you receive any strange voice mail messages, or your greeting has been changed, or if for any reason you suspect that your MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System is being used by someone else, contact your system manager immediately." Judging by that, it almost seems as though Lucent Technologies is actually concerned about maintaining security... enough so that they warn users about potential violations and list a few of the more blatant signs of unauthorized access/use. ;) On the same page, the next section is called Changing Your Password. Even though the task and method of changing a password are simple, I'll include what they've written, verbatim, just for those that might never have previously read anything like this. "Use the following procedure to change the password needed to log in to your voice mailbox." "Choose a password that cannot be easily guessed. Do not choose a password such as 123456. do not choose a password based on your extension number. Do not choose a password based on any personal information that may be found out by others, such as your birthdate or social security number. Do not write your password down or share your password with others." Step 1 - Log in to Voice Mail. Step 2 - Press 5 to change your password. The system prompts you to enter the new password and #. Then there's another "Security Alert" message that reads: "A longer password helps prevent unauthorized access to your voice mailbox. (See the section entitled "Your Responsibility for Your System's Security" on the inside front cover of this book.) Your password can be up to 15 digits long. A password of at least 6 digits is recommended. Passwords should be changed at least once every three months." What they've written is just common sense that should already be understood by everyone. However, they felt it was necessary to include that paragraph. And, in a way, it is something that is needed since a lot of people leave their password/passcode as default, never change it, or choose one that is easily found/guessed... and use the shortest one possible (the minimum length) so that it's easy for them to remember. Hell, some people don't change it even after it's obvious that their mailbox security has been compromised by someone. And I can personally attest to witnessing that type of stupidity and/or indifference. Some people just don't give a fuck about their own privacy and the security of the systems that they use. But I digress. Back to the steps. ;) Step 3 - Enter the new password (up to 15 digits) followed by #. If your system manager has set a minimum password length, and your password is shorter than this minimum, you hear a message that your password is too short. You must repeat Step 3 and enter a password at least as long as the minimum length. The system prompts you to re-enter password and #. Step 4 - Enter the new password again followed by #. And that's all there is to changing a password. The next two pages in the manual describe how to record a personal greeting and the process of deleting a personal greeting. With the deletion of a personal greeting, the system then reverts back to using the system default greeting. The page after that shows the steps to recording your name (which is heard by callers) rather than using a personal greeting. However, the process is very similar. Following that is the Personal Operator section. It explains how the owner of the mailbox can specify a personal operator, which callers are transferred to if they dial 0. If you don't specify a personal op, and the caller dials 0 then they are transferred to the system's Call Answer Service Operator. It also advises mailbox owners to let callers know in the personal greeting message that they have the option of pressing 0 to reach an operator. The process of specifying a personal op is as follows: Step 1 - Log in to Voice Mail. Step 2 - Press 4 to change your personal operator. Step 3 - Choose an option: Operator: Enter your personal operator's Extension followed by #. Remove: Press 0# to remove a personal operator number. Retain: Press # to retain the current setting. Activity Menu: Press *# to return to the Voice Mail Activity Menu. The next few sections are devoted to Message Administration (Sending Messages to other subscribers, Listening to Messages, Replying to a Message, Forwarding a Message, Transferring to an Extension and Using the Directory). Since most of these features are easy to use and don't require following a long series of steps, there's no reason to explain them in any detail. Outcalling: "Your system manager may allow you to use the Outcalling feature. If you have Outcalling privileges, you can specify up to five different numbers that the voice messaging system will call when you receive a new message. This is sometimes called "Cascaded Outcalling." Each telephone number can have up to 60 digits." "When you receive an Outgoing call on a telephone, the system allows you to log in to retrieve your messages." "To Cancel further Outcalling attempts for the new message, press *# instead of logging in. If you receive a new message, you will still receive an Outcalling call. To cancel Outcalling for all new messages, turn Outcalling off." Now this seems like a cool feature that's worth exploring, doesn't it? ;) "If Outcalling is on, the voice messaging system calls the designated phone numbers in the order that they are stored in the Outcalling list. This is called cascading. When a call is completed to a telephone or voice pager, the system plays a message which identifies the call as coming from the MERLIN MAIL system, and continues: "You have a new message. To access your new message, enter extension and #. To avoid further notification about this message, press *#. Please enter extension and #." The Outcalling message does not play for digital pager calls. The pager will display the callback number that you have programmed in the pager's Outcalling number. When you receive an Outcalling call on a digital pager, you must call in to the voice messaging system to retrieve your messages." Calling continues until one of the following actions occur: - During the Outcalling message call, you press *# to cancel Outcalling until a new message arrives. - You log in to your MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System mailbox. - The Outcalling interval specified in your schedule is over. - The voice messaging system has attempted to deliver the message (by calling all numbers in your Outcalling list) the number of times specified through the Outcalling cycles programming option. Use the following general rules to specify an Outcalling number: - Up to 60 character may be used. - End the Outcalling number with *#. - Use the digits 0-9 for the Outcalling number itself. - Specify 1.5 second dialing pauses, as needed, with *. More than one * may be used. - For Outcalling to a pager you must put a sufficient number of pauses (*) after the phone number to allow time for the paging service to answer before the Personal Identification Number (PIN) or callback number is dialed. - Put a # in your Outcalling number where needed. One example is Outcalling to a digital paging service where a PIN needs to be followed by a #. - You cannot have a * followed immediately by a # in your Outcalling number. When you press *# you are telling the system that you have finished entering your Outcalling number. To change Outcalling settings, follow the procedure below: Step 1 - Log in to Voice Mail. Step 2 - Press 6 to administer Outcalling. Step 3 - Choose an option: On/Off: Press 1 to turn Outcalling on/off. Review: Press 2 to review your list of Outcalling numbers. Instructions: Press 3 to listen to instructions on entering Outcalling numbers. Program Numbers: Press 4 to change your list of Outcalling numbers. NOTE: Use * for a 1.5 second pause in the Outcalling number. Schedule: Press 5 to change your Outcalling schedule. (Factory setting: all hours) Delay: Press 6 to change the minimum time between Outcalling attempts. (Factory setting: 15 minutes; Range 5-99 minutes) Cycles: Press 7 to change the number of Outcalling cycles. (Factory setting: 3 cycles; Range: 1-9 cycles) Activity Menu: Press *# to return to the Voice Mail Activity Menu. Outcalling Numbers: To program Outcalling numbers you should follow the guidelines below: For a standard telephone number or a voice pager number: - Enter digits (0-9), pauses (*), and pound signs (#) required to place the call; include any access numbers needed. Example: 9*18005552020 - Enter *# to signal the end of the number. For a digital pager or beeper number: - Enter digits (0-9) and pauses (*) or pound signs (#) required to place the call; include any access numbers needed. Example: To specify an access number, a 1.5 second pause, the paging service number (555-1234), a 4.5 second pause, a PIN (1234) followed by a # and a callback number (555-3456) followed by a # enter: 9*5551234***1234#5553456# - Enter *# to signal the end of the number. Following that is the Outcalling Schedule, Outcalling Delay and Outcalling Cycles sections. Each of those functions are easy to use: Example: Log in, Press 6 to administer Outcalling. Press 7 to change your Outcalling cycles. Therefore, I won't go through all of them step by step. Direct Voice Mail. "If you have a MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 3.0 or later, you may use the Direct Voice Mail feature to call or transfer a call directly to a subscriber's voice mailbox." Calling a Mailbox Using Direct Voice Mail. To call a voice mailbox without ringing the extension, follow the procedure below: Step 1 - (Multiline telephones only) Choose one of the options below: Press Direct Voice Mail button. Press the Feature button and select Direct VM. Press the Feature button and dial 56. Go off hook on an SA or ICOM button and press #56. Step 1a - (Single-line telephones only) Go off hook, then dial #56. Step 2 - Dial the extension number or press Auto Dial button. Step 3 - Leave a message for your co-worker. Transfer to a Mailbox Using Direct Voice Mail. To transfer a call to a voice mailbox without ringing the extension, follow the procedure below: Step 1 - (Multiline telephones only) Choose one of the options below: Press Direct Voice Mail button. Press the Feature button and select Direct VM. Press the Feature button and dial 56. Press Transfer button and dial #56. Step 1a - (Single-line telephones only) Press Flash or Recall then dial #56. Step 2 - Dial the extension number or press Auto Dial button. Step 3 - Hang up and the transfer will be completed. If you transferred the call by pressing the Transfer button and dialing #56, either press the Transfer button again, or hang up and the transfer will be completed. The final page covers programming a Direct Voice Mail Button on MLX Telephones and on Analog Multiline Telephones. MLX: Press Feature button and press 00. Press the button on the telephone that you want to program. Then press *56. To exit, press Feature button and press 00. Analog Multiline: Slide switch on the side of telephone to the P setting. Press the button on the telephone you want to program. Press *56. Slide switch on side of telephone to the center setting. That's all there is on the last page of the Merlin Mail User's Guide. In closing, Merlin Mail is a fairly simple VMS to learn, explore and use. It offers quite a few useful options to its users, has an easy, user friendly menu system and is similar to many other common types of voice mail systems. It's a little dated (circa 1995), but the information is still relevant. If you have any questions, send Email to blackened@disinfo.net and I will do my best to respond and provide you with any additional information relating to Merlin Mail that you require. Written by BLACKENED � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. � - NEWS FROM THE TRENCHES - � On April 8th, 1999 THC Phreak was arrested by the RCMP, accused of alleged "computer crimes". I cannot disclose any details for obvious reasons. I can say that he hasn't cooperated with them and he assured me that he won't mention anyone else or implicate them in anything. However, due to his involvement in the group Damage, INC. (and the very nature of groups such as this), they may indeed try to accuse us of conspiracy to commit crimes... even though to my knowledge, none of us are guilty of such things. There weren't any plans to commit illegal acts, nor was there any premeditation on his part relating to what he has been charged of allegedly doing. That doesn't mean we're safe and in the clear by any means though. In this country, unwarranted charges are not uncommon. In fact, they are far from being rare... and the RCMP's infamous witchhunts happen all too often. And so, THC Phreak's fight for personal freedom, liberty and justice will go on as he battles the corrupt system that has chosen to "make an example out of him." Unfortunately, this situation most likely won't be resolved for quite some time, as these things have a way of dragging out over a long span of time. For his sake, I sincerely hope that his lawyer is well versed in these matters and able to defend him well. At this point, they're still in the process of gathering evidence... and they haven't said what the final (inflated) figure is for the damages he's allegedly caused. To be honest, I don't believe he would intentionally do any damage, steal information or any services of value. So, again, they're just drumming up false charges and it's only a matter of time before they start throwing around large figures (putting a hypothetical worth/dollar value of huge sums of money on something) to impress the media and influence the public. Afterall, that is one of their classic, favourite tactics to use. His phone service was cut. Bell Canada claimed that he "violated their customer service agreement policies." Also, to anyone that thinks THC Phreak is some kind of "K0d3z kid" that was into carding, etc. your assumption is dead wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth. He didn't card, abuse codes, sell CC numbers, etc. and never showed any interest in doing so during the entire time that I knew him. Even the ignorant pigs didn't try to charge him with doing that. - There's going to be a new zine called CCi magazine that everyone should check out. For more information, visit http://come.to/cci_mag and read about the plans, etc. In case you're wondering why I'm promoting it here, I'm a writer for CCi mag and would like more people to become involved with it. - System Failure is no more. Visit www.sysfail.org to download their final 16th issue. It's sad to see another quality zine cease publication. I'd just like to wish the staff of SysFail good luck in their future endeavours. - Ma Bell no longer has a monopoly on payphones due to deregulation. But there are a few companies in Ontario that have been scamming investors out of thousands of dollars. They've been posting ads in newspapers, which request an investment of several thousand dollars for the telephone equipment necessary to start your own small business... but their customers haven't received the payphones that they believed they were purchasing. Most of the scam businesses were run out of post office boxes, so they couldn't contact them at an office or do anything to recover their lost money. So, it's not quite as easy as buying a payphone and bolting it onto a wall yet. ;) - The author of the Melissa virus was apprehended due to his own lack of stealthfulness. David L. Smith's incompetence caught up with him when he distributed the Micro$oft Word virus using an AOL account, from his home in New Jersey using his own phone line. Working with Bell Atlantic, the local telco servicing his area, the cops were able to get a trace and track him down quite easily. He was arrested and charged with various offenses which combined carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and $480,000 in fines. If he would have used an anonymous terminal in a public building (that doesn't require a login) to distribute the virus, there's a good chance he would never have been caught. - Bill Gates is now worth an estimated $100 billion. Can you say "greedy bastard?" And that figure has most likely increased by several billion since I last checked his net worth. Bell Canada techs and ops, which are members of the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union of Canada have been on strike since March 9. They are fighting Ma Bell tooth and nail over job security. Bell wants to form an alliance with Excell Global Services of Arizona to create a new company called NEWCO. Bell Canada ops make a base salary of $35,000. Bell wants to dump them (or convert the bitchiest ops) in favour of NEWCO ops that will make $20,000 per year. In mid April, Bell called the Montreal riot police after the ops and techs formed a human blockade infront of Bell HQ. Bell called in Montreal's riot police so their non-unionized scab workers could get to work. On April 28, at the BCE shareholders meeting, an estimated 800 Bell workers/shareholders set small fires, and demanded that BCE share the profits with the employees. Meanwhile, BCE claimed to have "lost $115 million" in Q1 of 1999, despite gross revenues of $3.5 billion. The "loss" is blamed on Nortel, which bought out another telecom company, and losses at BCI (Bell Canada International) and other international interests. Bell Canada strike update: On May 11, Bell and union leaders announced an agreement in principle. When the deal takes effect, Bell's 7,200 techs will get an 8.4% raise over five years and a shorter work week (they barely put any hours in before the strike IMO). The 2,300 ops get nothing except for a "cost-of- living catch-up in [sic] the last two years." A union official stated, "[the deal] improves people's likelihood of keeping their jobs for the life of the agreement." Bell also promised to keep an additional 100 ops under its wing. The other 1,300 bitter ops will no longer work for their beloved Bell Canada. They'll work for "Nordia Inc." (it seems the new company isn't "NEWCO" anymore). It is obvious that Bell is trying to split the union by offering the techs a nice pay increase as a compromise for hammering on their ops. Bell's simple strategy of divide and conquer through greed worked. On May 15, 80% of the union voted in favour of the new deal. Essentially, the techs sent the ops into Bell exile. This is a good deal for Bell, but obviously not for customers that have to deal with the infamously bitchy Bell Canada ops. They certainly will become even more bitter now. CROSSED WIRES - {WIRES} Advertisement for CyberCrime International Magazine. _______ ___ ___ ______ ______ _____ _______ _____ ____ ___ __________ ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) / ) ) / / / / _/ / \___/ __/ / / __/ / / / \___/ / \___/_ __/ / \___/ / \___/ / / / \___/ / / / \/ _/ / / \ / \ / / / / / (_______( (______)_____(______(___/ \ ____(___/ \__(__(_(__(______( (____) (____) /nFRAUD\rBL/97\ M A G A Z I N E There's going to be a new zine on the scene and it's called CyberCrime International Magazine. This new zine will be reader supported and cover a wide range of topics from every scene. So be afraid. Be VERY afraid. For more information visit the web site: http://come.to/cci_mag rad2921@cup.edu INTERVIEWS AND INTERROGATIONS - {INTERVIEWS} An interview with Overfien of 9x. = BLACKENED Overfien's comments are beneath my questions. - Introduce yourself to the readers of the Damage, INC. Newsletter... whatup, my nick is Overfien. I've been in the hack phreak scene for about 4 years now. Use to run a bbs called (Seattle's Devils). I've released a few of my articles out on the net on RCMAC/ISDN tips. I got started in Computers when I was 10; using a comm 64. Later on learned to program in pascal. Eventually I got packard bell 386.. started learning some basic...Then bought a pentium and learned to program a little java. Started going to 2600 meetingz. Chillen on irc. Took computer networking classes at the tech college. Starting to learn slowly how to program in "C" - How long have you been involved in the h/p scene? ive been in the hp scene for almost 5 years. - When was 9x started? How was the group formed? What are the goals and purpose of 9x? Is there anything in particular that you hope the group will achieve? 9x was started about 4 years ago. The group was formed by substance, SchizoMan (aka: microdot), Deliquent Dialer and a few others. It started as a very small unknown group and eventually got more known. The goal of 9x is to get more kids (and adults) into HP - To keep the public on new technology, hacks, and other ways of doing illegal things without getting caught. Probally to live on and stay active. As long as we the members active, 9x will never die. - How has 9x changed since the first text releases were written? 9x has changed ALOT over the years, we started out almost taking anything would give us if the info looked accurate... Now "we" as in 9x only take fully accurate info.. - As the editor of 9x, do you find that it's difficult to get people to write articles and contribute? Also, has releasing text files and 1-800/888 scans on a frequent basis been a challenge? No, everyone (well most) seems to stay somewhat active. We dont ask much of people, just to idle on #9x, show some support and contribute with a scan, or util once every few months. - What does it mean to be a member of 9x? Hmm.. get respect from other 9x members you get a vmb, conf infoz when we have em.. thats about it. - Can anyone write articles/text files/scans and submit them to 9x? Where should they be sent? How should people that are interested in contributing contact you and/or 9x? my email is overfien@bboy.com . You dont need to be a member to join 9x, anyone can submit and get on the greetz list. Any submissions should be mailed to the leader (Substance) or dcc'ed to a 9x member. - Normally, I wouldn't mention specific releases in an interview. However, I must commend Hazzmat and you for a recent 9x release written on PBXs. It was very well written, informative and accurate. Not that 9x's other text, scans and utilities aren't quality. In fact, I recommend that newbies download the ones explaining ANI, Octel, Alltel, OneConnect VMBs, Blue Boxing, DNS Spoofing, etc. The scans are great for newbies as well, as they can check out some of the various Unix systems listed. My question is, which of 9x's releases do you feel best represents the group? I would agree with you on the pbx file me and hazzmat wrote..I cant say any of them really represent, you have to decide ... - How does someone apply to join 9x as a member? Should they write an article first, submit a scan or otherwise prove themselves to be competent and knowledgable? Can anyone apply or is becoming a member by invitation only? anyone can become a member and you should scan an 800/888/x25 prefix, an article and or code a util to get looked at for membership. send submissions to jcat@raw.veloweb.com. - What types of things are normally discussed in #9x? we talk about life drugs, girlz, programming, new hardware all that shit. - Are you still actively involved in h/p? What do you think of the current h/p scene and how has it changed since you began? Yes i'm currently active.. I think the HP scene has changed for the worse since I see much more clueless, more kids from aol are claiming to be in scene, more and more windowz o/s user claim to be leet. we need more education for the public, less movies like Hackers which makes every kid with a computer feel like a hacker. - Do you read any h/p related zines? If so, please list a few of them. I wrote an article on national ISDN Networks. - Which h/p groups, if any, do you respect? b0, wod, darkcyde, Sun City Circuitz - Have you ever... at any time... considered joining another group? If so, which one(s) and why? I havent really considered joining another group totaly, but I considered merging 9x with other groups to make a more powerful final . I was about to consider joining Sun City Circuitz... although they were about to lease me an UltraSPARC-IIi 300MHz, 512k Cache...i declined because 2 of their members got arrested for stealing "meeting place software" - Which web sites do you usually frequent? www.darktide.com, hack.box.sk - Do you want to share any memorable hacking/phreaking experiences? Well defcon 5 the first night.. i got quite wasted and didn't wake up til the convention was over with... - Have you ever been busted? Or, do you know anyone that's been busted? If so, would you like to describe the event, the circumstances of the bust and the conclusion? i got busted a few times for forgery, theft2nd, computer tresspass..Deffered prosticution.. be a good boy for 2 years get it all off my record... - Do you want to mention any boards that you call or people in the scene that you know? Hideout in hell [360] Phantom Tollbooth [914] and ice [518] phreakz [360] Killer Spiral [212] Sun City Circuitz [360] Defcon Voice bridge [916] Centrex [916,292] utah party line [801] 2600 voice bridge [516] Greetz to: Microwave aka Digital Pawn, Crossbar, Dialt0ne, Hamster, Chameleon, Chyxxor, Nivphreak, Angieb, Bstring, Reveal, Corrupt Security, Superior, savec0re, Evil Operator, Power Dragon, Pail Head, Madgirl, Dr. Who, Alien Phreak, Tr1x, Dre, Queen B, Mr. Midnight, Skalar109, JF, Jack T. Dragon, DeathCraze, Broken-, Oclet, omega 2, Power Dragon, Geno Ramano, Jennicide, LoopHole, Data Angel, Hybr1d, Demos, Phaceman, Downt1me, Darcness, Buspar, all the 9x nigz - Are there any other interesting h/p experiences or general comments that you have and wish to share? Listen to the elders in the scene they generally know whatz best... - Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed Overfien. I'm sure that our readers will enjoy reading this interview and gain some insight about you and 9x. I've read most of 9x's releases, have a lot of respect for them and would like to contribute in the future. As I conclude this interview, I just want to say that 9x is definitely a quality group. Hopefully this Damage, INC. interview will benefit our readers and 9x in some way. If you want the newest 9x releases, they are available at: http://www2.dope.org/9x or http://pr0n.insomnia.org/9x [mirror #1] or send email to 9x@k0re.900mhz.org OBJECTIVE OPINIONS - {OPINIONS} America the Hateful. America the Beautiful. America the Violent. America the Hateful. At any given time there are millions of American citizens imprisoned. Some of them are rotting away in solitary confinement for years. But make no mistake, most of them will be released someday, in a worse state of mind than before their incarceration. And once they are free again, they will have no future to look forward to. Our very laws ensure that. Given that, their only means is to turn to crime for survival. Most Americans fear criminals, so they purchase weapons for protection. It isn't uncommon for them to have a gun or several guns in their homes. In fact, millions of guns are sold each year in this country. We have a constitutional right to bear arms and many citizens exercise that right. Every now and then a crime is committed and it gains a tremendous amount of publicity, which causes the media feeding frenzy to be unleashed and the government legislation machine is put into high gear. It's inevitable. Blame is quickly placed on guns, movies, television, video games, negligent parents, the media and the Internet among other things. People search for a reason and want the question "Why" to be answered simply and immediately. However, the answer isn't always simple and usually there isn't a single answer for why crimes such as school shootings and other mass killings occur. Yet that's what they want. And in most cases, they want to claim to know what the right answer is. News agencies, film companies, game manufacturers, musicians, organizations like the NRA, etc. are all easy targets so they usually take the brunt of the blame. Once people stop saying "How did this happen here?" and "I never thought that something like this could happen here!" they become angry with anyone and anything. Somehow that makes them feel better. Just as, calling incidents such as shootings "senseless acts" seems to comfort them. I cannot understand how those people can label them senseless and at the same time try to find a reason. Nor can I fathom why they insist on half heartedly trying to understand something which they obviously do not want to study, analyze, think seriously and logically about. In other words, they should know that the problem isn't going to be solved in a week. They should realize that it's much more complex than that. The very fact that they continue to happen means that they don't have all of the answers. That's a given. This is a country filled with anger, rage and hatred. Its culture is violent. Its people are violent. Without access to guns, there would still be other means of killing such as bombs. And how can one limit access to household materials that can be used to make bombs? Even if that were done somehow, how would they go about stopping someone from burning a building down? How can the use of chemical and biological weapons possibly be prevented? What about poison? What about homemade weapons? Will measures such as putting armed police officers in every school stop that? Will metal detectors at all of the building's entrances prevent any of the above threats? No, of course not. Some high schools already have armed guards and they've already experienced shootings. Plus, a metal detector won't stop someone with a gun from opening fire. When the detector starts beeping, the person will begin shooting. The shooting at the Capitol in Washington proved that. And if there are enough "deterrents" in place, the person that is driven and hellbent on killing will simply kill outside of the secured area. Will raising the age necessary to buy a handgun from 18 to 21 do anything? No, in my opinion that won't make a difference at all. No matter what Bill Clinton believes. The reason is that an underage kid can still buy a gun illegally, steal legally owned guns from houses, steal from gun shops, or persuade an adult to purchase the gun for them. Will any of the proposed gun legislation do anything? I honestly don't think that it's going to stop everyone that's determined to get guns or solve anything. All it'll achieve is giving the public a false sense of security. It will only allow them to forget about the issue after they utter the words "Problem solved." in ignorance. Should wearing dark clothing, like black t-shirts, jeans and trenchcoats be made a crime? Should cameras be installed in schools? Should music, movies and the Internet all be censored? Can information on how to build bombs be restricted or eliminated? Definitely not. For example, if every web site with information on how to build pipe bombs were suddenly eliminated, there are still books that contain the very same information on how to construct them. So, unless you want a good old fashioned book burning and revert to that type of logic, then don't be so hasty to censor and ban things. Unless of course you want everything to be restricted and want to give up your freedom of speech and expression rights. As you can see, this is a complex issue. Acting without thinking won't do anyone any good. It'll only serve to make things worse. The people out there that yell "Censor!" and "Get rid of all of the..." are the ones that pose more harm to our way of life than anyone else. If they had their way, we'd be stripped of so many of our rights that we'd be living in a totalitarian state. Perhaps that's their goal. Maybe they're just seizing the opportunity to voice their twisted 'solutions' and opinions when events such as shootings occur. In times like this people are willing to listen to almost any ideas no matter how radical and extreme they are. And that's why those people use tragedies to their advantage, to further their agenda and be heard by the masses. The real tragedy is that quite often the masses are panicking and overreacting to the point that they consider taking any drastic steps that are publicly put forward, instead of thinking and debating about what's being said. There's so much rhetoric that they don't know what to believe, so they latch onto the things that they think explain it simplest and best. In the end though, it's hate. The root cause of it all is hatred and the amount that exists in this society. People are hated for dressing differently, acting differently and living differently. Individualism isn't just frowned upon, but the people that choose to express their uniqueness and embrace their individualism are shunned. That's even though they are often polite, intelligent people. Until the real issue of hatred is addressed in this country, nothing will be solved. In conclusion, I want to make it very clear that I'm not advocating the use of guns. Nor do I encourage anyone to solve their problems (real or perceived) through violent means. If you are treated like an outcast, transfer to another school or take some other measures to resolve the situation. Don't think of yourself as a victim and don't victimize innocent people. If you are consumed by deep anger and rage, try to find a way other than violence to take out your frustrations. It just isn't worth ruining your life, even if people constantly taunt and torment you. Find another way. You can trust that if you do go out and shoot people, you will definitely be viewed as a coward regardless of the circumstances. If you kill yourself, surrender or are shot and killed by the SWAT team the result will be the same. The media, the police and the public will label you as a coward. It's a no win situation. In the end the result is always the same, the shooter is labelled as being a coward for the acts that they committed. And so, if you are a person that's considered it, or just had a passing thought about it, take my advice. Written by Blackie Lawless � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. REPORTS FROM THE FRONT - {REPORTS} Intel's Pentium III chips, If you find an article that's relevant and would be of interest to others, send it to damage_inc@dope.org so that we can include it in this publication. Share the information. ;) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnered from www.bigbrotherinside.com Intel's new chips contain a unique number that has all the makings of a Social Security Number for the Internet... and all the privacy problems that went with it. Like governments and credit bureaus and direct marketers using the number to build huge databases of profiles on consumers... and selling that personal information without your knowledge or consent. Do you want personal information about your web browsing and online behavior available to government and corporate interests? Of course not. Intel is saying that using the number will be optional. Yeah, sure, if you don't mind giving up your favorite software. Before you buy an Intel-numbered computer, ask yourself what you're going to do if Microsoft and other software companies demand the number for copyright protection. Protect your privacy by joining the boycott against Intel products. Send them the message that you're not buying a computer with Big Brother Inside. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnered from TIME.com Intel Bows to Serial Number Scare TIME Digital: Is the Pentium III a threat to your privacy? Facing protest and even boycott, Intel relented yesterday on plans to ship new Pentium III chips with a hardcoded ID code turned on. But the hardware signature can still be activated through software and privacy advocates are calling Intel's reversal a "temporary fix." A graphic on one protest site changes the familiar "Intel Inside" graphic to read "big brother inside." [What else can Intel's "solution" be called other than that? Would saying that it's "bullshit" be more appropriate?] Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center asserted "There's not enough assurances here that the chip will not be abused." His organization's call last week for a boycott was echoed on Friday by Rep. Ed Markey, head Democrat on the House consumer protection subcommittee, who wrote to Intel's CEO asking the company to withdraw the ID plans: "Intel's new product improves technology for online commerce in a way that compromises personal privacy." [Protest, fight, boycott, scratch and claw. Do whatever it takes to stop flagrant attempts by Big Brother to remove our privacy.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pirates Sneer at Intel Chip by Polly Sprenger 9:25 a.m. 22.Jan.99.PST Intel Thursday said that its next-generation processors include a feature that will identify online users as they traverse the Web. Intel says its Processor Serial Number Control utility will protect e-commerce transactions. When the feature is activated, the computer's identifier can be matched against the sensitive information the user inputs, validating the exchange. Intel (INTC) also claims that the new utility will make pirating software more difficult. Pirates are unimpressed. Privacy advocates are worried. [Of course they are. They have just cause to be concerned. The incorporation of that so-called "feature" on Intel's new chip is a blatant invasion of privacy on Intel's part that shouldn't go unnoticed.] Their fear is that the feature can be used to identify users who visit sites without making a purchase, even when they haven't voluntarily given out their information. Intel said users can turn the feature off easily, but the chip is built to immediately broadcast an identifying serial number as soon as it is connected to the Internet. Patrick Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of Intel's desktop products group, said the feature has far-reaching implications for protecting online copyrighted material. The serial number would create an electronic stamp of the material's point of origin, Gelsinger said. For software manufacturers, the new chip feature shows promise as a weapon against piracy. If each software license can only be used on the computer with the correct serial number, the market for pirated software goods essentially evaporates. Software vendors have been asking Intel for years to build some kind of identification into its hardware, the company said. Peter Beruk of the Software Publisher's Association said the chip could help his organization with its anti-piracy efforts. "We're going to support any technology that helps protect the licensing of software," Beruk said. But, he added, the privacy issue was troubling, and the industry shouldn't endorse an anti-piracy effort that threatens the privacy of honest Web users. [But who cares about privacy right? Just as long as it helps combat pirating.] The pirates themselves only shrugged. "This won't stop piracy, because someone very soon will compile a patch or some other way to outsmart it, and then the piracy will be right back on track with new blood," said one member of the Warez community. "If I've thought of this, the market strategists at Pentium have thought of this as well." Other members of the online underground elite were even less interested in the announcement. "It's an invasion of privacy that the hackers and Warez [d00ds] are not concerning themselves with," said another Warez member. [They aren't? Many are very interested and concerned about matters of privacy.] Jim Yankelevich, director of technical operations for LaptopSales.com, an online retailer, said the new chip is nothing more than a gimmick to sell computers. Yankelvich said he used to be a software pirate "in a long forgotten time" and doesn't see how it will be effective in combating piracy. "As we have already found out, tracking computer users is not as easy as it sounds," Yankelvich said. "As far as the technological ramifications -- the extra security will boost e-commerce, maybe for no other reason than that it makes consumers feel a little safer. Piracy will probably not be affected by this, because companies will be slow to catch on, and by the time they do, someone somewhere will figure a way to defeat it." Copyright 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnered from CNN.com Privacy groups to announce boycott of Intel products January 25, 1999 Web posted at: 3:02 a.m. EST (0802 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Privacy groups will announce a boycott Monday of all products from Intel Corp. until the company agrees to disable new technology in its upcoming line of Pentium III computer chips that helps identify consumers across the Internet. Privacy rights groups say personal identification numbers embedded in the new chips could lead to an erosion of privacy, while Intel claims the ID numbers will allow for more secure online transactions. [It would lead to an overwhelming amount of new products with anti-privacy "features" and devices built-in. Personal privacy is already eroding every single day.] Intel said its technology also can be used to avoid piracy by preventing a single copy of a software program from being installed on several machines. "Not even the tamest privacy advocate has failed to condemn it," said Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters Inc. of Green Brook, New Jersey, which lobbies on a range of high-tech issues. It organized the boycott with the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts), urged Intel on Friday to reconsider its plans, "to better balance both commercial and privacy objectives." Markey is the senior Democrat on the House consumer protection subcommittee and active in Internet privacy issues. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said late Sunday that the company hadn't been notified of the boycott. He said Intel has been in talks about its technology for several weeks with Junkbusters, and previously had meetings planned this week with both Catlett's group and the privacy information center. Mulloy said it would be "difficult to tell" the potential impact of any boycott of Intel. [Difficult to tell? Hmm... What's so difficult about it?] Developing user profiles "That serial number can be linked in databases like your Social Security number is used by credit bureaus and marketing companies," Catlett said. "It allows a massive profile to be efficiently collected and sold." Intel, the world's largest chipmaker with $26.2 billion in sales last year, announced last week that the new Pentium III chip, to be sold within months, will by default transmit its unique serial number internally and across the Internet. Consumers can turn the feature off, but it turns itself back on each time the computer is restarted. [Surprise... surprise.] In addition to making about 85 percent of the world's computer processors, Intel also manufactures memory chips plus hardware for computer networks, communications and graphics. Catlett called the Pentium III chips that already have been produced "toxic hardware." [Obviously, I agree with that statement wholeheartedly.] "They should destroy them," said Catlett, who spoke last year at a summit on Internet privacy in Washington organized by the Commerce Department. [Yes, they definitely should. And all future attempts of using these types of Big Brother identifiers should be immediately stopped and banned.] As part of their boycott, organizers will unveil a parody of the company's ubiquitous "Intel Inside" logo. Theirs features the same familiar swirl but with the words, "Big Brother Inside." [It looks good too.] Tough law in Europe Intel's announcement comes at an awkward time for the Clinton administration. David Aaron, undersecretary of state for commerce, was to begin negotiations Monday in Europe -- the same day as the boycott announcement -- over a tough new privacy law enacted by the 15-nation European Union last October. "It couldn't have come at a worse time," Catlett said. "This new feature from Intel is really throwing kerosene on the fire of the trans-Atlantic privacy negotiations." Aaron must assure Europeans that the United States has adequate privacy protections or risk a prohibition against businesses in those 15 countries from disclosing personal information about citizens there to U.S. companies. Aaron warned Friday that such a ban would carry "a very adverse impact on the operation of the economies on both sides of the Atlantic and could be a very serious blow." The Electronic Privacy Information Center said it will meet later in the week with the Federal Trade Commission to discuss Intel's plans. The FTC has criticized the online industry for its failure to protect privacy rights, and the agency successfully pressed last year for a new law that prohibits Web sites from collecting personal information from children without parental permission. Coincidentally, the FTC also is suing Intel for alleged antitrust violations. The trial is set to begin March 9. The Associated Press contributed to this report. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/17820.html In a world of ad banner targeting, cookies, and consumer "profiling," some have come to believe that total online privacy is a myth. Zero-Knowledge Systems is out to prove them wrong. The Canadian software start-up gave a demo of its Freedom 1.0, its so-called total privacy technology, on Tuesday at the Demo '99 conference in Indian Wells, California. "When you browse the Internet, your personal information is routinely collected and often distributed without your knowledge or consent," said Austin Hill, president of Montreal-based Zero-Knowledge Systems. "With Freedom, you can safely browse Internet sites, participate in public discussions, chat, and send email without revealing any of your personal information." Presently, Web users leave footprints every time they request a Web page or send an email. But by building in multiple layers of encryption and re-routing, Zero Knowledge Systems promises totally anonymous Web browsing and Net use. Freedom offers Net users a variety of pseudonyms -- online identities created for different, Internet-related tasks, such as shopping or online discussions. Users can assign each pseudonym a different email address, geographic location, and encryption key. Each alias allows a user to visit differet Net sites under different identities. The privacy effect is that users can avoid profiling by Internet marketers. Public key cryptography scrambles the contents of any Internet-bound data from the user's PC, such as email, chat transmissions, and Web browsing. The crypto also hides the source and destination of Internet traffic routed through the service, which the company says will also block cookies and filter spam. Law enforcement agencies will likely find the prospect of totally untrackable Net use troublesome. The system may attract extortionists as much as it will appeal to those with a legitimate need to hide, including whistle-blowers, human-rights workers, and harassment victims. In testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on 4 February, FBI Director Louis Freeh said that strong crypto will be a boon to terrorists. "The continued widespread availability and increasing use of strong, non-recoverable encryption products will ... devastate our capabilities for fighting crime, preventing acts of terrorism, and protecting the national security." Hill built the Zero Knowledge Systems business model atop an increasingly uncertain public policy climate. Because the product uses very strong crypto, it may be subject to recently tightened global controls on crypto distribution. The Wassenaar Arrangement is expected to increase crypto restrictions in 33 countries, including Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. Any developer of super-strength cryptography, such as Zero-Knowledge, would need to obtain export licenses just as US crypto vendors do now. As a hedge, the company regularly exports the Freedom software code to an undisclosed offshore location. Should Canada's export policy on strong encryption change abruptly, Hill said he would ask his programmers to leave the country and continue development in a country free from the restrictions. Copyright 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft admits to secret code in Windows ------------------------------------------ March 8, 1999 WASHINGTON - Microsoft Corp., whose software runs most of the world's personal computers, admitted Sunday that its latest version of Windows generates a unique serial number secretly planted within electronic documents that could be used to trace the identities of the authors. In a disclosure with enormous privacy implications, Microsoft also said it is investigating whether it is collecting the serial numbers from customers even if they explicitly indicate they didn't want them disclosed. "If it is just a bug," said Robert Bennett, Microsoft's group product manager for Windows. "If it is indeed happening.... we'll absolutely have to fix that." Programmer Richard Smith of Brookline, Mass., noticed last week that documents Smith created, using Microsoft's popular Word and Excel programs in tandem with the Windows 98 operating system, included within their hidden software code a 32-digit number unique to his computer. The number also appears in a log of information transmitted to Microsoft when customers register their copies of Windows 98, even if they say they don't want details about their computers sent to the company. Widely used programs Microsoft's Word and Excel programs are among the most widely used, and its Windows operating system run roughly 85 per cent of the world's personal computers. "Nobody to my knowledge has had a database that would allow a piece of written material to be traced back to who wrote it," said Smith, president of Phar Lap Software Inc. "I don't expect Microsoft to do that kind of tracing, but it's sort of unprecedented." Bennett said Microsoft will create a software tool to let customers remove the number, which he said is meant to help diagnose problems for customers, who call with technical questions. Smith suggested, however, that Microsoft also could use the technology to identify stolen copies of Windows by comparing the hardware serial number with a 20-digit Windows product number that also is transmitted when a customer registers. The industry claims annual losses from software piracy at more than $11.4 billion US. "If they suddenly see the same product ID number with different hardware ID numbers, it gives them evidence for court that there's software piracy," Smith said. Looking into the issue Bennett said Microsoft was looking into whether the number, called a Globally Unique Identifier, ever was obtained from customers who didn't want details about their computer hardware disclosed, such as their network addresses. The identifier is partly based on a 12-digit number unique to each network adapter, a hardware device allows high-speed Internet connections. Bennett promised that Microsoft also will wipe any of those numbers from its internal databases that the company can determine may have been inadvertently collected. Privacy activists weren't mollified. "This is going to be a cleanup job larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill," said Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters Corp. of Green Brook, N.J. which lobbies on privacy issues. "There are billions of tattooed documents out there." Associate Press ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PHONE OPTIONS RING IN Sprint Hopes To Win Telus Customers By Wanda Ehlers Calgary Sun Calgary's phone market got a whole lot busier yesterday as Sprint Canada Inc. announced it will take on Telus in the local phone business. Calgary will be the first Canadian city to be offered alternative local telephone services for both business and residential customers, Sprint's parent firm said yesterday. Starting today, Call-Net Enterprises will begin an advertising and telemarketing blitz in an attempt to court Calgarians into switching service providers. Sprint's basic local service inside Calgary will be $22.61 per month and rise to as high as $30.61 in outlying regions. Those who buy local service and either internet or long distance from Sprint will get a $2 discount off the basic rate. The newly-merged BCT.Telus charges virtually identical rates in Alberta for basic service. But both providers say the real advantage will be in getting more bang for your buck with services like calling features, long distance and internet access. "For the first time in the 120-year history of telephone service in this country, there is now real local competition for business and residential customers," said Call-Net chief executive Juri Koor. AT&T Canada also weighed (sic) into the fray, quietly announcing plans to provide local service for business customers in up to seven major urban markets this year. Calling Calgary a strong market that's open and accepting to competition, Sprint Canada president Philip Bates said Cowtown was an obvious market to launch into the $8.5 billion local phone wars. The switch will be virtually seamless, Bates said, with no special equipment or charges involved in moving to the new provider. Customers will also be able to keep their existing phone numbers. Along with Calgarians, residents of Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, and High River will have the option to choose Sprint Canada as their new local provider. Within three years, Sprint expects to be in 25 major Canadian markets, including Edmonton. The company will use its existing long-distance customer base of 1.3 million as a launching pad for local service and will be in a position to reach out to six or seven million households by the time the rollout is complete. Telus welcomed the competition, adding it's been ready to take on all comers since deregulation in 1994. "Last year, we actually increased our (long distance) market share," said spokesman Jeff Welke. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By George Beran, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Minn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Dec. 12--US West is offering three new services that allow telephone customers to block incoming and outgoing calls at a separate monthly cost of $3.95. The services called US West Do Not Disturb, Dial Lock and Call Curfew give residential and business customers control of phone use by family members and employees. "Customers can block incoming calls at dinner time, restrict their teen-ager's phone usage or eliminate unwanted long-distance charges on their monthly bill," said Gloria Davy, a US West executive. Advanced network technology is giving US West and other telephone firms the ability to create services like these and generate more revenue, said Fred Voit, a telecommunications analyst with the Yankee Group. But the services may have limited appeal, Voit believes, since they are offered separately instead of as a package. "If you want them, they're great services, but I doubt they are mass market services. If they were bundled in a package, it would be a terrific differentiator in the market." Older services such as call forwarding, call waiting and caller ID are growing slowly by being included in service packages, but have relatively low market penetration rates, according to Voit's national statistics. Call waiting is the most popular option, with a 41.6 percent penetration rate; caller ID is next at 29.6 percent; call forwarding stands at 13.5 percent and remote call forwarding at 2 percent. With Do Not Disturb service, customers can block incoming calls during time periods when no interruptions are desired. Customers can designate numbers they want to receive, so they don't miss important calls. Dial Lock enables customers to block all outgoing calls with exception of emergency 911 calls. The blocking includes long distance, 900, 960 and 976 numbers, operator-assisted and directory assistance calls plus toll-free 800, 877 or 888 numbers. A special PIN code allows customers to override the blocking. Call Curfew blocks incoming and outgoing calls, except to 911, during time periods the customers select. Designated calls pass through but others get a recorded message that calls are not being received. No added equipment is required to receive the services. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ameritech's New Call-Blocking Service Is Too Costly, Trade Group Says By Doug Sword, The Indianapolis Star and News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 5--If you've ever wondered what it would be worth to rid yourself of pesky, dinner-interrupting telemarketers, Ameritech has the answer: $3.95 a month. Beginning today, Ameritech will roll out its new Privacy Manager service in three Indiana cities -- Indianapolis, Gary and Hammond. While the service costs $3.95 a month, it requires Caller ID with Name to work, which costs an extra $9.50 a month. That's too much, says a telemarketing group, arguing that consumers can get pretty much the same result by being firm with telemarketers and asking to be removed from calling lists. Unlike any other privacy-protection service, such as Caller ID, Privacy Manager will identify 100 percent of callers, says Curt Witte, Ameritech's vice president for customer applications. That offers customers a degree of control over their phone line they've never had before, he said. This is how it works: Privacy Manager kicks in when a call shows up as "blocked," "private," "out of area," "unavailable" or "unknown" on a Caller ID display. Ameritech's research shows that calls from telemarketers generate a large majority of these kinds of messages, Witte said. Before connecting the call, Privacy Manager kicks in and asks the caller to give his or her name. In initial testing, seven out of 10 of these callers simply hung up, Witte said. "The beauty is that your phone doesn't even ring," he said. If the caller does identify himself or herself, the consumer's phone rings and a recording of the name is played. If the consumer presses "1" on the touch-tone phone the call is put through and pressing "2" rejects the call. Pressing "3" activates a message that informs the caller that telemarketing calls are not accepted at this residence and asks that the consumer's name be added to the telemarketer's "do not call" list. That's a legally binding request, Ameritech points out. Federal law prohibits telemarketers from calling someone who's made such a request for 10 years. Consumers can make the same legally binding requests themselves without paying $13.45 a month for Caller ID and Privacy Manager, says Chet Dalzell, spokesman for the Direct Marketing Association, a telemarketing industry trade group. "Generally, any consumer who does not want to receive telemarketing calls at home has choices," he said. Telling each telemarketer who calls to remove your name from a calling list is one way to do it. Anyone wishing to be removed from the calling lists of all Direct Marketing Association members need only send a letter with their name, address and phone number to Telephone Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014. Some customers love to buy the latest telephone technology and Privacy Manager "is a feature that some people will find handy," said Jerry Polk, utility policy analyst for Citizens Action Coalition. But Privacy Manager raises the question of "Where does it end?" he said. Local phone companies came up with Caller ID, then they sold a product to telemarketers that blocked Caller ID, Polk said. Now Ameritech has come up with a new feature that thwarts the Caller ID block. Ameritech plans to follow Privacy Manager's introduction with an advertising campaign beginning Jan. 18. The ads will feature peaceful home scenes, asking the viewer if it's worth interrupting a family's time together with calls from telemarketers. One of the ads targets Ameritech's rivals, long-distance companies, as a prime source of intrusive telemarketing calls. The technology that allows an answering system to interact with both a caller and a customer is new and exclusive to Ameritech. The Chicago-based company is negotiating with other telephone companies to sellthem a license to use the technology. Ameritech rolled the product out first in Chicago and Detroit last September, followed by Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. The trio of Indiana cities where Privacy Manager becomes available today represents the third wave of the product's rollout. Ameritech will offer the product in stages through next year in the remainder of its five-state Midwestern territory. Privacy Manager, like Caller ID and call-waiting, falls into a category of products that aren't regulated by Indiana. Ameritech critics claim that the cost of adding such products to a phone line is only a small fraction of what the company charges for them. Critics also point to the huge profits these unregulated products generate as a major reason Ameritech has reported record profits in each of the last five years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================== * Original in area CAN.INFOHIGHWAY * Original from IS Staffing Solutions 17:5141/2 * Original to All , on 01-05-1999, 00:39:18AM * Original about "Bell screws new Sympatico HSE (DSL) customers in Toronto" ====================================================== From: isstaff@tande.com (IS Staffing Solutions) Subject: Bell screws new Sympatico HSE (DSL) customers in Toronto Don't you hate companies who offer what they can't provide ! I was one of the thousands of people who recently ordered Sympatico's High Speed Edition DSL service which has only been available for a couple of weeks. About 10 days ago, I applied and was told that YES, service was available to lucky ol' me ! A loop check was done on my line and my order was confirmed, with an activation date of Jan.4... So today I get home, all excited to kick ass in Quake 2 and do some downloading...but what ? No ADSl package waiting as promised ? I figured:ah well, maybe the package was a day late or something. Then at about 9pm, the phone rings: Its some kid, calling from Sympatico. He went on to tell me that NO, after all, you will not get your DSL service now...the Bell Central Office near me is (get this) "exhausted", and "we will call you whenever the service does become available." (I live in downtown toronto ) He went on to tell me that my package with the modem and shit was still on its way, and that I should install the modem, network card etc. and then just wait for whenever they call to say service was available (which they would not even estimate !). He mentioned that "we were given a big list of people to call", and tell them this joyous news. Gee, thanks a lot, Bell. Maybe I'll get the damn cable modem after all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THOUGHTS, POEMS AND CREATIVE WRITING - {WRITING} Oppression. It's such a simple word; oppression. And yet it carries so much meaning. The very word itself conveys a strong message, can conjure images and stir up emotions amongst many people. Indeed, it is an extremely powerful word. Thus, it shouldn't be overused or abused, lest it lose its intended meaning. It must be used in the right situations and spoken with vigor, otherwise it loses its effectiveness. It is a word that is designed to be said with feeling and emotion. Oppression simply isn't a topic that should be taken lightly or discussed in a manner that's not serious. It should be important to all. Oppression in any form is destructive and a threat to us all. It shouldn't just be ignored because it's affecting someone else rather than you. It's a matter that we should all think about and never ignore. That's exactly what I've been doing lately, prompted to a great degree by recent events that've unfolded. So, I decided to use this as a forum to share my thoughts on the topic as a way of expressing what I feel oppression means. So what forms of oppression still exist in society? There's slavery, torture, various human rights violations, censorship, eavesdropping, spying, removal of privacy by other means, search and seizures, restrictions on electronic exploration, restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of information, freedom of assembly, the right to protest and demonstrate, restrictions on personal defense and all kinds of civil liberties. And that's just for starters. Many civilians are controlled and used like pawns. The rights that are bestowed upon them are dictated and governed by a small group of people that makes all the decisions for them. In essence, they're kept down. They're oppressed and many of them don't even realize it. Oppression has to be said with conviction and written with purpose. It has to be spoken and used with meaning. To abuse it is to diminish it and then it loses its meaning. On the other hand, not to speak of it is to ignore the simple fact that oppression still exists in many forms. We cannot just blindly accept that or try to forget it. If we do, you can be assured that someday we will all be oppressed to such a degree that we won't know what it means not to live under oppressors. And by that time, there will not be anyone left to fight back and defend against them. Written by Blackie Lawless � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. CLOSING COMMENTS - {CLOSING} BLACKENED's Explanatory Closing Comments. THC Phreak was going to write the Introduction and Closing Comments for this issue, but that all changed due to the events that I've already described. Therefor, I'll keep this very brief and just say that we hope to continue releasing issues of the Damage, INC. Newsletter on a regular basis. The unexpected events that have unfolded have delayed us and presented us with some new problems, but don't expect it to stop us from continuing to release this zine. "Our government lies to us all the time." - Gov. Jesse Ventura On a personal note, the last couple of months have been a blur. In the last 6-8 weeks I've been caught up in a whirlwind of problems in my personal life, as well as dealing with the witchhunt surrounding THC Phreak and that whole unfortunate situation. To be blunt, it has been a hellish time. I've also been plagued by some health problems lately. So, those are some of the reasons why the release of this issue was delayed for so long. Needless to say, we are hoping that things improve and that we'll be able to continue this zine and work on other projects. However, there might be some changes within the group. At this point, I am contemplating resigning as Editor of the DIN. If I make the decision to do that, it'll be on a temporary basis and isn't based on anything relating to the actual zine itself, but rather on outside factors. And if I do decide to take a hiatus for a few months, either Shatazar or Blackie Lawless will take over. I have complete confidence in both of them and feel that working together or independently they can do an adequate, competent job at continuing on the tradition that is the Damage, INC. Newsletter. If anyone has any relevant, important questions regarding the status of this zine or my Editorship, direct them to blackened@disinfo.net and I'll do my best to answer them. Lastly, I just want to reassure everyone that there are no current plans to cease publishing this zine. It'll continue for as long as there's support and readers out there that are interested in it. Although we cannot stop Big Brother from manipulating puppets, influencing and brainwashing zombies, or prevent them from spreading propaganda, disinformation, outright lies, corrupting and destroying everything that's worthwhile in this world... we *can* and will do something. We'll continue to speak out, spread the truth, expose the coverups and lies and do anything in our power to fight them. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Damage, INC. Phreaky Field Phreaking List (Spring Edition) was released in March. Visit the web site to get a copy and contact us if you want to contribute numbers. We plan on making changes and additions to it and an expanded Summer Edition is in the works. It should be released in the next couple of months. So, start scanning and send in those numbers. And if you're too paranoid to scan 1-800s from home, use a damn payphone. It's toll free. Any numbers (including local numbers you scan and find in your NPA) that you send in are appreciated. We've started a project which involves putting together a collection of payphone pictures, to be displayed on our web site. In order for it to be a success, it will require the contributions of many people that have access to phones in various countries/cities that we don't. So, if you have a camera and want to become involved in this project, contact us at damage_inc@dope.org or just send us whatever telco related pics (payphones, COs, switching stations, Bell cans, etc.) that you have. We've released some lists of dialups for X.25 packet switching networks (AlaskaNet, Datapac, SprintNet, BT Tymnet, etc.) So, if you're interested in obtaining them, download MCI.ZIP and SPRINT.ZIP from the web site. Milestone: We've had over 8750 hits to the web site. Visit it often for updates and new releases. Quotes: Shatazar - "Millenniums have alarms, but they don't have cameras... *yet*." THC Phreak - "You know I'm still down with Damage, INC. man." Blackie Lawless - "Those sick, misguided fuckers should stick to what they know best; mounting their horses while wearing their ridiculous looking hats and uniforms. They must think they're the Secret Service of the North." BLACKENED - "It's now official. The RCMP stands for Repressive Canadian Militant Pigs. Their actions have proven it." - EOF