____ _____________ ___________ _____ ____\ |_\_ | _ _ |_\_ | _ | _ |__________ _ _ ___ | _ | _ | | | | _ | | | | |-| _ | | ______\ | /___ | | | | | | | | | |____ | ___| | | | |-| \ |zZ! /___ l______|_____|__|-|__|_____|__/__|___\___|_|_|___|_ ___________ ___________ | _ | _ | |-| | ___/_ | | _ \_ __/_|_ _ | \_ D a m a g e , I N C .| | | | | | | |___ | | | | | \_ _/ | | |__/ | | | ___| | | | | | |--| ___| | | ___| | N e w s l e t t e r |__|__|___\ |_______|_____|_____|___\ |__|__|___\ |__| Volume 2, Issue #16 (Released: 07/31/99) "In Chaos and Madness." http://surf.to/damage_inc damage_inc@disinfo.net 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� C O N T E N T S : � INTRODUCTION - An Introduction to the Damage, INC. Newsletter. � ADVISORIES - The structure of BCE explained. � Search String: {ADVISORIES} � BIG BROTHER BASHING - Bill C-3 makes the Kanadian DNA Bank a reality. � Search String: {BIG BROTHER} � BLACKENED'S TIP OF THE MONTH - Not available in this issue. � Search String: {BLACKENED} � BREAKER'S REVIEWS - Canadian H/P Sites. � Search String: {REVIEWS} � CONSPIRACIES AND COVERUPS - What really happened at Waco in 1993. � Search String: {COVERUPS} � CROSSED WIRES - An Advertisement for Blackzine. � Search String: {WIRES} � H/P INFORMATION - TELUS articles and Nortel's Millennium Desktop payphones. � Search String: {H/P} � INTERVIEWS AND INTERROGATIONS - Interviews of RedBoxChiliPepper & Logic Box. � Search String: {INTERVIEWS} � NEWS FROM THE TRENCHES - Damage, INC. releases updates and news. � Search String: {NEWS} � OBJECTIVE OPINIONS - Hacktivism: The individual's tool against oppression. � Search String: {OPINIONS} � REPORTS FROM THE FRONT - An assortment of interesting articles. � Search String: {REPORTS} � THOUGHTS, POEMS AND CREATIVE WRITING - Chaos and Madness. � Search String: {WRITING} � CLOSING COMMENTS - BLACKENED's chaotic closing comments. � Search String: {CLOSING} 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� < 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: Early in May, I wrote a poem entitled "Chaos and Madness" which has been included in this issue. It was written while I was suffering from an extreme case of fever. Basically, it describes my state of mind during that episode of illness. Since it was such an intense, memorable experience I decided that it would be a unique concept to fashion this issue after that premise. In a sense, it could be said that this issue will be 'feverish'. At least, I hope that it'll turn out that way as at this point, even though you're reading the Introduction, the issue has yet to be written. ;) So, why write about a fever? What's the purpose of that? The point of doing that is very simple. Although my illness extended beyond just having a fever, that in itself gave me a new perspective on things, one that I haven't had the opportunity to explore many times in my life, or just neglected to do so. In essence, a fever can change the way you look at things. It can be a mind altering experience that one might describe as chaos and madness. While a person is consumed by a fever they can enter a world in which the ordinary seems extraordinary. They can have visions or hallucinations. They might even think things that they had never previously thought, while the doors of perception are opened wide to them. Sure, there's a certain danger involved while a person is enduring a long lasting fever. But there also lies a great potential, for imagination and to an extent, wisdom. It's fascinating and sometimes can be the source of dramatically wild, lucid dreams... if you're able to just relax and embrace it. Obviously people's experiences differ however. For some it's almost like a bad trip, while for others it is more like sweaty roller coaster ride, an adventure filled with crazed thoughts and emotions. For me, fevers have always been more like the latter. In fact, to a degree I almost welcome them at times because of the way they can affect me, and open my mind to possibilities that I otherwise might never consider. They can be so surreal, almost hypnotic in their power and able to intensify my creativity that I don't fear them. Nor do I ever wish that my mind and body wouldn't have to endure them again. Perhaps I'm making too much of fevers and what they're capable of doing to one's mind, but I do believe that they can be responsible for some very strange, sometimes amazing things that cannot just be dismissed and ignored. In all honesty, I think they can do more than what science can currently explain, even though I have no concrete proof of that. However, in some cultures fevers are induced so that shaman can see visions and experience unworldly things in dreams, etc. So, maybe there is a basis for some of my claims. Regardless of that, even if there aren't any hard facts to support my statements, it is what I believe. And that's what matters. Madness can be genius. Chaos can be desirable. Think about it. ADVISORIES - {ADVISORIES} The structure of BCE explained. In this article, we'll take you inside BCE in order to explain how it is structured, show which companies it owns in part or in whole and chart its relatives (divisions, subsidiaries, partners, alliances, etc.) Basically, the reason we selected BCE as a topic is to expose them for what they are. The purpose of doing that is to finally eradicate the commonly held belief amongst Canadian telephone customers that each telco is owned and operated independently in each individual province of Canada. That's a myth that definitely needs to be shattered. The truth needs to be told. And it can be, through education by means of the facts. Thankfully, BCE has provided us with a vast amount of information, which of course will be used against them to prove our point, by clearly demonstrating the size of their monopoly. Again, much of the material discussed in this article is easily obtained, direct from the source. The rest has been gathered from various telco web sites, reports, news clippings and other forms of research. Also, a graph in the form of a GIF (garnered from BCE's web site) has been provided for you to view for clarification and as further proof of their ownership. It clearly demonstrates how the massive Canadian corporation known as BCE is structured. Personally, I feel that many of the telcos across the country under BCE's ownership are trying to pretend to be small, independent telephone companies. In essence, they're in hiding by attempting to keep everything (including mere affiliations) quiet. They're trying to fool everyone. That's something that we simply can't allow to happen. So, we've outlined the true nature of their relations and used their own clumsy words against them as the very proof. Enjoy. ;) BCE: About BCE: Welcome to BCE: Overview Welcome to BCE, Canada's global telecommunications company. We're a company of 58,000 employees, revenues of $27.5 billion and assets of more than $32 billion. We are one of the world's leading communications organizations. Our vision sees us as "people reaching out to bring the world together through communications with leadership, innovation, teamwork and excellence." We have core investments in telephone networks, both wired and wireless Internet Protocol (IP)-based networks and solutions electronic commerce systems integration directories satellite networks We are also a major player in high-speed internet access web hosting direct-to-home entertainment In 1998, BCE had (baseline) earnings of $1.6 billion. In the first quarter of 1999, BCE had (baseline) earnings of $367 million, a 14% increase compared to the same period in 1998. For further financial information, please go to the Investors section of the site. Last updated on July 26, 1999 "BCE's telecommunications interests are among the most comprehensive of any company in the world, spanning the key segments of the communications sector: Canadian communication services, system integration and e-commerce, media, technology and solutions, and international communications services. We are Canada's global communications company." (% ownership as at March 31, 1999) Bell Canada Group Bell (100%) Bell Actimedia (100%) Bell Mobility (65.3%) Bruncor (44.8%) Manitoba Telecom (20%)* Maritime T&T (34.3%) NewTel Enterprises (54.7%) Northern Telephone (99.9%) Northwestel (100%) Telabec (100%) Teleglobe (21.6%) CGI & BCE Emergis BCE Emergis (62.4%)* CGI Group Inc. (44.6%) BCE Media Bell ExpressVu (100%) Telesat Canada (100%) TMI Communications (100%) Nortel Networks (40.4%) Bell Canada International (73.7%) Jones Intercable (30.3%) - sold in April for US $508M BCE family of companies. BCE is Canada's global telecommunications company with 122,000 employees worldwide, revenues of $33 billion and assets exceeding $40 billion. BCE is one of the most diversified of the world's leading telecom companies, with interests in the services business, in equipment, in technology, in directories, in networks wired and wireless and in satellites. BCE represents the people, technology and solutions that enable communications for millions of customers, at home and abroad. Bell Nexxia is the new member of the 'BCE_Companies' BCE: About BCE: Company Profiles: Bell Canada Ringing changes at Bell Canada Bell Canada has travelled a long way in a short time. With the introduction of long-distance competition followed by the introduction of local competition, Bell has reinvented itself as a flexible, focused and aggressive competitor. As data surpasses voice traffic, Bell Canada is ready, with customer-driven services such as a national broadband network, e-commerce and distance learning. Service delivery is equally innovative, pushing the boundaries of what a phone company is -- or can be. Bell's digital copper infrastructure is complemented by fibre-optic cables, wireless and satellite services. But perhaps Bell's strongest asset is its connection to other BCE companies - connections that produce innovative stand-alone and bundled services that are unmatched in Canada. On June 1, 1999, a strategic partnership between BCE and Ameritech Corporation was finalized in which the U.S. company acquired 20% of Bell Canada for $5.1 billion. The primary focus of the partnership is to develop growth opportunities and introduce new services for customers. Ameritech serves customers in 50 states and 40 countries and has US $30 billion in assets. And on June 21, 1999, Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) and Bell Canada officially launched Intrigna - a joint initiative to offer leading edge and next generation telecommunication services to customers in the high growth business markets in Alberta and British Columbia. The Bell brand, which already enjoys strong recognition and trust, will help ease the introduction of innovative services, while differentiating Bell from the competition. Service bundling, which adds considerable customer value, also distinguishes Bell from the rest. For example, SimplyOne provides customers with one number for wireline and wireless service. And Bell World stores will demonstrate all of the products and services available through the BCE family of companies in an integrated, fun, informative fashion under one roof - with more than 200 locations to be completed by mid 2001. The entire profile above on Bell Canada was ripped from BCE's web site. Here's an article that I thought might be of interest to you. It shows just how much BCE has profited in the second quarter of 1999. BCE up sharply: "MONTREAL -- BCE Inc. Canada's largest telecom company, reported a multibillion-dollar profit in the second quarter, primarily from gains on the sale of a chunk of its Bell Canada unit to a U.S. phone giant. The Montreal holding company said it posted net profits of $4.6 billion for the three months ended June 30, compared with $295 million in the same 1998 period. The earnings included gains from the $5.1 billion sale of 20 per cent of Bell Canada to Chicago-based Ameritech as well as special charges related to acquisition costs at its Nortel Networks unit and restructuring charges at Bell Canada. Excluding special gains, BCE still enjoyed sharply higher profits from its operating units, as the company benefited from revenue and profit growth at Nortel." CANADIAN PRESS In conclusion, BCE is a very large, fat, Canadian giant. It's been the biggest fat cat monopoly corporation in this country for quite some time, and as you can see from the way it is structured, there aren't any plans to downsize. Their goal is to be involved in as many telco related industries as possible. And once their involved, and have established (or in some cases, bought) a subsidiary, the goal changes to monopolizing it so that they can increase and maximize profits. If they incur losses, they simply "restructure". Also, BCE not only thinks of the companies they own and have acquired as being mere "units", but they have been known to apply the same term to their customers. However, at the same time, they want everyone to think of BCE and all of the companies that it owns as being part of the "BCE family". They want it both ways. They're the classic faceless corporation that wants to be big and fat, but portray a public image of being a family oriented business. It's just another blatant lie used for brainwashing (err, marketing) purposes. In reality, they're a greedy company that wants to expand into any areas of business that they think might be profitable. They want to take over as many industries as possible. So much for the talk of stopping telcos from delving into residential cable, satellite and internet services, and even home security. BCE is literally everywhere in Canada and has at least partial (but more than minimal) ownership in virtually every major Canadian telephony related company. They also own many international telcos through their BCI division. So, it's not surprising to read BCE boast "This is Bell's world" on their web site (www.bce.ca). They also have Bell World stores and a Bell virtual World Tour site, etc. It's blatantly obvious that BCE loves to brag and boast. They have no humility or shame. In a future article, I'm going to explain BCE's subsidiaries in detail along with information on the Stentor Alliance. This was just the first article in a series dedicated to exposing the Canadian telephone system. Written by BLACKENED � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. BIG BROTHER BASHING - {BIG BROTHER} Bill C-3 makes the Kanadian DNA Bank a reality. Disclaimer: The sections of Bill C-3 (36th Parliament session) listed below comes from the Government of Canada web site. If there is any misinformation, they are responsible for it. Furthermore, if they failed to add or delete clauses due to revisions to the information I used as a reference, they are at fault. I spent over two hours searching their poorly organized site to make sure I have the most current information on Bill C-3. As is always the case, "ignorance of the law" is their greatest weapon. It has finally happened. Without warning from the biased mass media, on December 10, 1999, Bill C-3 received Royal Assent and was passed into law. Bill C-3 is titled "An Act respecting DNA identification and to make consequential amendments to the Criminal Code and other Acts." In stronger words, Bill C-3 creates a Canadian DNA Bank, and provides legal powers to the Thought Police and their medical associates to force "certain violent convicted persons" to have a DNA sample extracted from them. Another alarming point is that the DNA Bank will be maintained by the Commissioner of the RCMP (Repressive Canadian Militant Pigs). Bill C-3 has amended the Canadian Criminal Code to make it legal to force the extraction of bodily substances from a convict without their consent. Bill C-3 is officially known as the "DNA Identification Act" since it has been passed into law. However, I'll refer to the Act as Bill C-3 in this article. The National DNA Bank is divided up into two indexes; the Crime scene index, and the Convicted offenders index. The Bank shall also contain information such as the case number of the investigation associated with the DNA sample from which the profile was created, and in the case of a DNA profile in the Convicted offenders index, the identity of the person that the DNA sample belongs to. Below is what information will be in a Crime scene index: Crime scene index (3) The crime scene index shall contain DNA profiles derived from bodily substances that are found (a) at any place where a designated offence was committed; (b) on or within the body of the victim of a designated offence; (c) on anything worn or carried by the victim at the time when a designated offence was committed; or (d) on or within the body of any person or thing or at any place associated with the commission of a designated offence. Like most Canadian laws that infringe on privacy in order to protect "society," they are all written in this politically correct manner. The DNA Bank will allow the RCMP to bank all DNA profiles that are at the crime scene. Many people may not find anything wrong with this, but I find it disturbing. What kind of privacy protection is the victim offered? Obviously, the unfortunate victim was at the crime scene, so isn't it logical that the cops will take a sample from the victim so that they can disqualify his or her DNA samples that are scattered at the crime scene? If Big Bro's eventual motive is to bank the DNA of every citizen in the country, would they just throw away a victim's DNA profile? If the victim's DNA is corruptly abused, the victim is victimized again. In fact the RCMP will keep the Crime scene index indefinitely. Instead of destroying the DNA profiles, "access" to the DNA profile of a victim or cleared suspect (definitely a victim in their own right) are revoked, as stated in section 8.1 titled "Crime scene index." Below is the brief yet official description of what the Convicted offenders index will contain: Convicted offenders index (4) The convicted offenders index shall contain DNA profiles derived from bodily substances described in subsection 487.071(1) of the Criminal Code. The DNA bank will work as follows: When the RCMP Commissioner receives a DNA profile, it will be checked against the DNA data bank in order to determine whether it is already contained in the data bank. Then the Commissioner "may then communicate, for the purposes of the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offence, the following information to any Canadian law enforcement agency or laboratory that the Commissioner considers appropriate:" (a) whether the DNA profile is already contained in the data bank; and (b) any information, other than the DNA profile itself, that is contained in the data bank in relation to that DNA profile. Another interesting section of Bill C-3 reveals that "authorized users" will have access to the "automated criminal convictions records retrieval system" that is maintained and updated by the RCMP. This confirms that the DNA data bank will be fully computerized as well. I wonder if the RCMP is concerned that "unauthorized users" will also gain access to the information within the DNA data base? Their systems have been hacked in the past. You may be wondering how many people may request and expect to receive DNA data from the Commissioner of the RCMP. Well, basically all the pigs in the world according to section 6(3). The RCMP will take DNA profiles from the foreign cops, and compare it to all of the DNA profiles in the Canadian DNA Bank. Even if a criminal is allowed to, and does leave Canada in order to get a fresh start for their life, their DNA could easily follow them. Once Big Brother has a DNA profile, it can and will be shared worldwide. Below is a section that deals with how domestic pigs and other people can gain access to the information in the DNA data bank: Access to information 7. Access to information contained in the DNA data bank may be granted to (a) any person or class of persons that the Commissioner considers appropriate for the purposes of the proper operation and maintenance of the DNA data bank; and (b) the personnel of any laboratories that the Commissioner considers appropriate for training purposes. As you can see, this proves that one person (the RCMP Commissioner) has total authority over the DNA bank. He has total and complete reign over who gains access to the DNA samples and profiles contained within the Bank. As always, regardless of the country, Big Brother has one little section that deals with "violations of individual privacy" in order to give any mainstream critics a false sense of security. Here is the clause that is "supposed to" protect the DNA data bank from unauthorized use: Unauthorized use (6) No person who receives a DNA profile for entry in the DNA data bank shall use it or allow it to be used other than for the purposes of the administration of this Act. Pretty fucking vague as always. Even if a miracle happened, and a corrupt cop was caught and prosecuted for violating the above section 6(6), the punishment is weak considering the total destruction of the privacy of the individual. Here are the "punishments" that a hacker or private citizen would face should that person get caught: Offence 11. Every person who contravenes subsection 6(6) or (7), section 8 or subsection 10(3) or (5) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both. A police officer could technically fall under this section should they get prosecuted. According to what I have seen over the years, however, a month suspension with pay as the IA office in the RCMP clears them would be all the punishment they would receive in my opinion. Another portion of Bill C-3 that is supposed to make people feel better about DNA collection are sections that deal with the "access of information to be permanent removed" to the destruction of the DNA samples, in some circumstances. Big Brother is very careful not to reveal one very important fact; even if, by a miracle, the RCMP did remove easy access to information after a pardon or other event, or if the tissue/blood samples were destroyed, the RCMP will keep the DNA profile. It will be kept on record permanently, despite the sections that deal with sample destruction, etc. Just like in Canada, Young Offender records are to be deleted from a person's criminal record after they become an adult. However, that wasn't the case for someone I've met. Her current "record" contained her record as a youth, even though she is an adult now. What I am driving at is that the police, at any level, cannot be trusted to remove access to information like a DNA profile. They are always suspicious, and will never remove/dispose of information that they can use to their advantage, even if it is illegally kept or obtained. Fortunately, the RCMP can't rape a convicted person of his or her DNA for all offenses (yet). Below is a list of primary offenses which require a mandatory extraction of tissue from a convict: (a) an offence under any of the following provisions, namely, (i) section 151 (sexual interference) (ii) section 152 (invitation to sexual touching) (iii) section 153 (sexual exploitation) (iv) section 155 (incest), (v) subsection 212(4) (offence in relation to juvenile prostitution) (vi) section 233 (infanticide) (vii) section 235 (murder) (viii) section 236 (manslaughter) (ix) section 244 (causing bodily harm with intent), (x) section 267 (assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm) (xi) section 268 (aggravated assault) (xii) section 269 (unlawfully causing bodily harm) (xiii) section 271 (sexual assault), (xiv) section 272 (sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm) (xv) section 273 (aggravated sexual assault), and (xvi) section 279 (kidnapping), (b) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code, chapter C-34 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, as they read from time to time before January 4, 1983, namely, (i) section 144 (rape), (ii) section 146 (sexual intercourse with female under fourteen and between fourteen and sixteen), and (iii) section 148 (sexual intercourse with feeble-minded, etc.), (c) an offence under paragraph 153(1)(a) (sexual intercourse with step-daughter, etc.) of the Criminal Code, chapter C-34 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, as it read from time to time before January 1, 1988, and (d) an attempt to commit or, other than for the purposes of subsection 487.05(1), a conspiracy to commit an offence referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c); That's not all. There is a list of "secondary offenses." If a person is found guilty of one of the following offenses, tissue extraction is up to the discretion of "the court": (a) an offence under any of the following provisions, namely, (i) section 75 (piratical acts) (real piracy... not the warez d00d variety) (ii) section 76 (hijacking), (iii) section 77 (endangering safety of aircraft or airport) (iv) section 78.1 (seizing control of ship or fixed platform) (v) paragraph 81(1)(a) or (b) (using explosives), (vi) subsection 160(3) (bestiality in the presence of or by child) (vii) section 163.1 (child pornography) (viii) section 170 (parent or guardian procuring sexual activity) (ix) section 173 (indecent acts) (x) section 220 (causing death by criminal negligence) (xi) section 221 (causing bodily harm by criminal negligence) (xii) subsection 249(3) (dangerous operation causing bodily harm) (xiii) subsection 249(4) (dangerous operation causing death) (xiv) section 252 (failure to stop at scene of accident) (xv) subsection 255(2) (impaired driving causing bodily harm) (xvi) subsection 255(3) (impaired driving causing death) (xvii) section 266 (assault) (xviii) section 269.1 (torture) (xix) paragraph 270(1)(a) (assaulting a peace officer) (xx) section 279.1 (hostage taking) (xxi) section 344 (robbery) (xxii) subsection 348(1) (breaking and entering with intent, committing offence or breaking out) (xxiii) subsection 430(2) (mischief that causes actual danger to life) (xxiv) section 433 (arson - disregard for human life), and (xxv) section 434.1 (arson - own property) (b) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code, as they read from time to time before July 1, 1990, namely, (i) section 433 (arson), and (ii) section 434 (setting fire to other substance), and (c) an attempt to commit or, other than for the purposes of subsection 487.05(1) a conspiracy to commit an offence referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); Not the entire Criminal Code, but a nice chunk of it nonetheless. If you've read my articles on Bill C-17 in previous issues of the Damage, INC. Newsletter, Section (c) of both the primary and secondary offenses shouldn't be a surprise. In Canada, thought crime or "conspiracy to" as they call it gets you the same penalty as if you actually committed the crime. "Conspiracy" is enough to allow the cops to forcibly steal tissue from anyone. Also, if a person has committed a crime before the passing of Bill C-3 there are provisions so that a sample of their DNA can be taken as well. Under 487.052 (1) of the newly amended Criminal Code, it is legal for the court, under an application from the prosecutor, to apply for a special order (called Form 5.04) so that "any number" of samples can be taken from a convict or young offender in order to create a DNA profile. What criteria will be used to decide if DNA profiles are desired from a particular convict? I'll list the criteria below: Criteria (2) In deciding whether to make the order, the court shall consider the criminal record of the person or young person, the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission and the impact such an order would have on the person's or young person's privacy and security of the person and shall give reasons for its decision. Impact on a person's privacy? Any and all extractions have a dramatic impact on an individual's privacy. That kind of Big Brother duckspeak means nothing. The privacy of a convict is of no consideration to them in my opinion. That is the whole basis of acts like Bill C-3. In Canada and other countries, the protection of "society" is the weapon used to destroy individual privacy. Especially if the DNA data bank is maintained and controlled by organizations like the RCMP, which are only concerned about busting people... not privacy. That is why we have brought Kanada's new DNA Identification Act to your attention. Creating DNA profiles on victims, suspects, and convicted persons is only the beginning in my opinion. That is why I am so outspoken against this Act and the National DNA Bank. Big Brother works slowly, eroding our rights and destroying our privacy. In my opinion, this is only the beginning. Now that the DNA data bank is established, there is nothing stoping Big Brother from expanding it to include newborn babies (taking samples from the umbilical cords and sending them to a national laboratory for analysis) and so on. Any invasion of privacy is too much. It is too high of a price to pay just so the zombies in "society" can obtain a false sense of security, while Big Brother gains more of our personal information. Written by Shatazar � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. BREAKER'S REVIEWS - {REVIEWS} Canadian H/P Sites. Since I wasn't able to contact Breaker before the release of this issue, I decided to review some Canadian web sites. Even though the h/p scene in Canada isn't as large or known as much as in other countries, there are still some quality sites, groups and zines. So, read the reviews and then check out the sites. And if you have ideas for future reviews, contact us. Hack Canada www.hackcanada.com Hack Canada is one of the most well known Canadian h/p sites. It has a lot of resources and a generous archive section that offers an excellent assortment of texts, etc. The site is operated by CYB0RG/ASM and the rest of the Hack Canada crew. They're a knowledgable group of Albertans that support the Canadian scene by releasing relevant, useful information pertaining to many technological aspects of the telco, systems and devices. In addition to h/p texts and news, they have info on 2600 meetings for their area, 780/403 scene news, Canadian h/p info and links, etc. Plus, Hack Canada is updated frequently with new files and news. So make sure you check it often. They also seem to be a friendly, approachable, cool bunch of people from my experience. So don't be afraid to contact them. ;) One of HC's members named The Clone, submitted a couple of TELUS articles (see the H/P INFORMATION section) he wrote for this issue. Anyway, the only other thing I can say is that they're a quality group that's well respected in the scene... and their site is damn cool. Maniak.net www.maniak.net Located in Quebec, Maniak.net is another cool site. The big anarchy symbol that's displayed on their index.html page upon connecting sets the tone for what lies ahead. The site has information for newbies, Quebec scene info, news, numbers, a French zine named iGA, WWW board, links, etc. Most of the site is in French, which is the default. But there is limited English support as well. However, since I'm not fluent in French it's difficult for me to review their site. From what I can tell though, they're doing a good job of supporting the Quebec h/p scene. Nettwerked http://nettwerk.hypermart.net Nettwerked is run by The Clone. It's more than just your average h/p site. Besides just looking damn cool, Nettwerked is the home of a zine named K-1ine. Even though it's still a new zine (2 issues have been released thus far), the potential to achieve greatness is very evident. Meaning, it's a quality zine. Just as, after reading the first two issues of K-1ine it is apparent that The Clone knows/owns TELUS. ;) He's also an avid scanner, (manual/hand scanner) and you can find some of his scans in issues of K-1ine. And on Nettwerked, you can find links to sites that carry other Canadian zines... as well as other things such as DefCon pics (http://nettwerk.hypermart.net/defconpics). It's a great site with a zine that you should definitely check out. Visit it often as The Clone updates it often. Ontario Phreaking Home www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ba992/HomePage.phone.html This site contains pictures of various Bell cans (junction boxes, etc.) that are used in the Ottawa, Ontario region. It also has a small assortment of texts on phreaking and information on Ottawa's 2600 meetings. The Ontario Phreaky Home site doesn't seem to be updated regularly anymore. I don't want to disrespect them, but the name of the site is a little misleading since it isn't actually the home of phreaking in Ontario. Regardless of that, it does offer some good info for neophyte phreaks and the pictures are good. Phones of Zen http://poz.8m.com This site is the home of Lord Narayana's group, Phones of Zen. It's also the home of Blackzine (see the CROSSED WIRES advertisement). The site has h/p texts online, a unique personals section that lists hackers and phreaks from various NPAs... along with their contact info, etc. It also has information on the 2600 meetings in Calgary, projects, links, etc. Lord Narayana is also into scanning and many aspects of phreaking. Basically, he's a diehard Canadian phreak and his site reflects that. And he's a cool person too. ;) PLA Alberta www.linuxchick.com/jester Most likely you've run across a few PLA affiliate web sites before. But not all PLA affiliate sites are alike. Some are small and lacking. While others offer more local phreaking information, and are dedicated to supporting the h/p scene in their NPA/State/Province. Jester's site, PLA Alberta, falls into the latter category. Jester is also the editor of a zine named ALP. His site is fairly large, has a mailing list, message board, etc. Overall, PLA Alberta offers good information and has a nice layout. So check it out and tell Jester I sent you... ;) PLA Quebec www.multimania.com/hak2600 The h/p scene is still alive and well in Quebec. And it'll remain that way as long as sites such as PLA Quebec are around to support it. It's a well organized site with texts, PLA news, 2600 meetings info, a phone book, info specifically for newbies, payphone numbers, a message board, links, etc. PLA Quebec is a large site with many pages of information for Quebec phreaks. They're doing an admirable job of supporting the phreaking scene in Quebec's NPAs. Much better than many of the h/p sites that are left in Ontario. Written by BLACKENED � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. CONSPIRACIES AND COVERUPS - {COVERUPS} What really happened at Waco in 1993. What really happened between February 28 and April 19, 1993 at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas? Who is responsible for the deaths of the 80 people that died during the stand-off? Should David Koresh shoulder the entire blame? Could the situation have possibly been handled differently? Was there any way that the final outcome could have been less catasrophic and deadly for so many people? Couldn't this have been prevented somehow? Wasn't there any way to avoid the disaster? Were the actions of the ATF, FBI and other law enforcement agencies justified? How did President Clinton and Janet Reno's involvement affect things? Was there a coverup? Were any of these questions answered in 1995 during the Waco hearings? Those are just some of the many questions that people have regarding the 1993 incident in Waco, Texas. Many of you probably watched CNN's coverage in shock, horrified and disgusted by the images you were shown on that fateful day. And after it was all over, you didn't have any answers because the mass media didn't have any to give. Some of you continued to follow the story, long after the media had dropped their coverage of it. A few of you may have even watched the hearings or read the reports that were issued. Of that, a small percentage of you don't believe what you've read and been told to believe. You still have some questions that you'd like answered. You're still seeking the truth. This article was intended for you to read. The research that I've done is for your benefit, so that you may know the truth about what really happened at Waco, why it happened and who is responsible. Admittedly, I still have questions that haven't been answered. In other words, I don't have all of the answers. Nor do I have the resources to investigate the situation the way that I'd like to. However, I've tried to gather as much reliable information as possible from various sources and research the topic thoroughly. Entire books have been written on this topic, so don't expect all of the details to be included in this brief article. There's just too much to cover in one article. I don't think there will ever be a complete resolution to the events at Waco and what occurred inside of the Branch Davidian compound. There are certain things about the story that we'll probably never learn. There are always things that are never known by all. But at least with part of the story, the pieces of the puzzle can begin to be assembled to create a clearer picture. After that, it's up to you to take it from there and form your own opinions. Most people already know that ATF agents raided the Waco compound and a fire fight ensued. And many of the negotiations were taped and have been released, so I'm not going to cover any of those early events. I'm going to skip ahead to the end of the siege and take you through the final day at the Branch Davidian compound. On April 19, 1993 the tanks began punching holes into the exterior walls of the Branch Davidian compound. Contrary to their claims, they weren't being fired up on. They weren't under any type of attack. Helicopters and planes flew over and much of what occurred was caught on tape, forever documented. And so that's where the real Waco story begins. It was a windy day with gusting winds that could easily spread a fire throughout a building (in this case, a highly flammable wooden structure). But the FBI went ahead anyway and continued poking holes into various locations of the compound. Then they began inserting CS gas in large doses. CS gas is supposed to be a non-lethal weapon, but when combined with fire a deadly offspring known as cyanide is produced. Also, CS gas has been tested on US Marines, but they are only subjected to small doses of the gas over a very short duration of a few seconds. The Branch Davidians were exposed to massive doses over a 6 hour time span. Plus, there were 22 childen in the compound, as well as older adults. CS gas (at levels as high as 10 times that which Marines are exposed) is much too strong an agent to use against children and elderly people. David Koresh and the Branch Davidians were accused of starting the fires. Yet there is no solid proof that they were responsible. All they have are theories, such as lanterns being knocked over and lighter fluid being used to start fires throughout the compound. After the compound had burned to the ground the fire was out, Texas Rangers were delayed and prevented from conducting an investigation for hours while other agencies went through any remaining evidence and "cleaned up the crime scene." In my opinion, the whole situation should've been handled differently. Janet Reno and President Clinton should have been held responsible for the actions of the ATF and FBI. And a real investigation should have been performed instead of allowing the events to be covered up and forgotten. I've watched several documentary tapes from the final day at the Waco compound. In those tapes, it clearly shows FBI agents firing into the compound from behind the tanks. In some cases, they were firing at Branch Davidians that were attempting to escape. The flashes of light (captured on an infrared camera from a helicopter overhead) indicating a weapon being discharged are plainly visible on the tapes that I've seen. It even shows one person being crushed underneath the tank's track. One of their limbs was ripped away from their body and temporarily became caught in the track, which made the operator of the tank move the vehicle back and forth in an attempt to free it. But somehow the track was dislodged, adding further proof of what had happened. Even as the fire was burning at full force and the building was engulfed in flames, shots were being fired into the compound by FBI agents. I'm sure that many of the bodies that were found with bullet wounds contained rounds from the FBI's weapons. They've never proven that they were all self- inflicted wounds. Nor have they proven that there was any "mass suicide". Lastly, I've included a copy of Attorney General Janet Reno's statement and a document from The Department of the Treasury which details the weapons possessed by the Branch Davidians. Both were written and released in 1995. I think you'll find them interesting. During my research of the Waco seige, I read the U.S. Government reports, watched several television documentaries, visited web sites and generally read as much material on the topic as I could get my hands on. Short of speaking with David Koresh through a clairvoyant, I did everything in my power to learn what really happened and uncover the truth. In my humble opinion, Waco represents a government conspiracy and coverup of immense proportions. Clinton, Janet Reno, the ATF, FBI, etc. all fucked up. Then they tried to back each other up and cover up the true events that had occurred and were documented. So, in conclusion, it's your choice as to who should be believed. But hopefully after reading this article, you'll think twice about automatically taking the government at their word. If nothing else, it is my hope that people learn that under no circumstances, in any situation should they have complete trust in a government that's already proven itself to be untrustworthy and absolutely corrupt to the core. And in my view, the U.S. government couldn't do anymore to prove their guilt than they've already done. I suggest that you visit the web sites below if you want further information on the Waco coverup. Sources: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/ http://rampages.onramp.net/~djreavis/faq/index.htm http://www.parascope.com (Search for "Waco") - Not all info there is accurate. Written by Blackie Lawless � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. CROSSED WIRES - {WIRES} An Advertisement for Blackzine. . . z孝~ ~�$�3z. z孝�z $$$$$ . `�z..z' `$$$$ ,m@$ $$$$$ z..z$ . . .$z.,z.,z$樺' $$$$$ ,z@$孝~ $$$$$ ,z$$$�~飇$@z. $$$$$ $$$$$ $$ $$ `$$@z. $$$$$ 孝飇z $$$$$ $$$$$ z孝飇 $$$$$,�$$�' $$ $$ `$$$$ $$$$$ ,z@$$孝~$$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$~�$@z. $$ $$ ,$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ �z..z $$$$$ $$$$$ $$z$$z,z$$樺' $$$' `曉$$z' $$$$$ `�$�$z .,z$樺' $$$$$ $$$$$ ,z@@孝�@@zzzz $',z@@z. 孝飇� `曉$ z$$$�' . $$$$$$ $$$$$ ~飇$$@z. ,z$$$�~飇$@z. � ,$$$$' `曉樺' $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ z$$$$ . ,$$$$' $@zz@$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$.z@$$樺' ,4$$$' `z . $$$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ z..z z$$$$z. ,z$$z $$$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ `�$�$z .,z$樺' `飇孝瓢梟梟孝' 飇孝飇 Editor: Lord Narayana . . http://poz.8m.com lord_narayana@hotmail.com Comments by BLACKENED: Blackzine is one of the coolest Canadian h/p zines (written in English) in publication today. They may not have a lot of writers, support or a tremendous amount of notoriety, but it's still quality. The most recent issues are excellent and definitely deserve a look, especially if you're in the Canadian scene. It's very evident that they're actively involved in the Alberta scene. Issues are available on the Phones of Zen web site at the above URL. If you want more information about Blackzine, and how to contribute, contact Lord Narayana. Notes about Crossed Wires: Since this section was created I've received Email from quite a few people regarding advertising here, the requirements, cost, etc. To reiterate what I've said in previous issues, it's free. The whole "paid advertisement for" thing was just a joke, but apparently some people thought that it was real. Basically, we'll include ascii ads for almost anything (boards, cons, nets, groups, zines) for free as long as it's h/p related or is interesting in some way. Hopefully the guidelines and purpose of Crossed Wires are now clear to everyone. H/P INFORMATION AND NEWS - {H/P} "What is the Matrix?" _+ +_ TELUS Mobility; Panasonic EN-POWR numeric pager exploit __ __ Telus Mobility offers to its customers, a few types of paging services. One type is called 'EN-POWR numeric pager'. With the EN-POWR numeric pager, you get total FLEX coverage. In other words, you get coverage all across Alberta. The Panasonic EN-POWR pre-paid numeric pager is only $99.95, and it comes with 6 months of enhanced service with a limited but nifty selection of assorted colors to choose from. "But Clone, I have three kids to feed. I can't afford this type of service!" It's completely understandable. That is why I wrote this file. To show you how to get service that *should* be dirt cheap for absolutely free. Lets say that one day you were walking down the street minding your own business, picking flowers, waving to Telus employees as they drive past in their goodie-vans, when you trip over a pager that has the word 'Panasonic' labelled on the top. This semi-transparent device, with its groovy design is the only thing stopping you from suing Telus for leaving its property laying around. Then you remember that it's an EN-POWR pre-paid numeric pager and it has to be property of someone. "Hmm..." you think. At this point you can do one of two things; you can call Telus reporting a missing pager, or you can try to use your wits to find a way to exploit this. First lets take a look at the pager features: Pager features -------------- � saves 23 messages � message time stamp � built in alarm clock � silent vibration or audible alert � low battery alert � shows date and time of day � selective erase/erase all � locks important messages � uses only one AAA battery � FLEX technology gives you up to four months battery life � duplicate message indicator � reminder alert � backlit display � automatic on/off 'Saves 23 messages', thought of anything yet? ;) Sure you have my analytical friend. Along with numeric paging option, you also get a voice-mail paging option which requires you to dial the number the pager is subscribed to. So you think "How am I going to get this pager number?" ------------------------------------------ One easy way is to wait for someone to page you. Usually friends of the pager customer, don't know the pager is in the wrong hands so they unknowingly send them a voice-message. Bad idea. The minute they send that message, the data is sent to the Telus Mobility switch, and straight to the pager itself. What is displayed? The pager number, silly! (note: if a numeric page is sent, the numbers displayed on the screen are whatever the person who sent it typed.) The next step is easy, you call the number. The next thing you'll hear is one of two things; 1. the customers message, 2. Telus' default message. By simply pressing '0' on the keypad, you'll next be prompted by an automated voice saying: "Please enter your access code". "How do I acquire the access code?" -------------------------------- If the customer was stupid enough to set the default access code, all you do is look on the back of the EN-POWR numeric pager, and search for the "capcode". The capcode is the series of numbers at the bottom of the label, below the Model, Serial Number, Country Code, and ISC code. It's easily distinguishable by the letter E and a 7 digit code after it. An example of a capcode is 'E1230948'. The default access code is the last 4 digits of the capcode. 0948 would be the access code for this pager. Now enter 0948. If you're lucky you'll get the main menu. My suggestion to you is to change the access code as soon as possible. If you're not so lucky, try guessing defaults. 1234, 1111, 1999, 2000, etc. Until you come across the correct access code. If you're still having trouble, try selling the pager to some moronic 14 year old who just wants to look cool in front of his sleezy 14 year old girlfriends'. Final words ----------- Now that I've given you step by step instructions on how to exploit the EN-POWR pre-paid pager, I hope that you've learned a little bit about how it works. In the next few months I can see the news talking about hundreds/thousands of Telus pagers going missing and then used for the thieves' evil purposes. I'll sleep well at night knowing I was the one responsible. THE END written by: The Clone June 22, 1999 `Contact inf0 ---- E-mail: theclone@edmc.net URL: Nettwerked - http://nettwerk.hypermart.net Voice Mail: So-Soft Corporation - 1-800-494-9831; box 407 -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Corner Advantage Teleconferencing / Bridge Skanning -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Telus Advanced Communications (TACS) offers a service called 'Corner Advantage Teleconferencing'. A service which allows its customers to connect to a multiple-user-bridge to: * keep field offices informed about new policies and programs; * announce new products to branch offices; * hold regular status update meetings; * resolve emergencies; * review product development; * reach several reporters simultaneously for a news announcement; * brainstorm and plan marketing and sales strategies; * resolve labour relations issues; and * interview job applicants. * etc. Some of the features with this service include: * highest quality sound with minimum background noise; * security passwords; * mute feature so specific lines can listen only; * taping your conference onto cassettes; * polling to record votes from opinion polls and focus groups; How to set up a bridge conf: * Dial 1-800-900-MEET (6338) * Follow the voice prompts and select Teleconferencing * Reserve the date, start time and duration of your meeting and the number of ports required. Now that I've outlined the basic features of Corner Advantage Teleconferencing, I'd like to share with you an idea that came into my mind; Bridge Skanning. How do I find a bridge? ----------------------- Most phreakers who do find bridges do out of dumb luck. They are usually skanning a prefix looking for VMB's, PBX's, ANI's, and modem carriers and to their suprise they find a bridge. What I did was I called up 1-800-900-MEET, and said: "Hi there. I was wondering out of curiousity, what prefix or prefixes do the Edmonton bridges use?" Being gullible and unware of my intentions, the perky Telus operator gladly gave me the prefix. A few hour later I called back and asked if there were any other cities that had CAT (Corner Advantage Teleconferencing). Calgary apparently is the only other city that does. Using the same "social engineering" technique, I snagged the other prefix and glady grinned because now I had completed the first step in finding a bridge. Seeing on how I like to help out fellow local (780/403) phreaks, I'm going to post the prefixes. City NPA: Pfx ---- --- --- Calgary 403 216 Edmonton 780 460 !Yipee! ;) Now go ahead! Skan out these prefixes and you'll surely find yourself on a bridge conf. From what I've heard, if you do happen to connect to a bridge you'll obviously hear many parties talking. What my suggestions to you are: * Keep quiet * Listen to what is being said and write down potentially "important" info. Because remember, most bridges that are up are corporations. And we know the conspiracies bureaucrats create. * If possible, record the conversation using a ear piece-like device you can pick up at your local Radio Shack for about $10.00/CDN each. -- I hope I've helped fellow telco enthusiasts, pissed off some Telus employees, and made phun for all! Happy CAT-skanning! Created by: The Clone Date: June 13, 1999 Contact info - URL: Nettwerked - http://nettwerk.hypermart.net E-mail: theclone@edmc.net Voice Mail: So-Soft Corporation - 1-800-494-9831; BOX 407 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Nortel's Millennium Desktops (helena3@antisocial.com) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- If you live in Ontario or Quebec, Canada you've probably already seen the three different versions of Nortel's Millennium payphones that Bell Canada has installed everywhere. Maybe you've even made a few calls using them. I'll give you a brief explanation for each model of Millennium just in case though. The first type is the Universal Millennium (named due to its ability to accept coins, credit cards, calling cards and Bell QuickChange pre-paid cards). In the majority of large urban areas, they are the most common type of payphone that can be found. The second type is the Millennium Card (otherwise known as a card phone). The last type is named the Millennium Desktop and it is the focus of this article. It's also the least common variety of Millenniums since they aren't easily found. They aren't everywhere. They aren't installed in just any location. In fact, I have only seen them in select places (usually they're placed in public buildings) and they're always indoors. Their design isn't very suitable for outdoor use. Even though I've read other text files written on the other types of Millenniums, I have yet to see any that cover the Desktops. That's why I decided to share my knowledge and experience with them. Basic Common Features: Note that basically all of these Desktop Millennium features are the same as the ones found on other Nortel Millennium payphone models. I'm just covering them for people that know nothing about them or have never used a Millennium. - Like the other Millenniums, Desktop Millenniums don't accept incoming calls. There's even a notification in small print stating that on the front panel. - LASS codes (*##) such as *67 don't work on Millenniums. - Desktops have ringers, but you might never hear the sound of them ringing. To hear the bell chime, you have to convince an Operator to call the phone for you. Otherwise, if you dial it directly yourself you'll hear the following Bell message: "The line you are trying to reach is equipped for outgoing calls only. It is impossible to receive calls at that number. This is a recording." and then a Busy signal. - Programmable LCD display that supports English and French. Usually there's a scrolling text message that's been entered by a Bell employee to advertise. The LCD display is covered in plastic to prevent damage to the display. However, it can be scratched and punctured if you're very determined. - Alarm. Each Desktop Millennium is equipped with an internal alarm that's designed to protect it against theft. In this case, they want to prevent the use of stolen or fraudulent credit/calling cards. Inside Millenniums there's a small, powerful computer that logs every call that's made and the method of payment that was used. In Universal Millenniums, the computer is responsible for handling coin payed calls and can detect the use of slugs, etc. easily. It also monitors the yellow card reader, LCD display and can activate the alarm. If it detects anything suspicious or abnormal, an alarm is sent to a Bell Canada Central Office and a linesman is dispatched to check it out. If you modify the display, it might trip the alarm. If you steal the card reader or entire Millennium, it might activate the alarm. It has even been rumoured that they have a tracking device that calls Bell and relays its location everytime it's connected to a line. Some people claim that it can give away the location by means of an FM signal. I don't know if they have a transmitter that can emit signals or not. Since I can't verify it, just be careful. - Recorded Dialtone. If you don't insert a calling card or press any buttons to dial a number, after a few seconds it'll interrupt the so-called 'dialtone' (which is totally fake) and instruct you to "Please insert your card..." The real dialtone is muted. The Millennium payphone doesn't actually dial the number you've entered from the keypad. It dials the number itself after the Millennium has established that payment has been made. That's why you have a couple of seconds to change the number you entered before it dials. The computer does the actual dialing. Obviously that's ones of the things that prevents any normal red boxing methods from working. - With all other Millenniums and other payphone in Canada, toll free calls (1-800/877/888) are free. Dialing 0, 311, 411 (Information), 611 (Repair) and 911 are still toll free, as usual. - French/English button (toggles the language of choice) - Volume control (increase/decrease) - Next Call (diamond) button. - Yellow card reader. Although the other Millenniums are equipped with card readers, the Desktop Millennium models aren't as sturdy. Instead of using a more expensive yellow painted metal card reader casing, they're just plastic. Features not included: - They don't accept coins, so they obviously don't have a coin slot, coin return or a hopper (coin box) inside. At least you won't ever get screwed by inserting a $1 coin to make a local 25 cent call and not get any change. - They don't have the special emergency buttons like the other Millenniums. - They might have a special Operator flag (showing that they're a Millennium Desktop model). If that's the case, you can't even use them to red box by dialing the Operator and fooling them with quarter tones, since they'll know you can't insert coins into the payphone. All Millennium payphone numbers have the payphone flag turned on. I'm just not sure if the Desktops have a special flag or not. Physical Description: Millennium Desktops are larger in size than a normal residential phone. They're approximately one and a half times the width, which makes them about 10-12" or so wide. The increased width is mainly due to the display and card reader externally as well as some internal Millennium components that aren't inside of the average person's home phone. When mounted on a desktop, they are slanted or sitting at an angle so that the top or back of the phone is higher than the front. I'd estimate they're mounted at an angle of at least 45 degrees, perhaps greater. If the Millennium is wall-mounted, there isn't much of an angle at all. They're relatively flush against the wall's surface. The outer casing, handset and receiver cord are all black in colour. The actual buttons are grey coloured. There's a yellow coloured card reader attached to the right hand side of the payphone. The handset and hook switch are positioned on the left hand side. The handset's cord is of average length. The LCD display is fairly large and is located at the top portion of the phone about the keypad. It spans most of the width of the phone and the text it displays is light blue coloured (similar to the LCD display on Kenwood stereo receivers). Above the left hand corner of the display is a Bell Canada logo. To the right of that it shows the credit/calling cards that are accepted. It also has a 'no coins accepted' logo. Underneath the display there's more information about dialing, usage, etc. Surrounding the display where the logos are the phone is dark Bell blue. There's also the same blue and yellow where the additional information is shown on display. The volume control is directly beneath the keypad. The next call button (with a diamond on it) is above the dialing pad and the language button (which is a toggle for changing the text shown on the LCD display from English to French) is above that. The default is English in most areas. The port for connecting a laptop is located on the left hand side of the payphone, near the location where the handset's cord is attached. The connections running into the Millennium itself can vary slightly from the wall-mounted and desktop mounted models. The wires are either concealed in metal piping that runs down to the top portion of the payphone (in the case of the wall-mounted Millennium Desktops), or the wires are more exposed and run into the back right hand corner near the card reader. But that may not be the case with all Millennium Desktops. I once saw one that was hooked up extremely shoddily. The wires were all in a jumbled rat's nest, stuffed behind the payphone and connected into a telephone jack. It wasn't just a mess. They were fully exposed and anyone with malicious intent could have easily snipped the wires, removed the Millennium and took off with the payphone as a trophy. Needless to say, they're extremely vulnerable. I hope that my descriptions of the physical characteristics of Millennium Desktops are clear enough that they've been helpful. If not, then I'll try to get a few pictures of them and send them into Damage, INC. so they can be displayed on their web site. I realize that not everyone has a payphone like these in their area, so that's why I've tried my best to describe them fully. Special Characteristics and Features: - Unlike the other Millenniums, Desktop Millenniums can be either wall mounted, fastened to a desk or if you're industrious, removed and used as a beige box. (Yes, they can easily be converted to a beige and are very portable!) - They don't accept coins. They only accept credit cards, calling cards, QuickChange cards and other types of pre-paid phone cards. - They're equipped with a port that's located on the left side of the phone near the handset/receiver cord connection. It's a standard telephone jack connector that allows you to hook up a laptop. This feature is really handy for h/p expeditions like scanning toll free numbers, hacking codes (VMBs, PBXs, whatever) or hacking any systems (carriers) you find, etc. It's free and also a relatively safe method to use. - In many cases seating is provided so that while using the Desktop Millennium you don't have to stand for the duration of the call. Additional Info: - Just as on Bell QuickChange cards, there's a notification on the actual Desktop phone regarding the use of calling cards, instructing users to leave the card inserted in the card reader for the duration of the call. However, it isn't actually necessary. Upon picking up the reciever the Millennium plays a message that instructs you to fully insert your card. - You can use a tone dialer to call out on Desktop Millenniums (ie, your hands never touch the keypad). Obviously you can't do it while the recorded fake dialtone is playing. But if you wait a few seconds for the Operator message that asks you to insert your card to be played, stick in a QuickChange card and then use your tone dialer, it should dial and work just fine. Final Comments: Desktop Millenniums are Nortel and Bell Canada's idea of "the payphone for the new Millennium". Some people think they're a phreak's worst nightmare. Some phreaks are afraid of their security features, such as the alarm, etc. Others don't like the fact they can't red box from them because of the fake (recorded) dialtone. And a few of the older phreaks just miss the old Centurions. Regardless of what you think of Millennium payphones, they're everywhere and here to stay. Bell is replacing all of the Centurions with Millenniums as fast as they can. One of the reasons is that they want to encourage (ahem, force) people to pay for calls using their calling cards. Bell is doing everything they can to discourage people from using coins to make calls. They want payphone users to use cards for any calls they make, including local calls. Yes, it's stupid. But like it or not, that's exactly what they're trying to do. If you have any questions or comments about my article, please contact me (Helena3) by sending Email to helena3@antisocial.com. I'm always happy to meet new people, especially other phreaks. Note from Damage, INC. - If you want to learn more about Nortel's Millenniums, you should read Aftermath's text file. It's available to download on Wraith Tech Industries web site at http://www.internettrash.com/users/wraithtech INTERVIEWS AND INTERROGATIONS - {INTERVIEWS} In this issue there are interviews with two people that are well known in the h/p scene. The first interviewee is RedBoxChiliPepper (PLA). The second is Logic Box (System Failure). Hopefully they give you some insight into them and their respective groups. Enjoy. As always, = BLACKENED's questions. I'm sure you can figure out the rest. Alias: Alex, RBCP, RedBoxChiliPepper, You Little Fucking Punk Motherfucker, Group: Phone Losers of America Age: 26 1/2 Country: Phone Losers of AMERICA. Description: A big tall dorky-looking semi-hacker, high school dropout and all-around prankster. Interests: No matter what I'm doing I prefer to do it while staring into a computer monitor all day. I plan to be blind by the time I'm 30. Outside of the house I like going to the movies, swimming, diving, biking and playing really really stupid and meaningless pranks on innocent people. Email: rbcp@phonelosers.org URL(s): http://www.phonelosers.org/rbcp/index.html - Introduce yourself to the readers of the Damage, INC. Newsletter... I guess I've been into the whole h/p scene for only about 7 years or so now. I discovered BBSing in 1989 and found all those old cheesy 80's anarchy/hacking files in 1991. By then I was heavily into all of it and after reading the famous Capt'n Crunch Esquire article I was completely hooked forever. I'd always been into telephones and computers even though nobody else in my family ever seemed to be interested in it and I could never seem to find anyone in the local BBS scene into the whole h/p thing. I started writing my own text files in hopes of finding someone else to share my interests with and started uploading them to all the local BBSes. This more or less failed but I kept writing files just because I enjoyed doing it. It wasn't until 1994 that me and el_jefe started the PLA. - How and when was the Phone Losers of America started? What are the goals and purpose of PLA? I'd already been trying to think of a decent name for a text file group but couldn't come up with anything. I had cleaned up the formats on a few of my texts and named them RBCP0001.TXT, RBCP0002.TXT, etc and planned to release them that way but then el_jefe was messing with some local lamers on a BBS and told them he was going to start an elite hacking group called the Phone Losers of America. The name fit perfectly so I immediately stole it from him and created the PLA. The main reason I wanted to start a new text file series is because all of the others took themselves way too seriously and tried to be elite as possible to impress all their peers. There were a few exceptions but only a few. The funniest thing I could find were the joke issues of Phrack and a 'zine called Brotherhood of Warez which weren't even that funny. I figured if I started something that was purely H/P/A humor, others would follow and maybe people would just lighten up a little. - How was the PLA Telephone Director0y started? Like everything else with the PLA, I stole the idea from somebody else. (What? You expected me to be original??) In my extensive collection of anarchy texts a few of them were nothing but lists of interesting telephone numbers to call and almost all texts had a few BBSes to call on the ends of them. The only problem was that these numbers were almost always outdated so I decided to make a phone directory that would be updated with every single issue of PLA. Before I got around to executing that plan Colleen Card (then my girlfriend, now my wife) suggested that I make it a quarterly phone directory. While I never was able to keep up with the "quarterly" part of it, I managed to release 7 issues of it before handing the project to the United Phone Losers. Believe it or not I started collecting pay phone numbers when I was about 10 years old. My best friend thought it would be hilarious to call somebody at a pay phone and be really stupid at them. So I rode my bike to the Wilshire donut shop in East Alton, IL (now a big tourist attraction because it was the first pay phone ever collected by me) and wrote down the number to their phone booth. We let it ring for about 45 minutes until somebody answered it. By the end of the year me and him had put together a list of about 90 pay phones all over the area. I never thought I would still be doing it when I was 26. Geez, what a loser I am. The ANI section is obvious - people are always asking for ANI numbers so a constantly updated list makes perfect sense. Telco test lines are just fun to hear, TDD machines provide plenty of entertainment. Probably the weirdest section would have to be the Roy section. I won't get into why we were/are obsessed with the name Roy, but by the time I released the first directory I thought it would be funny to dedicate a section to people and businesses named Roy. I imagined a nation of Roy's being harassed just because they were Roy although I'm sure this only confuses people and nobody really thinks it's funny. - How has PLA changed since the first text issues were released? The most noticeable change would be the fact that it went from a tiny text file group into an electronic 'zine. As more and more people became interested in the PLA I followed everyone's advice who emailed me and created new sections and tried to write about what people were interested in. By the time issue #46 (the last issue) came around we usually ended up with a huge letters section, several articles, news and other random bits of information and humor. - What types of things can be found on www.phonelosers.org? Well, of course there's an archive of all the old PLA issues in both ascii format and html. Some of our sound clips relate to a few of the old issues such as the Dino Allsman series. Basically what you'll find on the main page is a bunch of links to other H/P pages that are updated with more current information than I'm able to provide. By the end of the summer you'll start seeing a bunch of useless online videos called PLA TV which I've been planning to do ever since I ditched the PLA 'Zine project but have always been to lazy to get around to. In my opinion though the best part of my site has got to be the PLA State Site Database. There are now over a hundred privately-run PLA sites on the net, each serving up information about a specific home town or state or area code. This started out as a plan to get people to find other phreaks near them and has had some excellent results. I remember when I was first getting into all of the H/P I never really had anyone to share my newfound tricks with or anyone to help me brainstorm ideas. I'm hoping that by using the state sites people can help overcome this problem for themselves. - How do you think the Phone Losers of America are viewed by the majority of visitors to phonelosers.org? Judging from the e-mail I receive I think most people more or less get a kick out of the information they find on our site. Some people will tell me that they stayed up until daybreak when they found my page because there was so much to read. One guy told me he missed a day of work because he found my page a few hours before he was supposed to go in and didn't want to quit reading and laughing. As far as the actual hacking community goes, I hear most of them going on and on about how lame the PLA is and how we don't know anything and couldn't hack our ways out of a paper bag. But they just don't seem to get the fact that they're supposed to come to our site to laugh, not to learn the latest phone and hacking exploits. It's all nothing but a joke, people! I should probably put a big disclaimer splash screen on my site titled, "Prepare to Lower Your Expectations..." - Are you still actively involved in phreaking? What do you think of the current phreak scene and how has it changed since you began? I'm not into phreaking as much as I was 3 or 4 years ago but I still try to keep up with everything and I'm constantly working on really weird and pointless projects. Like right now I'm compiling a huge database of all the area codes / prefixes within a one hour radius of my house and the corresponding phone company wire center to each one. Once I'm done (I almost am now) I'll have no use for the information and I'll probably just post it up on a web page somewhere for other people to find and use. As far as the current phreak scene goes, I think it's better than it's ever been thanks to the net bringing everyone together. People in alt.2600.phreakz and alt.phreaking are always going on and on about how phreaking is nearly dead and the scene is in danger and things are aren't like they used to be but people in the scene have always seemed to have this attitude while things are going on in the scene just like they always have. The only things that have really changed is that all the information is so much easier to find now and it's easier to find other people interested in the same projects & exploits as you are. I think people pick on the newbies too much but that's probably just because they're coming in floods now since every kid in America now has computer access and they want to be a hacker RIGHT NOW! I get a lot of e-mail from newbies and I usually just try to answer their questions and point them in the right direction to read more about it themselves. - How's Jim Bayless these days? I actually still get a lot of e-mail about Jim from people trying to track him down and talk to him about me. The only reason I used Jim Bayless's name so often in the PLA issues was because I was excited that a phone company security guy was actually interested in me. During the PLA Days I used to occasionally call Jim every time I moved to a new part of the country and he would always trace my call and would ask me, "So ALEX, how was the whether in Washington last month??" like he was going to scare me or something. A friend of mine in Oregon who goes by the nick kcochran actually called up Jim very recently and told him he knew me and just wanted to know how come he didn't like me. Jim talked with him for quite some time and told kcochran that it was a personal issue because I once had his secretary patch through a call to his home in the middle of the night. He also said he had a copy of my W2 tax forms from Indianapolis and knew all of my real info. Anyway, Jim is still alive and working in corporate security. I probably haven't called him in about five years now but I'm sure he still remembers me. - What has been your experience with telco employees as a whole? All in all I think telco employees are cool people. Most of the employees I deal with are over the telephone and it's a pretty rare experience for me to actually talk to one in person. Once in Galveston, TX I saw an employee finishing up some work and getting into his van so I held up my red box and screamed out the window at him, "I just red boxed a call on that pay phone over there!!" and he actually got in his truck and followed me around the island for about 15 minutes. I don't know if he was trying to get my license plate or what. I think my most frightening experience with an employee also happened in Galveston while I was red boxing on a storefront pay phone with a bulky (and loud!) tape recorder. I was talking to a friend and had just deposited some money to continue my conversation and a minute later a guy taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and it's a Southwestern Bell employee. He says, "Could I get in here for just a minute?" and uses his key to open the coin box, empty it and leave as he says, "Thank you." I was in shock for a few hours after that. - Do you read any h/p related zines? If so, please list a few of the ones that you read and respect. Oh yeah, I can't get enough of H/P articles no matter what they're about. Of course I read Phrack and 2600 but I also keep up with just about all of the lesser-known groups because what they might lack in knowledge they definitely make up with it in humor. A few of my favorites are System Failure who recently released their very last issue (www.sysfail.org), United Phone Losers come out with something every month or so, The Phone Rangers don't have a 'zine but they have short stories on their web page that are entertaining. I could go on and on, I read just about everything I come across. If you visit the phonelosers.org web site you'll see links to a few of my favorite sites along the top of the screen and even more in the links section. The only other 'zine I've written for is System Failure which I think I did a total of two or three articles for them. I also started an archive of IRC logs after I quit writing PLA (www.phonelosers.org/peachey.html) which started out detailing our harassment of some girl on IRC but is now updated every few months with interesting e-mail I receive and interesting and humorous things I find on the net. It used to be called Peachey Incorporated but I recently changed the name to the more elite, hard-core sounding Pink Fluffy Phreaking Bunnies. - Which h/p groups, if any, do you respect? I think I named most of them in the previous question. I guess a few others would be WraithTech, National Telco Opposition Party, Phone Punx Network and United Phreaks Syndicate. It's not really a matter of respecting them, it's just the sites I find the most useful and entertaining. - Which web sites do you usually frequent? I spend a good 5 hours a day (while I'm working) browsing the net. I'm not a regular visitor to many sites outside of all the H/P sites that I've mentioned before, but I mostly spend time on the search engine pages looking for anything interesting. - 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've been busted many times but it was never really directly related to H/P. The first time was in Albany, Oregon where they THOUGHT they were busting a big-time computer hacker but I was just using extrapolated credit card numbers to make free phone calls. They had been working on the case for months and were completely stumped because I was operator diverting to make it appear as if the calls were coming from another location. I happened to use the same number every single time so apparently they were really watching this one guy who worked for the company I was making my calls come from. They finally figured out who I was because I had called an employee complaint line for a business that I worked for at the time. They ransacked my room, took everything that they didn't understand and hauled me off to an interrogation room where I cooperated fully. They estimated that I stole somewhere around $10,000 in phone calls so I was given a fine of about $250 and told not to do it anymore. The second time I was busted was again for a credit card offense while trying to fly Colleen Card home to Oregon from Texas. Even though they knew I had flown her there on a stolen credit card number, the case was completely dropped and my only punishment was that I ended up spending about 36 hours in the jail's drunk tank. I was also busted in Ohio for calling up a lady and talking her into giving me her credit card number. So I guess if I wanted to give any advice to your readers it would be to not mess with people's credit cards and you shouldn't have many problems! One of the most recent events that's happened to me would be the police showing up at my house to talk to me about Gwonk's case. I don't know many of the details on the case, I just know that Gwonk didn't really do anything major but he's been in jail now for some kind of computer hacking charge but he's out now. Two police officers and a "computer expert" drove nearly three hours to my house because they figured I must somehow fit into the whole hacking scheme. I let the cops come in, took them to my computer room and told them exactly how clueless I was. They asked if they could let their "computer expert" come in and look at my hard drive. Since I didn't have anything questionable on my drive I said sure and the "computer expert" came in and did his thing. The thing was that this "computer expert" never broke out of Windows 98, he just opened up Explorer and went to town surfing my hard drive. He didn't use any special software and didn't play with any of my settings so if I had any hidden directories with all my illegal hacking stuff he sure wasn't going to find it. He also didn't bother looking at our computer upstairs since he could view it on the network. He just assumed that I had all of my hard drives upstairs set to share on the network. I haven't heard anything back from them but I really wish Gwonk the best of luck in this whole mess. - Do you want to mention any boards that you call or people in the scene that you know? I haven't really called any H/P boards in several years now and I don't even know if any of them still exist. Since the net has become so popular it almost seems pointless to bother calling up boards anymore. I should really thank Logic Box for bring the scene such a cool 'zine like System Failure even though he had to go and quit writing it like that. But since I did the same thing to PLA I guess I can't say anything about that. Also thanks to el_jefe who not only created the PLA name but put more content into the issues than anybody seems to realize. And lastly to Linear of United Phone Losers who was cool enough to accept my offer to take over PLA's quarterly phone directory. (He just released a new one, by the way!) I could give shout-outs and greetz to a ton of people but I won't because I'm way too lazy for that. - Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed RBCP. Thanks again for the PLA Telephone Director0y editions that you released. They literally inspired us to create the Phreaky Field Phreaking List, which otherwise might not even exist. And thanks for allowing us to link to PLA releases, etc. We really appreciate it man. I'm sure that our readers will enjoy reading this interview and gain some insight about you and the Phone Losers of America. We respect what PLA contributed to the scene over the years and recommend that our readers download and read all of PLA's releases. Before I conclude this interview, I'd just like to let it be known that I had wanted to interview RedBoxChiliPepper for a long time... since I respect him and the Phone Losers of America. So, it's easy for me to say that this particular interview had more personal meaning to me than many of the others I've done. Yeah, that's right, it's special. ;) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alias: Logic Box Group: System Failure Age: 19 Country: USA (Sunnyvale, CA) Description: Linux enthusiast and former head of System Failure Interests: Linux, computers in general, video games, certain types of RPGs Email: logic@geekbox.net IRC: logicbox (EFnet) URL(s): http://www.geekbox.net (though it's in severe need of an update) - Introduce yourself to the readers of the Damage, INC. Newsletter... I've been an avid computer user since I was 5 years old. I got my first real PC (a Packard Bell 286) when I was 9, and grew up on MS-DOS. I upgraded to a low-end 486 when I graduated from jr. high (in 1994--I was 14 at the time); it came with a neat 2400 baud modem and the wonderful Windows 3.1. I made various upgrades to my system (both hardware-wise and OS-wise) over the next few years, found this funny thing called the internet, and eventually got interested in Linux (thanks to skullY) in early 1997. I've been into the scene since I was about 16. That was about three and a half years ago (1996), and was actually drawn into the H/P thing after extensive perusal of the PLA website (http://www.phonelosers.org). Fortunately I didn't end up as destructive and brain-dead as the majority of the PLA fans out there, and I eventually got involved with System Failure during its infancy in 1997, at the request of Pinguino. - How and when was System Failure started? What were the original goals and purpose of the group and the zine? System Failure was born at Gumba's Italian restaurant on May 3, 1997. Bluedot (formerly known as Darkcactus) and I were having lunch with Pinguino, who was in town for the weekend to help her friend Eddie man an anti-gun booth at a local swap meet. I'd known her on IRC for a couple of months, and she asked us if we'd be interested in helping her with a new project she was working on--an H/P-related zine called System Failure. Ever since the retirement of PLA, Kenshiro Cochrane and I had been kicking around the idea of starting our own zine, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to do that, with the backing of Pinguino and Penguin Palace. Pinguino was happy to allow KC into the group with us, and that was that. We had the usual hopes for our zine--fun, informative, and hopefully something that didn't suck. - How did System Failure change as a zine since the first issue was released in 1997? How did members of the group change? I know several of the other former group members will agree with me on this, so I don't mind saying it. The first seven or so issues sucked. We eventually evolved from a ragtag band of typical former PLA fans to a group of individuals working together to formulate an intelligent, informative publication. A few of the original group members didn't share this view (particularly Bluedot and KC), and were eventually replaced by people who did. Mr. Sonik and skullY were both invited into the group before the end of our first year; I'd hoped that they would eventually become members from the start. Spee became a member early into our second year, and Barkode was invited into the group during Defcon 6. More than anything else, I always tried to make people understand that System Failure was first and foremost a group of friends. We all knew each other very well, we were all working together for a common cause, and we evolved into something a lot of people really liked. - What types of things can be found on www.sysfail.org? Nothing these days. Just our old issue archives and a few photographs. - How do you think System Failure is viewed by the majority of visitors to sysfail.org and readers of the zine? Well, as far as popularity goes, our webpage (just the index.html page, mind you) had over 7000 hits in the six days it was hosted on geekbox.net during one of our relocation frenzies. Most of the feedback I've gotten from people has been positive, especially during the last few months of the group. Then again, I happen to know of a few elitist organizations who apparently don't like us too much. :) - Are you still actively involved in h/p? What do you think of the current h/p scene, the people (groups, zines) involved and how has it changed since you began? I'm still actively involved in what I do, and I still keep close contact with the other former System Failure members (primarily skullY and Barkode). As far as other groups, I have plenty of respect for all the big guns--L0pht, cDc, the New Hack City folks, etc. Phrack's always done a good job as a zine; I've found 2600 to be sorely lacking in intelligent material the last few issues. A lot of the smaller groups and zines don't survive for very long (perhaps because they don't try very hard), and that sort of lenda a feeling of laziness to the scene, and its recent members throughout the last few years. I'd certainly hate to see the scene eventually be dominated by folks who don't really care much about it. - Was it difficult at times to motivate people to write articles? What were the main reasons for the decision to cease the publication of System Failure? Oh yes. QUITE difficult. There are certain people I won't name (they know who they are) who I've very nearly had to threaten to get something out of them, after months of promises that "yeah, I'll have something for the next issue." Our reasons for retiring System Failure were mostly personal. I won't go into details, but I will say that a fair amount of trust was lost between certain key group members. A lot of it also had to do with a good deal of lack of interest on the parts of certain members. - Which articles that were published in System Failure stand out in your mind, and why? My Linux security article! :) Well, seriously, I was pretty proud of that when I finished it. Barkode also did a very informative series of articles on protocols (his ARP and ICMP articles in particular come to mind), and Pennywise's electricity primer was very thorough and well-written. I was also very impressed with the PC security systems article from our final issue, written by Syphon Siege and Phett. - Do you think the group or name System Failure will ever be restored or resurrected sometime in the future? If so, would you want to be involved with it again? No. I think I can safely say that System Failure will not be back, although we may start up another organization sometime in the near future. Who knows? :) - What has been your overall experience with telco employees as a whole? I've never really ran across any telco employees that stand out in my mind, neither good or bad. - How was DefCon this year? It was okay. It seemed a lot more laid back than previous Defcons, which is probably why the hotel invited us back for next year. All in all, I think I enjoyed Defcon 6 (1998) more. - Do you read any h/p related zines? If so, please list a few of the ones that you read and respect. Phrack! I'll always support the long-retired PLA too. - Which h/p groups, if any, do you respect? cDc, L0pht, the New Hack City folks, r00t, PLA (read: RBCP and Colleen Card), and of course, all my fellow ex-group members. - Which IRC channels can you be found in? EFnet #408, #916, #sunnyvale - Do you want to share any memorable hacking/phreaking related experiences? Well, Defcon always rocks. It's always neat to meet people and finally attach faces to the names you've known on IRC and through e-mail for so long. - 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? Nope. I'm careful about what I do, and I generally try to stay on the good side of the scene. I do know a couple of people who have been busted, but I'm not really allowed to say anything about that. :) - Do you want to mention any boards that you call or people in the scene that you know? Well, hrm. Thanks go out to skullY, kadafi, and vel0city for getting me into Linux. Barkode has helped me out quite a bit on a personal level. Pinguino has my undying thanks for who she is and everything she's ever been to me, despite some of the problems we've had in the past. Oh, and hi to Pesto and Runt, since the three of us (along with skullY) are practically attached at the ass. - Are there any other interesting things or general comments that you have and wish to share? My thanks goes out to everyone who has ever supported us. All our readers, all our artists (even those of you who did simple .diz files for us), and all the people who have sent us e-mail and feedback. We couldn't have done it without you. - Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed Logic Box. I'm sure that our readers will enjoy reading this interview and gain some interesting insight about you and System Failure. We respect what SysFail contributed to the scene over the years and recommend that our readers download and read all of System Failure's releases. Before I conclude this interview, I'd just like to make a few short comments about System Failure. It might not have been the most well known, respected zine "in the scene". And it may not have lasted the longest or had the largest readership. However, it was a quality publication that I personally read loyally and enjoyed. I can honestly say that I looked forward to the release of each issue and have respect for any group that can release a zine of that standard over a time span of 2 years. In my view, System Failure's last six issues or so were excellent and contained many interesting, intelligent, well written articles on various topics. The highest compliment I can give is that by reading SysFail, I learned about things that I otherwise may not have. So, if your goal was to share and bestow knowledge upon people, I can assure you that you succeeded in doing that. Thanks again for putting out a quality zine and good luck in your future endeavours man. ;) NEWS FROM THE TRENCHES - {NEWS} We've been updating the web site on a more frequent basis in recent weeks. However, many areas are still under construction. Also, we still want payphone pictures, so send in whatever you can. Thanks again to everyone that has sent us telco related pictures. We greatly appreciate your efforts and contributions in that area. Our web site's Payphones page has benefited and been enhanced by the recent addition of new pictures. The Damage, INC. Phreaky Field Phreaking List Summer Edition was released on June 30th. To obtain a copy, visit http://surf.to/damage_inc and download DAM99SUM.ZIP from the Texts page. It's a must for anyone that field phreaks, especially those without an 800 directory. Plus, it also contains many other useful numbers from various NPAs, most of which are in Canada. Contact us at damage_inc@disinfo.net if you want to contribute. I've released a files listing named the AJFA Archives. It's a list of files from my now retired h/p board. You can request files by contacting me in Email via blackened@disinfo.net. I have been in contact with several groups, including Wraith Tech Industries, Phones of Zen, Hack Canada, etc. and we may work on some projects together in the future. We've also given permission to hevnsent of Age of Thought and Technology (http://listen.att) to use the Damage, INC. Phreaky Field Phreaking List on At&t's web site, upon his request. If anyone else wants to distribute our releases, please make sure you contact us first and give us credit. Look out for The Bell Chronicles by Damage, INC. It's in the works now. It will be a new series of text files written about Bell Canada and released sporadically in small, separate volumes. They'll definitely be damn phreaky. In addition to having tidbits of Bell information, they include a Millennium Payphone Phun section, filled with hilarious quotes from conversations. ;) We've had some problems with distribution in recent months. Boards that were previously Damage, INC. Distribution Sites have been steadily disappearing. So, if you run a board and want to support us by distributing our releases, contact us. Milestone: We've finally broken the 10,000 hits barrier on the web site. Remember to visit it often for news, updates, scans, texts, payphone pictures, new editions of the Phreaky Field Phreaking List, etc. And don't forget to join the Damage, INC. mailing list while you're on the site. OBJECTIVE OPINIONS - {OPINIONS} Hacktivism: The individual's tool against oppression. To clarify the title, Hacktivism can appear in many forms and Hacktivists can be a group of people that combines forces using technology to work towards a common goal, or it can be an individual working on their own towards a goal. Each person has their own definition of what Hacktivism is, what it means, what true Hacktivists are and has their own unique opinions on each. I could have chosen any number of titles for this article, from "Hacktivism: The poor man's tool", "Hacktivism: The intelligent person's tool" to "Hacktivism: The modern activist's tool." And in a way, all of the above would be appropriate. In order to make this article easier for those that are unfamiliar with the term to understand, I'll give my personal definition of what Hacktivists are and then I will explain Hacktivism by sharing my opinions and views of what it means to me. Hacktivists - "Any individual or group of people that use technology to work towards achieving a specific goal or fighting for a cause. The means to which they work may be legal or illegal. The cause may be political, but it is not restricted to political causes. In fact, it can be virtually anything imaginable." Granted, that's a very broad definition that encompasses almost anything that can be deemed "a cause". If it's any easier, think of Hacktivism as being 'Techno-Activism'... and the activists involved as being modern day activists that use whatever technology is available to get their message across. They aren't unlike the 60s activists. The only significant difference is that in the 90s we have inexpensive, readily available technology that permits us to reach a much wider audience. In the 1960s, it would have been difficult for the average individual person lacking wealth to be heard, regardless of their message. These days, with the technology that we possess, almost anyone with very little resources can reach a large international audience, make contacts around the world and try to enact change without spending a good chunk of change to do so. :) Hacktivism can be protesting against something you disagree with, fighting for a cause you believe in strongly... or simply using technology to raise awareness about something. If you're a Hacktivist, you have an agenda. So, in many ways it isn't that different from any else since everyone has some kind of agenda. In most cases, it's a political agenda or cause... not unlike the ones held by other, more mainstream political activists, except Hacktivism involves technology to a greater degree. And the causes aren't as common and mainstream as the ones that the average political activist is involved with. Some might even describe the causes as being of the 'underground' variety. And they might say that the methods of protest are 'unusual', since they can be unique and thus don't fit the typical means of protesting. Hacktivism doesn't involve protesting in the traditional "sign waving" sense. That's okay though. Whatever draws attention to causes of importance, such as human rights violations, can be criticized but mere criticism won't stop a determined Hacktivist or group of Hacktivists from pursuing their goals. Anything that gets people talking and attracts attention (positive or negative) to your cause isn't going to hurt, especially if you have a low budget. Think of it as free advertising. There are a lot of disillusioned, Generation-X kids out there that will read this article and think I'm either preaching to them, or encouraging them to go out and hack web pages. To anyone that has misinterpreted what I've written so far to mean "Hack the CIA's web site and replace the logos with a huge 'Free Tibet' slogan", "Hack [insert media organization's site of your choice] and put 'Free Kevin Mitnick' everywhere." or "Hack a Chinese government owned site. Post 'Fuck Communism!' a thousand times along with adult pics and 'Hax0rs rule!' graphics." there probably isn't anything that I can write to discourage you from doing that. If you're determined to do it, go for it. I will say that I'm not advocating that type of behaviour. That's not even Hacktivism. Why not? It doesn't serve any purpose. It's not doing something. In the end, it does nothing. It achieves nothing. The web pages are changed back and it's forgotten. So why not think of an intelligent idea and try another tactic that actually works? And why not choose a cause that isn't so fucking trendy, overdone and popular while you're at it? Why not do something that doesn't make people want to laugh and mock you for being pathetic? Why not do something that makes a valued contribution and doesn't make people in the scene puke in disgust? Seriously, the youth of this country *needs* causes. That includes young people in the h/p scene. They need to stand up and fight for something that they believe in (if anything). And they definitely have to learn that they aren't anything (such as a Hacktivist), just because they claim to be one. They also need to learn that "hax0ring" web sites... and replacing the pages with shit (that only serves to make people laugh for 2 seconds) isn't going to do anything positive at all. That's not the way to enact change. That isn't the way to express your beliefs... And even if you insist that it *is* indeed your way, that still doesn't mean it will ever get your message across to anyone other than your own little circle of '14 year old hax0r buddies'. If those are the only people you're hoping to affect and sway to your side, then you have greater problems to consider. Hacktivism should be used for legitimate purposes, for real causes, to protest serious things that matter. It's not a game. It isn't a video game. And it isn't a toy. It shouldn't be the latest thing for AOL kids to take a passing interest in and play around with in the same way they become bored with last week's Nintendo 64 game. Hacktivism is real and depending on the extent that you take things, it can have some real gains and real consequences. In closing, it's your choice whether or not you become a Hacktivist. It definitely isn't for everyone. Nor should it be. But it is a tool that's available to us whenever we want to fight against something such as censorship, human rights violations, Big Brother and the oppression of people. In the very least, it's something to think about and consider as an option. Never forget that it is your right to protest. Of course, no matter what the issue is or how hard you fight, there's no guarantee that you'll yield any results whatsoever. But those are the breaks. Hopefully this article has at least given you some indication as to what Hacktivism is about. I couldn't possibly hope to describe it as well as Oxblood Ruffin of cDc did though... as his essay was so clear, well written and descriptive that it was poetic. However, I've tried to get my point across and share my opinions on the topic. And that's all that can be expected. Lastly, if you want to become involved with a certain cause, and you have no experience with it, contact an existing organization before doing something illegal and stupid. And if you do end up doing something that isn't exactly legal, don't get caught. Those are the only words of advice that I have for you, so I'll quit ranting. :) Acknowledgements: cDc for coining the term Hacktivism. Oxblood Ruffin's 'Chinese Checkers' cDc issue #361 Written by Blackie Lawless � Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999. REPORTS FROM THE FRONT - {REPORTS} An assortment of interesting articles. I decided to include a few articles covering DefCon 7 in Las Vegas, the Black Hat Conference, the release of cDc's Back Orifice 2000, and the release of the L0pht's AntiSniff security tool. In addition to those articles, there's the comical 1999 Darwin Award Nominees... Not surprisingly, a Canadian telco employee (Northern Manitoba Signal Relay) was named as the winner for 1999. We've also included a hilarious article concerning a recent explosion and fire, that was started by a Bell Canada employee at a Bell Central Office in Toronto. Since it caused problems nationwide, I thought it deserved to be published. Good work Bell! My comments are contained in square brackets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wound-Up DefCon Winds Down by Polly Sprenger DefCon 7 wraps with media-hacker showdowns and high-energy presentations. Polly Sprenger reports from Las Vegas. LAS VEGAS -- The seventh annual DefCon hacker convention drew to a close Sunday, after a weekend of uninterrupted sensory overload. The event was marked by massive enthusiasm over the release of a new remote administration tool from the much-heralded Cult of the Dead Cow, and the quizzical expressions on the faces of the media as they attempted to grasp "the meaning" of DefCon. The CDC [ahem, cDc] presentation featured a maelstrom of digital effects and technomusic that captured the energy of the three-day event. ABCNews.com's Michael Martinez presented a talk on the persistent rift between hackers and the press on Saturday. He provided a forum for hackers to confront a member of the tech media with questions like, "Since all these reporters want to learn to be hackers, why don't they just hire hackers to be reporters?" Martinez said that hackers had difficulty getting mainstream media to understand their message and perspective because so often communication breaks down between the two groups. "We know the how, the where, and the when," Martinez said. "But why? You complain that we don't get it, and we complain that you won't let us." Sunday morning and afternoon sessions were punctuated with rousing rounds of "Spot the Fed," the annual DefCon game of outing federal agents. Anyone identified as a Fed was brought up on stage for questioning. The suspected Feds, all of whom were more than willing to whip out badges after a few minutes of interrogation, were dressed almost universally in polo shirts and khakis, their crew-cut stiffness a striking contrast to their black-clad accusers. The audience hurled questions at them like, "Does your office have a ban on Furby's?" and "What does Dana Scully [the fictional X-files agent] really look like?" One Fed lost all hope of going undetected by responding, "Never heard of him." The day hit high gear with the release show for BO2K, or Back Orifice 2000, one of the few software announcements that required a sign posted on the door warning that the presentation might be dangerous to people with heart conditions. Nineteen of the 20 revered CDC [cDc] members were present on stage, the most ever assembled in one place. The group took an older-but-wiser tone in its reverberating remonstrations to the audience. "Pick the cause before you pick the site you're gonna hack," the group advised, "and use a fuckin' spell checker!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fear and Hacking in Las Vegas by Polly Sprenger Hackers are in Sin City to share secrets, party at all-night raves, and try to figure out who among the T-shirted crowd is actually a snooping federal agent. Polly Sprenger reports from Las Vegas. LAS VEGAS -- The sun rose Friday morning on the first day of Def Con, the annual hacker conference, with labor crews hosing down the parking lots and the highways. Workers were dealing with the aftermath of an unexpected thunderstorm that shut down the airport Thursday and left the city sunk in a thick layer of mud. More than 600 of Def Con's 6,000 expected attendees were already in town for the Black Hat security conference. The timing was unfortunate, however. Next door to the predominately male-attended Black Hat conference was a teenage dance competition, where, after spending the day listening to talks on security issues, attendees could watch adolescent dancers shaking their groove thang. "Someone's gonna get arrested," sighed Chris, from Toronto, in the bar of the nearby Hard Rock Cafe later. But by mid-morning, hackers shook off their Thursday night hangovers to descend on the convention hall. Hacker groups and enthusiasts did a brisk trade in T-shirts, hacker equipment, and zines. As a TV crew cruised the hall, an organizer asked everyone to be mature and not deface the camera. "Be good, and next time Mom will let you wear the big pants," he said to the youthful, baggy-panted crowd. Convention-goers were testing their competitive side in the sixth annual Spot the Fed contest (several agents were outed by early afternoon), and by donning inflatable sumo wrestling suits for a little all-in-fun mock violence. "Always wanted to beat up some punk on the mailing list? You really hate the person who always argues with you?" Def Con organizers asked. "How about media vs. the underground? Or feds vs. hackers? We've rented giant inflatable sumo suits for you to do battle." T-shirts like "I miss crime" and "I hate stupid people" caught approving glances from the crowd, while a photographer wandered around the room snapping shots of any available woman for the "Babes of Def Con" photo album. Outside the smoky, crowded hall, a group of younger attendees was gleefully stringing cable from hotel room to hotel room, beefing up the paltry connection offered by the Alexis Park convention center and resort. The "day in the sun" feeling was soured a bit as a group of security enthusiasts posted "wanted" signs accusing John P. Vranesevich, founder of AntiOnline, of criminal activities. They accuse the computer security pundit of paying crackers to hit sites in exchange the scoop. Vranesevich and his supporter, Happy Hacker Carolyn Meinel, vocally deny that he has done anything wrong, and point the finger back at [www.attrition.org] the accusers, who have posted material about Vranesevich on their Web site. The controversy escalated last week, when a popular site for security information, PacketStorm, was removed from its host server at Harvard after university officials were told that the site had negative and allegedly libelous information about Vranesevich on it. But according to Brian Fite of HSK, the tension only adds another dimension of excitement to the goings-on. Also on the underground agenda is a party to announce the "launch" of Back Orifice 2000, a hacking tool for Microsoft Office 2000; a formal black-and-white ball where T-shirts will be traded in for tuxes; and assorted, sordid all-night raves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inside Def Con An insider's report on Las Vegas's annual hacker convention. By Annaliza Savage I can hardly believe that Def Con 6 has come and gone. Who, of the 75 or so people that attended Def Con 1, would have thought that this small hacker gathering would turn into such a huge event? This year there were probably 2,000 people milling around, not all hackers though. In my estimation the ratio broke down to about 25 percent journalists and film crews, 25 percent headhunters and corporate agents, 25 percent wannabe lamers, 10 percent federal agents and 15 percent old school hackers. Having attended Def Con 1, 2 and 3, boycotted Def Con 4 and 5, only to return this year to Def Con 6, I still haven't decided how I feel about the increasing body count. As much as I'd like to slag off the whole thing for its commercialism, I still had a fantastic time catching up with people I hadn't seen for ages. Now if you've never been to Def Con, or any hacker con, let me fill you in. The point of a hacker conference is to meet people face to face, exchange technology, and generally have a laugh. Most of the knowledge exchange happens in hotel rooms or at the bar. Hacker cons are generally filled with mayhem, a few pranks, and-- when the younger generation invades-- well, some really stupid things have been known to happen. The older hackers roll their eyes and say, "Geez, don't their parents ever let them out?" On my way to Def Con, I sat on the airplane with Aleph One, lamenting the days of old when cons were an intimate affair. We both attended the first Def Con, and we're both kinda cynical about the way the underground has gone. A lot of people have latched on because it's now cool to be a supposed (media-generated) "outlaw hacker," not because they are generally interested in the technology. Having said that it is really amazing to see where a lot of those brilliantly smart people are at six years later (the ones we've kept track of from Def Con 1). One is a computer game programmer, one is a cellular phone engineer, a few are top computer security experts... as far as I know almost all are working in the industry and doing really well. But getting back to the present: So what were interesting things happened at this year's Def Con? The Cult of the Dead Cow released Back Orifice. A hacker that I won't name, (but had an atom shaved into the back of his head) got led away by someone with a Department of Corrections patch on his uniform. I saw one guy being taken away by paramedics. A lot of the hacker stars were there, including The L0pht boys, r00t, the NewHackCity crew, and 2600 magazine. And let me tell you, having sat down and spoken to a lot of these guys, there are a lot of interesting projects in the works. I'd tell you what they were, but then I'd have to kill you. Will I go again next year? We'll see. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAS VEGAS -- Uncle Sam wants you -- to help protect America from cyberattacks. That was the message delivered by Jeffrey Hunker, one of the Fed's top information protection officials, at a speech Wednesday at the Black Hat Briefings computer security conference. As the National Security Council's director for information protection, Hunker is developing the nation's strategy against cyberterrorists, hackers, electronic spies, and other threats to its information infrastructure. That encompasses everything from transportation to banking to health care and government. Crackers Knock, Don't Get In Defending that vast and increasingly vulnerable infrastructure will require unprecedented cooperation between government and the private sector, Hunker said to some 600 information technology professionals gathered in the counterfeit Italian opulence of the Venetian casino-hotel. "A number of nations that are hostile to the [United States] and several well- financed terrorist groups, and quite arguably a number of organized crime groups, are systematically developing capabilities to attack US information systems. That's something both new and frightening." The government boosted Hunker's budget 40 per cent next year to US$1.5 billion. Projects will include technical research and development, and a new college scholarship program for information technology students who promise to work for the government after graduation. More controversially, Hunker is also charged with bringing together law enforcement, government intelligence agencies, and the private sector to share information and expertise on security issues. "For the first time, it's not just an issue of protecting US bases against Soviet missiles," said Hunker. "It's about protecting US companies." In years past, private companies would deal with security breaches on their own, without bringing in the government or law enforcement, Hunker said. "That was perfectly fine when you're dealing with disgruntled insiders or individual hackers," he said. "It's totally inappropriate when we're dealing with a world where what you're experiencing might be one facet of a much larger intelligence or terrorist or national security threat." Despite Hunker's assurances that civil liberties will not be sacrificed in the pursuit of cyber safety, the notion of the government sharing security information with private companies set off alarms with many listeners. "It's nice that he paid lip service to the idea of civil liberties, but I don't buy it," said Christina Bird, a privacy expert with >Secure Network Group. "He talked a lot about threats from abroad, but not about here in the US, because they want to underplay how much they want to monitor us," she said. "I'm hoping this program will be as ineffective as most of what the government does." Derek Tongue, an information systems security officer with the US Army, sees even darker forces at work. "I think the prophecies in Revelations are taking place now, and the Internet is a tool," Tongue said. "With e-commerce, the FBI, the CIA will be able to find where you are, what you're buying, what hotel you're staying in. Everyone will have the mark of the beast. What [Hunker] is talking about is part of that." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- L0pht Releases AntiSniff The Boston-based security collective unveils its second commercial tool, which monitors your network for suspicious activity. By Polly Sprenger. A group of hackers in Boston released a public beta of its second commercial product Friday. Called AntiSniff, the program monitors networks for "sniffers," tools used by malicious hackers to extract data from systems they are attacking. The group of seven security experts goes by the name L0pht Heavy Industries. Their first commercial product, L0phtCrack, is a fast and powerful Windows NT password-cracking program that group member "Weld Pond" says is even used by Microsoft's security team. AntiSniff monitors networks by scanning for patterns a cracker might leave while discreetly monitoring data stored on or passing through a network. This practice of "packet sniffing" leaves trails that AntiSniff can detect, the group said in a statement released Friday. The first beta of the product is available for a free download from the group's Web site. L0pht will sell the final release of AntiSniff for Windows NT for a yet-to-be-determined price. A UNIX version of the product, not yet available, will be free. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coming Soon: Back Orifice 2000 An underground computer security group is poised to release a new version of a notorious software program that could allow crackers to watch and listen in on Windows-based PC users. The Cult of the Dead Cow said it will release Back Orifice 2000 on 9 July -- at the annual Def Con convention in Las Vegas. "This will demonstrate that Microsoft's operating systems are completely insecure and a bad choice for consumers and businesses who demand privacy," said Oxblood Ruffin, a former United Nations consultant and current Cult of the Dead Cow spokesman. Back Orifice a Pain in the ...? Def Con is perhaps the most unusual gathering in the computer security field. Hackers, crackers, and self-proclaimed security experts will mingle with media, security professionals, federal law enforcement officers, and "script kiddies" who deface Web pages with prefab cracking code. Security groups of all stripes use the occasion to release software and show off gadgets. But Back Orifice 2000 is perhaps the most anticipated item. Unlike previous versions of the software, Back Orifice 2000 will run on Windows NT and feature strong encryption and a modular architecture that the group said will allow hackers and other security groups to write plug-ins. The program will be released as open source to encourage further development by the security community. Back Orifice, released at last year's Def Con, may allow malicious users to monitor and tamper with computers without the permission or knowledge of their owners. The program is classified as a Trojan Horse because crackers need to dupe the user into installing an application on their hard disk. Despite this, Oxblood Ruffin said that the program is currently installed on up to a half-million PCs worldwide. Though that number could not be independently verified, an Australian computer security group last November said that 1,400 Australian Internet accounts have been compromised by Back Orifice. Back Orifice 2000 also promises to be a great deal more difficult to detect than its predecessor because it enables users to configure its port setting. Previously, intrusion detection and antivirus programs could detect Back Orifice because it used a default port setting of 31337. A Microsoft Windows NT Server security manager said the company is closely monitoring Back Orifice development and is working with antivirus and intrusion detection software vendors to provide customers with utilities to combat the software. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ _ _ BACK ORIFICE 2000 ((___)) BACK ORIFICE 2000 show some control [ x x ] show some control \ / (' ') (U) ________________________ http://www.bo2k.com/ ________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: The Deth Vegetable cDc Minister of Propaganda veggie@cultdeadcow.com BACK ORIFICE 2000, THE ONLY WAY TO CONTROL A MICROSOFT NETWORK [July 2nd, San Francisco] The CULT OF THE DEAD COW (cDc) will debut its latest remote network administration tool called Back Orifice 2000 on July 10th at Defcon VII in Las Vegas. This program is the most powerful application of its kind and puts the administrator solidly in control of any Microsoft network. Back Orifice 2000 is a best-of-breed network administration tool, granting sysadmins access to every Windows machine on their network. Using Back Orifice 2000, network administrators can perform typical desktop support duties without ever leaving their desk. Some notable features include: * Windows NT support (as well as Windows 95 and 98) * an open plugin architecture to allow for 3rd party add-ons * strong cryptography to ensure secure network administration * open source, available under the GNU Public License "It's a totally professional tool. Essentially it sews together Microsoft networks in ways that were never possible before," says Mike Bloom, Chief Technical Officer for Gomi Media, Toronto. "BO2K is a control freak's dream and the strong crypto feature gives the legitimate administrator a level of confidence that just didn't exist before. It's one kickas