BUSTED2.0*

*Cette version annule la version 1.2 demai 97 :veuillez la supprimer de vos pages.

par MACROBIO/Piracy.frOct '98


Edito




Et oui un et demi après la première version de Busted voici la deuxième ! ! !

Pourquoiun an de repos ?
Et bien pendant j'ai été privé de ma drogue ! Je parle évidemment de mon PC.
J'ai parcouru les routes à vendre des logiciels aux grandes surfaces pour l'un des plus grands éditeurs français.
Me revoici au chômage, je vais pouvoir me remettre à mes activités préférées.
Pour info : les magasins ont entre 25% et 45% de remise sur les softs que vous achetez. Ces % sont en fonction de l'éditeur et du magasin. Les ordinateurs sont margés de 0 à 5%. Les périphériques (imprimantes, modems) sontmargés entre 20 et 30 points.


Plusieurs types de protections vont arriver dans les linéaires. Les protections Softs ditent à la COMMANDOS vont se démocratiser. Mais des protections plus intelligentes sont à venir. On m'a parlé d'une protection qui changerait tous les X CDS. Ceci afin qu'un patch ne soit utilisable puisqu'on aura pas tous le même cd !
EIDOS, Virgin, Microsoft, GT interactive, Ubi soft, Guillemot, nous prépare des trucs sympas. Rien à craindre pour l'instant de société comme BYSEX (sybex), Micro Achier (micro application), Toute La Connerie (TLC-Edusoft). Ils ne vont pas protéger des cds daubés qui pourrissent les disques durs de leurs clients. Au fait, si vous voulez rire essayer d'appeler les SAV HOTLINE de toutes les sociétés et vous verrez qu'on se fout vraiment de votre gueule (répondeur, 08).

Ils savent qu'on les crackeras mais ils pensent ralentir la diffusion voire même la stopper pour beaucoup de Lamers. C'est clair ça va augmenter le coût de fabrication des CDS mais ils vont vite si retrouver. Un jeu acheté= plus de 20 copies en circulation.

Depuis que les graveurs se sont démocratisés et l'arrivée du net la scène a évolué de façon significative. Fini mes vieux BBS, mes CC, boxes C'était la bonne époque comme on aime à dire avec quelques anciens « elites  » .
Tout le monde peut graver facilement de l'audio, psx et cd-rom. On trouve des copies à 30 frs ! C'est tellement facile que ca n'a plus de prix. Les résaux d'échange sont morts. Les magasines interdisent les annonces d'échanges ou de vente. Qui se souvient des annonces du regrétté TILT ?
On trouvait des annonces du type : éch, vds news pc et amiga. Tout ca c'est fini et maintenant il nous reste que le net pour se contacter (channel IRC warez-france). Mais ca peut etre dangereux comme vous pourrez le constater dans les textes ci-dessous.
Les plus gros de la scène se sont fait coincer. D'autres ont repris et même certains se sont fait serrer de nouveau.

De toute façon, l'arrivée des protections va faire repartir la scène. Les réseaux vont se réorganiser car il y du business à la clé. Merci au SELL.

Ne croyez pas que c'est fini au contraire !

We will be back.

MACROBIO/PIRACY.FR MACROBIO@freemail.org.mk


P.S. : cette version a moins de faute d'orthographe, j'ai eu le temps de la passer à la moulinette. Merci à ceux qui ont essayé de me donner des cours d'orthographe.


DISCLAIMER



La lecture de cette publication électronique implique la lecture de ce disclaimer.
Ce texte est fourni au lecteur à titre purement éducatif et informatif.
En aucun cas les auteurs n'incitent ce dernier au non respect de la loi,
sous toute forme qu'il soit.
Ce texte est destiné uniquement aux personnes auxquelles les auteurs l'ont
remis, en conséquence il peut être considéré comme une communication privée
des auteurs avec ces personnes.
Toute organisation représentant un ordre quelconque ou toute agence de
renseignement est considérée comme étrangère aux personnes autorisées à lire
ce texte et en conséquence aucune poursuite ne pourra être faite contre les
auteurs pour leur publication.




SOMMAIRE



1 - Comment la scène est-elle organisée ?
2 - De bonnes raisons de vendre des CDS ?
3 - Les protections
4 - Prix des CDS : Ne pas casser les prix
5 - Comment faire un CD ?
6 - Les inconvénients des WAREZ
7 - Comment Eviter le BUST ?
8 - Les Busts français
9 - Petit lexique
10 -Textes relatifs aux BUSTS


************************************
***Comment la scène est organisée ?***
************************************

ORGANIGRAMME CLASSIQUE :

UN GROUPE DE WAREZ : réalise un crack et le diffuse sur les sites. Le groupe peut vendre un accès sur son site ou BBS.
Un elite (souvent Courrier d'un groupe de warez) : récupère les 0 days et tout ce qui tombe pour faire des cds ou dat. Il vend des abos aux grossistes.
Un Grossiste : il achète à l'elite et revend à des clients détaillants
Le Petit vendeur : vend dans son entourage à des clients finaux.

Biensur il peut y avoir plusieurs Grossistes avant le petit vendeur.

Organisation d'un groupe de Warez :
Un supplier : il est chargé de fournir les nouveautés dès leur sortie en magasin voire même avant s'il arrive à toucher des INSIDES (fuites d'un editeur de logiciel)
Un cracker : il casse la protection du logiciel. Il est en général rémunéré.
Des courriers : ils diffusent le plus rapidement possible et sur le maximum de site possible.

Les sources d'approvisionnement :
- Les magasins : La Fnac (le plus facile), Auchan, Cora
-Sites FTP & BBS  : les câblés et les gros débits (écoles, entreprises, administration).
- Les abos DAT ou CDS (Je vous conseille des appros à l'étranger : Belgique, Hollande)

Après on peut jouer le Grossiste et vendre tout en Zip, Où comme beaucoup retravailler la matière brute pour
en faire un produit à destination du client final (les gros GAMERS LAMERS).
Cela évite de faire de la HOTLINE"Putain, i marche pas ton CD, y'a pas de menu!"
"Comment on fait avec ZIP ?"...

C'est à peu près la même organisation que pour les réseaux de drogue. Mais, là,il n'y a pas de
boutonneux à lunette. On ne plaisante pas avec ceux qui parlent. OMERTA : la loi du silence.
En Russie ou en Asie, les deux milieux sont reliés. La mafia contrôle la reproduction et la vente des cds.
J'ai même vu en Thaïlande des magasins avec des listes affichées aux murs. Tu choisis ta liste et on te grave dans le quart d'heure s'il n'est pas en stock. On trouve aussi des CDS PLANSTATION (ce n'est pas des playstations !) qui sont des cds pressés en NTSC of course !



****************************************
***De bonnes raisons de vendre des CDS ?***
****************************************

- Arrondir les fins de mois surtout pour les étudiants et chômeurs
- Egalité = on n'a pas tous les moyens d'acheter les originaux
- Cela permet d'essayer les jeux plus en profondeurs (ils se foutent de notre gueule
avec les versions DEMOS ou les revus qui sont graissées )
- Les cds coûtent 10 frs à fabriquer : on se fout de notre gueule !

Sybex, Micro application, Schuster (et même MicrosoftPress!!) sont pour le piratage.
"Ca fait vendre, dépêchez-vous de diffuser les versions 98, j'ai des primes sur les nouveautés"
me dit un représentant.



****************************************
***Les protections***
****************************************

(voir l'Edito)

Depuis 1996tous les jeux sont sur Cd. Beaucoup d'éditeur ne protègent pas leur jeux.
Il suffit de les ZIPPER et that's all. Mais de plus en plus, les jeux font des tests pour
voir si le CD est dans le lecteur ! Il faut donc faire sauter ce teste.
Certains jeux ont même des protections dignes du temps de l'Amiga avec des roues codées
ou encore questions à la con "3ème mot de la page 42".

La taille des vidéos de certains jeux poussent aussi les groupes à RIPPER (enlever) les vidéos
ceci afin de diminuer la taille des jeux.

Un jeux supérieur à 100 ZIP de 1.44 n'est pas bien vu par la scène.

Les jeux psx de cette fin d'année seront aussi protégés : le fête est fini.

N°3 : un grand article sur les SECUROM et LASERCHECK et autres


****************************************
***Prix des CDS : Ne pas casser les prix***
****************************************

De plus en plus de jeunes boutonneux viennent casser le business en vendant 100 Frs le CD !

Les risques étant importants :
250 frs une compile de jeux
150 frs un single
400 frs une compile d'utilitaire Windows
350 Frs compile à la carte (à partir de 3 CDS MAXI sinon c'est la mort ! )

****************************************
***Comment faire un CD ?***
****************************************

- Faire un Cd avec des .ZIP extractibles (la dernière version de WINZIP à encore simplifier la procédure)
- Le faire tester par 2 ou 3 personnes (faire remplir feuilles de test).
- Finaliser le Cd par un menu et un texte avec les éventuels problèmes rencontrés (on trouve plusieurs menus facilement reconfigurable : le nôtre par exemple)
- Taille installée des softs, dater + indexage + titre



****************************************
***Les inconvénients des WAREZ***
****************************************

- Pas de notice
- Les vidéos ont disparues
- Pas de sons ou pas les musiques
- Ca peut planter à un certain niveau = PAS DE GARANTIE


****************************************
***Comment Eviter le BUST ?***
****************************************

Pas connu, limiter les clients (je sais difficile quand on veut vendre)
Pas de graveur (difficile de résister)
Pas de stock chez soi
Eviter les sans-fils (tous les flics ont des scanners)
Préférer les GSM (plus dur à écouter : quoique !)
Crypté vos mails (pgp ou faites en un vous-même)
Listes de clients et contacts (au pire cryptées les avec un soft puissant)
Vendre sur IRC ou minitel (RTEL) : les V vous surveillent...
Rester des artisans sinon c'est le bust assuré
Eviter de faire le malin sur IRC 

Réfléchissez un peu...ca vaut le coup !!!


****************************************
***Les Busts français***
****************************************

Ou sont passé les Piratel, Mr Wil ? A priori ils sont à l'ombre. La récidive ca aide pas 
Ils vendaient un peu trops. Wil m'avait parlé de 600 clients !
Le problème est qu'ils se connaissaient tous entre eux. Et si un tombe tout le monde tombe.

Ca me rappelle le cas d'un gros qui vivait dans le nord. Il fournissait en DAT les plus gros francais.
Je me fournissais chez un de ceux-ci. Il est tombé et a entrainé une vingtaine de personnes avec lui.

C'est pourquoi un abo à l'étranger vous protège un peu plus.

De nombreux Busts ont été effectués dans le Milieu des CD-dealers. Je vous conseille de
connaître le moins de personnes possibles et d'être très discret : ceci pour votre survie.
Une balance : c'est vite arrivée...

Ca balance partout et la BSA est à l'affût des dealers de CD.
J'ai reçu une liste de busts dernièrement volée à la BSA. Ils recherchent
surtout les gros dealers et s'attaquent en premier aux BBS, et à ceux qui
fournissent la Warez.
L'opération "CYBERSTRIKE" restera à toujours le + gros bust de l'histoire où
les gros bonnets sont tombés : le FBI a coordonné une opération dans les
Etats des States : Down Of Eternity, RAZOR1911 WHQ, Towers of Sorcery....all
down. Et ce n'est que le début...

Ceux qui ont été bustés, ont quitté la scène ou la regarde de très loin. D'autres plus inconscient,
ont repris l'activité avec leurs mois sursis au cul !
Ils sont très discrets.
Les enjeux financiers sont tellement importants qu'ils sont vite remplacés. Couper une tête,
trois bras repoussent. C'est une guerre sans fin.
La seule solution : c'est une baisse de prix important. C'est la seule façon de tuer le piratage.
Quel étudiant peut se payer l'Office à 890 frs ?

A partir d'un certain niveau vous pouvez commencer la parano : retournez-vous, ils sont derrières vous !


****************************************
***Comment passer dans la légalité ?***
****************************************

-Testeur de jeux ou Hotliners : les sociétés sont basées à Paris, Lyon et Bordeaux (Kalisto)
-Service de gravage de disque dur
-Faire du négoce de cd-vierge (Traxdata rules !)
-Devenir éditeur de soft : on a tous des idées ! Non ?
- Commerciale GMS : faire de la voiture et compter des boites ca vous dit ?
- Monter un magasin en Thaïlande 



************************************
***Petit lexique***
************************************

La Warez est un terme générique qui désigne les logiciels piratés.
Gamez : les jeux piratés
Bust : une arrestation


****************************************************************************************

Numéro 3  pour la fin d'année si je suis pas en prison 

Si vous avez des infos ou des scans d'article de BUST n'hesitez pas à me les MAILER.

MACROBIO@freemail.org.mk

Je suis vivement intéressé par vos commentaires et je souhaite que vous soyez nombreux à m'aider pour le n°3 (totalement nouveau).

(prévus : la scène N64 et PSX par KbL, Le BSA de A-Z, les protections CDR, cours de crack Final fantaisie 7 et commandos, crypto mini + des interviews)

Nous recrutons toute personne susceptible de nous aider : cracker, coder, gfx, text, webmasters, IRC op, courriers

D'avance merci pour vos collaborations.

MACROBIO / PIRACY.FR'98




****************************************************************************************


****************************************
***Textes relatifs aux BUSTS***
****************************************

1 - CYBERSTRIKE (us)
2 - MB BUST ! (fr)
3 - TRAQUEKevin Mitnick (fr)
4 - L'autre plan VIGIPIRATE (fr)

Pirates MAG # 1 piraté !
Et oui, j'ai pensé que ce serai top de pirater un mag sur le piratage 
Eux il se font des couilles en or et en plus racontent des conneries (lire la définition de SE)
Vous retrouverez donc les 4 pages intéréssantes de ce mag sur notre site internet :

www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/siliconex/674  (OFFLINE pour le moment)


****CYBERSTRIKE

<> you haven't hear anything?
> yup but Im not very invloved on irc these days, I've been very sick
<> all bbs here busted last month including me
<> 7 states
> arghhh really?
<> operation cyberstrike
<> it was in CNN
> hmmm and what happened to you?
<> so all my equipment gone
> arghhh

> not cool
> very not cool
> so how are u gonna do now?
<> nothing happen .. fbi just took all my machine
> whoa the assholes
<> so no more bbs for now
> ah okey
> and Street Spyders?
<> it was the biggest bust ever
<> hehe
> the FTP site?
> ehehe
<> street spydrs gone :(
> really not cool
<> i just get my new machine like 3 days ago
> ahah okey

These are the boards that gonna be busted in March/April/May 1997

Tribe
Asylum
The Hell
Extreme Exposure
The Trigger
Crazy Horse
Westhoek
Deepest dungeon
Land of oases
Chaos desire
Morphin Board


Hope you aren't one of em :) Well got this list from a friend of mine in the
BSA ... Cya dudes

*************************************************************************

**** MB BUST

MB> Bon les gars ecoutez c du serieux
<MB> Je me suis fait chopper par les flics
<MB> En plein HACK du CNAM
<MB> Et j'ai eu le droit d'aller au SEFTI
> ...
<MB> Service d'Enquetes des Fraudes aux Technologies de l'Information
> je conais
<MB> Bon.. heuuu.. et heuuu
> continue
<MB> Voillaaa
<MB> Ben rien..
> tu denonce c ca ?
<MB> On m'a relaché a une condition...
<MB> Voila.. que je balance.. :(((
<MB> Alors tout ce que j'ai pu faire...
> et tu va me denoncer c ca
<MB> Pour me sortir de la merde
<MB> Pour qu'ils me relachent de la garde a vue..
> tu rigoles .
<MB> j'ai du balancer des infos...
> ?
<MB> Un peu bidon...
<MB> je deconnes pas
<MB> ben les mecs...
> des infos me concernant?
<MB> y cherchent... qqes personnes
<MB> non pas toi
> tu es sur ?
<MB> en fait... les mecs cherchent
LE channel warez
<MB> et heuu
<MB> ils etaient jusqu'ici sur #warez-france
<MB> et #french-warez
<MB> donc...
> sous kel nick
<MB> j'ai du balancer #w-fr
<MB> depuis hier 17h20 #w-fr est leur nouvelle cible...
<MB> alors.. deux solutions:
<MB> soit a partir de maintenant... VOUS VIDEZ le CHANNEL
<MB> et en choisissez un autre...
<MB> soit vous bannez ca:
<MB> *!*@*grolier.fr
<MB> parce que au SEFTI
<MB> le seul acces NET qu'ils ont
<MB> c une 28.8 de MERDE
<MB> avec un abonnement chez GROLIER
<MB> Voila....
<MB> Donc BANNEZ
> demande a gamin
<MB> parles en a tout le monde
> je ban pas moa
<MB> fais passer le mot
<MB> puis TIREZ vous
<MB> j'ai du donner qqes nicks
End of MB bufferFri Jan 10 14:04:34 1997


**************************************************************************************
*************************************************************************

**** TRAQUEKevin Mitnick

Seul un pirate peut en coincer un autre


TRAQUE
Kevin Mitnick savait se faufiler dans n'importe quel ordinateur, du FBI à la NASA. Il s'est attaqué à un de ses pairs repenti. Mal lui en a pris.

Bruno Giussani
Tsutomu Shimomura est un "hacker", un pirate informatique. Repenti. Depuis quelques années l'Américain, 30 ans, a sauté la barricade et mis ses talents au service de la sécurité informatique. Il a développé toute une gamme d'outils capables de détourner les systèmes téléphoniques cellulaires, mais aussi de piéger les pirates, et s'est taillé une excellente réputation. Le FBI, la US Air Force ou encore l'Agence de sécurité nationale font partie de ses clients.

Depuis quelques jours pourtant, le nom de Shimomura circule sur Internet avec une étiquette déplaisante: collabo. Il suffit d'ouvrir les "newsgroups" (forums électroniques) alt.2600 ou alt.hackers pour tomber sur un Canadien qui demande s'il est "le seul à penser que Tsutomu est un cornnard, et non pas un héros", ou sur un Danois qui lui répond que non, "t'as qu'à demander à Mitnick".

Kevin Mitnick est l'autre "hacker" de l'histoire. Une légende. La taupe la plus célèbre d'Internet. On lui attribue toutes sortes de piratages. Adolescent, il a détourné le service des informations téléphoniques: quand on appelait pour des renseignements, on tombait sur Mitnick ou sur un de ses complices qui répliquait: "Cette personne est-elle blanche ou noire, Monsieur? Car nous tenons deux répertoires distincts." Il s'est baladé dans les systèmes téléphoniques américains pour déconnecter le téléphone de ses ennemis ou pour changer son nom d'abonné en James Bond (et s'attribuer un nouveau numéro dont tout le monde devine les trois derniers chiffres). Il a déjoué les barrières du laboratoire de mise à feu de la NASA à Pasadena; du réseau de l'Université de Leeds en Angleterre; de l'unité centrale de la défense aérienne américaine, dans le Colorado; du système de localisation d'appels du FBI.

Sa cavale durait depuis trois ans. Mais le jour de Noël dernier, Mitnick s'en est pris à Tsutomu Shimomura. Il n'aurait pas dû.

Shimomura est chez lui, le 26 décembre, et se prépare à partir en vacances, quand il reçoit un appel de ses collègues du Centre de calcul de San Diego. Quelqu'un s'est introduit la nuit précédente dans les ordinateurs installés dans sa maison de vacances, à Del Mar, et a "volé" des centaines de documents et de logiciels.

L'attaquant a exploité une faille notoire dans l'architecture du réseau Internet, faisant croire à l'ordinateur de Tsutomu Shimomura que le message venait d'une source autorisée - en l'occurrence, un ordinateur de la Loyola University de Chicago utilisé comme "passerelle". Habile, certes, le pirate ne s'est toutefois pas aperçu que Shimomura a programmé ses ordinateurs pour qu'ils envoyent toutes les quelques heures une copie de leur index à un autre ordinateur - ce qui a produit une alerte automatique.

Un mois plus tard, Shimomura reçoit un deuxième coup de fil. L'opérateur d'un service commercial d'accès à Internet, le Well ("Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link") de Sausalito, l'informe que les documents volés à Del Mar ont été déposés dans son ordinateur par un inconnu.

Tsutomu Shimomura et une petite équipe du Centre de calcul s'installent alors à Sausalito, branchent trois portables sur le réseau interne du Well, mettent en place un système de surveillance, et commencent à observer l'activité du pirate - chaque frappe de ce dernier s'affichant sur leurs écrans. Une nuit, ils l'observent même alors qu'il infiltre l'ordinateur censé protéger le réseau interne de Motorola et dérobe... le logiciel de sécurité.

Quelques jours plus tard, ils détectent le vol de 20 000 numéros de cartes de crédit appartenant aux clients de Netcom, un des principaux fournisseurs d'accès à Internet, basé à San Jose. Ils s'y déplacent et recommencent la traque. Bizarrement, les appels semblent venir de trois villes: Minneapolis, Denver et Raleigh. Ce n'est qu'en comparant longuement les registres des compagnies téléphoniques et ceux de Netcom que Shimomura et ses collègues acquièrent la conviction que le pirate se trouve a Raleigh, et qu'il utilise un téléphone cellulaire pour se connecter à plusieurs points d'accès de Netcom afin d'éviter d'être localisé.

A Raleigh, les appels semblent entrer par un central de la compagnie téléphonique GTE, dont les listings en renvoient toutefois l'origine chez une autre compagnie: Sprint. Grâce à une brillante manipulation des logiciels du réseau, GTE pensait que les appels venaient de Sprint, et vice versa. Aucune des deux compagnies n'avait donc de données sur l'utilisateur du téléphone - ni ne lui a jamais envoyé de facture d'ailleurs! Le numéro identifié, pendant deux jours Shimomura et ses collègues parcourent les rues de Raleigh avec une antenne de détection, et localisent enfin l'appartement où habite Mitnick.

A deux heures du matin, le 15 février, le FBI et Shimomura frappent à la porte. "Salut Tsutomu! Felicitations", aurait dit le "hacker".

Dans son obsession du dépassement technique, Mitnick représentait le pire cauchemar d'un monde totalement informatisé mais encore maladroit dans la lutte aux cyberpirates (lire l'encadré). Ceux qui l'ont rencontré ou ont étudié ses agissements le décrivent comme un jeune homme d'une intelligence limitée, spécialisée, très réservé et méfiant, un perdant doué d'un talent extraordinaire sur ordinateur, le seul endroit où il excellait. Les gens avaient peur de lui, comme d'un magicien un peu fou.

Non sans raison: les talents techniques de Mitnick avaient de quoi faire trembler la planète. Mais jamais il n'a essayé de tirer un profit de ce qu'il savait, n'a effacé ou altéré les mémoires informatiques qu'il parvenait à percer, n'a utilisé aucun des numéros de cartes de crédit qu'il a volés. Il faisait ça pour la beauté du geste, pour défier ceux qui sont en charge de la sécurité informatique.
"Kevin se moquait des grosses entreprises comme du FBI, et c'est pour ça qu'il a fini par représenter une menace, a déclaré son ex-femme. Il leur a prouvé qu'ils étaient vulnérables, et eux ne voulaient surtout pas que ça se sache."

Kevin Mitnick risque jusqu'à trente-cinq ans de prison. Il ne peut téléphoner qu'à son avocat, sa mère et sa grand-mère, de peur que, en appellant un autre numéro quelque part dans le monde, il n'allume une bombe informatique préprogrammée
.
Br. G.
*******************

Journal d'une poursuite avec Kevin Mitnick


25 décembre 1994
Un pirate se faufile dans les ordinateurs de Tsutomu Shimomura, vole des fichiers et des logiciels et les "entrepose" dans les ordinateurs du Well.

30 janvier 1995
Utilisant des connexions "invisibles" et des logiciels développés sur mesure, Shimomura surveille le trafic sur les réseaux du Well et de Netcom et peut observer chaque mouvement du "hacker".

Février 1995
Le "hacker" a bricolé ses ordinateurs de façon à se connecter depuis plusieurs villes et manipulé les logiciels réseau des compagnies téléphoniques pour échapper à la détection. Shimomura remonte toutefois à un central pour téléphones cellulaires de Raleigh.

13 février 1995
Pendant deux jours, Shimomura et des techniciens arpentent les rues de Raleigh avec une antenne de détection, et localisent la maison d'où partent les appels.

15 février 1995
A 2 heures du matin, le FBI frappe à la porte de l'appartement 202 de Players Court. L'homme qui vient ouvrir est Kevin Mitnick, le plus célèbre pirate informatique.


*****************************

**************************************************************************************
*************************************************************************

****L'autre plan VIGIPIRATE

L'autre plan VIGIPIRATE...



Si vous êtes un utilisateur des produits Microsoft... mais comment ne pas l'être, vous avez automatiquement acheté un Dos, un Windows 3.1, un MSOffice, ou WinWord ou Excel ou Powerpoint... Bon, ne tergiversons pas, vous êtes un utilisateur officiel Microsoft... alors vous devez recevoir HORIZONS, la revue des utilisateurs Microsoft... Lisez le numéro 21, celle de cet été 1995, à la page 12, il y a une publicité de BSA. On y voit six pieds, deux de lit, quatre de détenus... Cela se passe dans une cellule de prison :

- Moi, vol à mains armée : 5 ans. Et toi ? - Piratage de logiciels : 2 ans ! - Et comment t'es tombé ? - On m'a donné. - Tu sais qui ? - ... Tu sais, tout le monde peut te dénoncer. On peut même t'accuser de complicité. Il y a simplement un numéro à appeler. Plus personne n'est à l'abri. Tu vois, le piratage, c'est du vol. Il faut utiliser les logiciels originaux. C'est tout.

Cet extrait pour vous signaler que le plan VIGIPIRATE s'applique aussi aux logiciels. Nous avons reçu courant Juin une information de la Société BSA (Business Software Alliance) à propos du piratage des logiciels. Tout ce qui suit est extrait du document distribué par BSA ("Mémento pratique - l'utilisation des logiciels", 20 pages) :

... BSA est une organisation internationale d'éditeurs de logiciels. Sa mission est de promouvoir un commerce mondial libre et ouvert de logiciels légaux, par le biais d'un renforcement de la protection de la propriété intellectuelle, d'une sensibilisation du public à cette protection, et par des actions contre la copie illégale sous toutes ses formes. BSA regroupe, au niveau français, un grand nombre d'éditeurs de logiciels parmi lesquels : Adobe-Aldus, Autodesk, Ciel, Claris, Comedia, Goto Informatique, Gupta, Infodidact, JES, Logimac, Lotus, Matra Datavision, Microsoft, Saari, Santa Cruz Operation France, Symantec.

... BSA a mis en place deux types de programmes pour lutter contre le piratage de logiciels : un programme d'information et un programme de contrôle. Le programme d'information comporte - le guide d'utilisation des logiciels (demandez le à BSA), - les campagnes publicitaires (lisez ci-dessus), la charte de communication : "J'aime le logiciel original", - une "hotline" BSA, Tél.: (1) 43 33 95 95. Fax : (1) 43 33 96 96 pour mieux vous renseigner.

... Quant au programme de contrôle... Lorsque BSA est amené à constater l'existence et la réalité de problèmes de copie de logiciels, elle poursuit en justice les contrevenants...


Au niveau des responsabilités :

En ce qui concerne la copie des logiciels : Dans le secteur public, il faut se souvenir de la circulaire Rocard du 17 Juillet 90 qui prévoit expressément la responsabilité des fonctionnaires : "un fonctionnaire auteur ou responsable de reproduction illicite devra seul supporter les condamnations pénales encourues même s'il n'a pas agi dans son intérêt personnel".

Au niveau de l'utilisation d'une copie illicite de logiciel :

Dans le privé, l'employé qui se trouve en état de subordination, ne sera pas tenu responsable de l'utilisation d'une copie illicite de logiciel dont il n'aura pas pris l'initiative, se contentant de travailler avec les outils mis à sa disposition par son employeur. Cet employé est en revanche en droit de refuser d'utiliser une copie illicite de logiciel et ce refus ne saurait naturellement onstituer un motif de licenciement (ceci s'applique également pour la reproduction du logiciel)... A l'inverse, l'employeur peut ici s'exonérer de sa responsabilité civile en cas d'utilisation illicite de logiciels par ses employés en démontrant qu'il avait expressément interdit de telles pratiques et mis les moyens nécessaires en oeuvre pour faire respecter cette interdiction. Par contre, pour l'employé du
secteur public, la circulaire Rocard n'envisage pas la responsabilité du fonctionnaire en cas d'usage d'un logiciel contrefaisant.

Si on applique ces informations données par le BSA, il semble que

de nombreux enseignements vont devoir s'arrêter...,
de nombreuses machines dans les labos vont devoir se vider des logiciels illicites qu'elles contiennent... Combien avez-vous de machines ? Toutes avec un traitement de texte, un tableur ? Combien de licences avez-vous ? Ah, vous n'avez pas toutes les licences nécessaires ? Bon, très bien, vous écopez de 2 ans avec des oranges... ou des citrons ?

Il faut vraiment que nos Présidents d'Université se penchent sur LE problème... soit l'université acquiert et se donne les moyens de travailler "honnêtement", soit on ferme... C'est pour quand ?

Ici à Nice, pour l'instant, nous avons eu le programme d'informations en Juin dernier...

Pour le programme de contrôle..., on vous tiendra au courant !

**************

GROS PLAN : Le piratage informatique


Cybersphère fait le point sur les hackers, crackers, et autres pirates de l'informatique.

Introduction. Par Cyril Fiévet.
Historique du hackisme. Par Cyril Fiévet.
La lutte contre le piratage logiciel : BSA et SPA. Par Jean-Christophe Thomas
Les enquêtes de la PJ : interview du Commissaire Daniel Padoin (SEFTI). Par Cyril Fiévet.
L'activisme - la liberté électronique. Par Jean-Christophe Thomas.



************

Comment se protéger des "hackers"


Le piratage informatique existe depuis la naissance des réseaux. Internet attirant toutefois de plus en plus d'utilisateurs, les occasions se multiplient. On a recensé 2241 attaques en 1994, le double de l'année précédente.

Il s'avère qu'un grand nombre de piratages se sont opérés aux dépens de machines ou de systèmes qui n'étaient pas bien protégés. Que peut faire une entreprise pour sauvegarder ses ordinateurs connectés à Internet?

@ Eriger des barrières ("firewalls") entre le réseau interne et le Net. Il s'agit d'ordinateurs dont l'unique tâche est de sélectionner le trafic et de refuser l'accès aux personnes non autorisées. De grandes compagnies comme DEC mais aussi des PME comme Lightning Instrumentation à Pully fournissent ces équipements.

@ Utiliser des logiciels de filtrage pour éviter le "protocol spoofing", c'est-à-dire la filouterie informatique, et découvrir un ordinateur pirate qui se fait passer pour un autre, autorisé, ou qui utilise ce dernier comme "passerelle".

@ Brouiller les messages tels que le courrier électronique ou les numéros de cartes de crédit par des méthodes de cryptage, de façon à ce que seuls les détenteurs des codes puissent les lire.

@ Introduire des mots de passe "one time", c'est-à-dire valables une seule fois. Même s'ils sont interceptés, ils ne peuvent pas être réutilisés. La société américaine Security Dynamics vend par exemple une carte ("SecurID") qui affiche un numéro qui change
chaque minute sur la base d'un algorythme prédéterminé.

@ La première mesure est toutefois de former le personnel à la protection des données. Il s'est souvent avéré que les "hackers" ont obtenu plus de succès par l'"ingénierie sociale" (obtenant des informations et des mots de passe par la tromperie) que par leurs seuls talents techniques.

Il existe un bon catalogue des ressources disponibles sur Internet. De nombreuses informations sont également accessibles sur le serveur de l'Electronic Frontier Foundation ou dans les newsgroups alt.security ou comp.security.misc Le Club de la sécurité informatique suisse (CLUSIS) organise par ailleurs un colloque consacré à la protection des réseaux le mardi 14 mars
(après-midi) à Fribourg. Renseignements au (021) 636 32 39.

Br. G.




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ENGLISH TEXTS

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BSA Announces Internet Presence


*** From Net-Happenings Moderator ***

From: cjc@iis.com (Chris Clark)
Subject: WWW> BSA Announces Internet Presence
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 07:18:11 -0500 (EST)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 21, 1995

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Kim Willlard 202.872.5500
U.S. Anti-Piracy Hotline 800.688.BSA1

BSA ANNOUNCES ITS ONLINE STATUS

WASHINGTON (March 22, 1995) -- The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is
pleased to announce that it has entered cyberspace via the Internet.

Beginning today, information concerning the BSA will be available to
"net surfers" and "web-crawlers." By accessing the BSA web page
(http://www.bsa.org/bsa), online users will be able to receive information
concerning the software industry, BSA member companies, worldwide reports
and software piracy statistics, as well as the BSA Guide to Software
Management.

The global Internet, the world's largest computer network, is comprised
of over 25 million users, 400,000 networks, and 2.2 million computers in 83
different nations--according to a Reston, VA based
Internet watchdog, the Internet Society.

By maintaining an online page, BSA hopes to spread its message to
that vast Internet community. "We are extremely pleased to be on
the Internet," said BSA President Robert Holleyman . "By establishing
a presence on this information superhighway, BSA will strengthen its
links to businesses and ensure a direct voice to those we need to reach
most," Holleyman stated, adding that the Internet will be "a valuable
tool in distributing information concerning software management in our
continuing effort to curb software piracy and promote the use of
original software."

For example, instead of having to wait for the BSA Guide to Software
Management to arrive by "snail mail," managers can now download this
information at any time from the BSA page. The Guide gives managers
instructions on how to make sure the software being used at their business
is legitimate. With the BSA's recent successes in getting substantial
settlements from firms using unauthorized software, it is an opportunity no
business can afford to miss.



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Cyberstrike


The software industry says it's been getting ripped off by pirates
who sell billions of dollars worth of illegal copies every year, and
those pirates are getting a lot of help from the Internet. Jim
Goldman reports on a major roundup of alleged software pirates.
It's called Operation Cyberstrike.

Software pirates use the Internet as a tool,
posting copied software on illegal Websites
for computer users to download. No disks,
no boxes, no delays. With just a few clicks of
the mouse, software companies worldwide
lost thirteen billion dollars last year alone.

"The Internet is like a superhighway for
people to jump online and steal goods," says
Symantec general counsel, Rebecca Ranninger.

The FBI worked closely with software companies, including Sega, Sony, Autodesk,
Microsoft, Intuit, Adobe, Symantec, and others.

The FBI is pleased with its eight-month investigation, calling software the technology
industry's lifeblood and a critical national asset. "There's an element out there that
believes what they're doing is not illegal, but tell that to the people whose ideas are
being stolen," says George Grotz of the FBI.

Microsoft alone has lost millions thanks to pirated copies of its Windows 95 software.
Symantec claims one of its programs is China's hottest software product, though it
has only sold one official copy in the country.

Adds Fred Hoar of Miller-Shandwick, apublic relations firm,
"Software is becoming part of our everyday lives; it affects every part of us.
It's critical and this is not something about which we should be complacent."

Some companies have begun encrypting their software, encoding it so it can't be copied
illegally. But with the Internet such a major distribution point, law enforcement
says that may be one way to deal with the problem, but it certainly won't solve it.
posted 2/21/97


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[ UGNEWSJanuary 28th ]

Attention Pir8's

Jan 28th 1997 Beware! Operation
CyberStrike is active and hunting you down!
Time once again to play hide the warez and wonder if the Fed's really don't have
anything better to do. As of this Tuesday you may find your favourite warez sites
shutdown and some of your online buddies missing. Be worried, be very worried,
several people have been visited by the FBI and had the systems confiscated.
As of this date no arrests have been made however.


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Interview with Caserd Co-Leader of Amnesia
By: Exodis

ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß


Anemia:Please state your name, Afils, and position.
Caserd:Caserd, Amnesia Co-Leader/Razor 1911 Net Courier

Anemia:How did ya get started?
Caserd:I got started about 2 years ago on AOL when my grandfather made me
get on AOL to "check out" the INTERNET, I was reluctant at first and
then I started to enjoy the "chat rooms" and kept hearing about
private room WAREZ.So I hung around in there for a while doin
gshit with AOL warez groups and discovered the REAL internet where
I got with Motiv8 and Pinnacle, which are still around now and
started couriering to ftp sites and supplying a little for Pinnacle,
I got on a few good sites luckily and found out how to use "screen"
and started making top 10s on the weektop pretty soon I was in
Amnesia/Razor 1911/Drink or Die thats about it :)

Anemia:How would say Amnesia/Razor 1911/Drink or Die are handling the recent
FBI actions?
Caserd:welp, im not sure how Drink or Die is handling it.. since i quit
the group a couple months ago.. but I know Razor is hurting since
the busts are aimed at Razor 1911. Amnesia has been hurt by it too
since ours and Razor 1911's WHQ (Street Spydrs) was busted.

Anemia:Many people are wondering if Razor is dead or dieing because of the
lack of presence felt by all.
Caserd:Razor 1911 is THE longest lasting group by far today.. Razor 1911
will continue to bring quality to the scene; we've been through
ups and downs, but Razor will always come out on top.

Anemia:Has the FBI slowed or caused a lasting effect to the release scene
and your groupd in general?
Caserd:well, not really, until recently.. with all the board busts
and threats of busting more shit up.I think everyone on the warez
scene is smart, and we will find away to get around the fucking FBI
ALWAYS.

Anemia:As the acting Co-leader of Amnesia, do you feel that you will have
tighter security to filter out narcs, lamers, etc.
Caserd:well.. we arent really accepting people at all right now
unless they are top of the line: ie. Constantly on weektops of the
elite sites.

Anemia:Have your top members, like yourself, felt direct presssure from
big-brother and gone into hiding?
Caserd:sure, everyones felt the pressure, its just that a lot of
the top couriers/members are die hard warez ppl, and refuse to quit
the scene.

Anemia:Have you seen any major changes in the members status of Amnesia
/Razor 1911/Drink or Die?
Caserd:no.. sure havent

Anemia:Any major happenings past/present/future for Amnesia/Razor 1911/
Drink or Die?
Caserd:Amnesia is picking up it's pace once again, and now is a top
threat for the #1 courier group spot.. Razor continues to stay at #1
.. nothing major to happen as i know right now

Anemia:Any new releases that you would like to mention that are coming
out in 97'?
Caserd:i havent been into the scene much this year.. but as I
learn of more information, I'll tell you.

Anemia:Any allies/enemies past or present?
Caserd:hmm... many enemies :)Mainly risc ppl, darkside is one to
name.

Anemia:Any people you miss who have left the scene?
Caserd:many allies also.. not too many people have left the scene
that i have been friends with.

Anemia:Any greetz to go out?
Caserd:sure.. ok, this may take a while, so hold..hehee

Anemia:np :)
Caserd:in no specific order: trite, HyP, Lester, Master1, Hackrat,
Snapz, VENOM, Arc Angel, Toast, Tklp, Ranger, The69er, NyteMyst,
Mayhem, Netrunner, Krimenal, Bomb, Coolio, Utopos, TGK, Swamp Thing,
DETHKILL, MAZE, Prozac, The Punisher, VITAS, PITBULL, Davanadless,
CyberPhreak, SMasteR, Alpha, Zima Man, David & Goliath, Jabbers, all
the ANEMIA crew and the MOTIV8 leaders, all the ex-SPiN crew, OLD
SCHOOL ALLiED/FWA crew and everyone who has helped make my success
in the scene today (i know i've missed tons of ppl, but fuck. i was
just naming names out of #'s i was in!)
And to darkside: FUCK YOU hehehe

Anemia:thanx for the time.
Caserd:np.. 1 more FUCK YOU..MGD.. hehe

Caserd:later


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Software Piracy

by: Jason Brochu



Software piracy is the illegal copying of computer software. It is also the computer industry's worst problem. An example of pirating is copying one's office software to bring home in order to finish up work. Most license agreements do not allow one to bring home a copy of their office software while some software companies allow their buyers to do so. Another example of illegal copying of software would include copying software for another person to use.

The different ways of pirating can be broken down into five basic ways of pirating. These include counterfeiting, softlifting, hard-disk loading, bulletin-board piracy, and software rental. Counterfeiting is duplicating and selling unauthorized copies of software in such a manner as to try to pass off the illegal copy as if it were a legitimate copy produced by or authorized by the publisher. Softlifting is the purchasing of a single licensed copy of software and loading it on several machines, contrary to the terms of the license agreement. This includes sharing software with friends and co-workers. Hard-disk loading is selling computers pre-loaded with illegal software. Bulletin-board piracy is putting software on a bulletin-board service for anyone to copy or copying software from a bulletin-board service which is not shareware or freeware. Software rental is the renting of software for
temporary use. These are the five main ways in which people pirate software.

An overview of software protection techniques is needed to understand the term "software law". Software law is actually a combination of several well-established fields of law, all of which affect the software industry. There are four main ways in which a company can protect their software. These four different methods include using trade secrets, copyright protection, patents, and trademarks.

Trade secrets are used mainly for unpublished works and source code. This nondisclosure agreement is a contract that obligates the person signing it to keep the project they are working on as a secret. Trade secret is a prime example of your having to rely on yourself if you want solid legal protection.

Copyright protection protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. This would include the structure and content of a program. Some common misconceptions about copyright laws include:

1) Forget everything you've heard about sending yourself copies of your program in sealed envelopes. While it's always nice to receive mail, sending yourself programs will not provide copyright protection.

2) A pirate cannot circumvent your copyright by changing a few lines in your program. The courts will examine the whole program and find infringement if significant copying has occurred or, perhaps, if the structure and logic of the program as a whole has been "borrowed".

3) Do not put the following symbols on your program unless you know what they mean: reg, TM, PAT., Patented. They have nothing to do with copyright.

4) Names of companies, names of programs, and book titles cannot be copyrighted. However, they very likely can be protected in other ways, including trademark protection and statutory laws against unfair competition.

A patent protects the idea itself. There are two major drawbacks to patents. The drawbacks are that they take a lot of money and that they take a lot of time, usually two or more years. One should also realize that the process is complicated and technical as well. The Patent Office has taken the position of granting patents "unwillingly", which simply means that one must prove their case in order to get a patent. Computer games are rarely patent protected because the shelf life for a game is up to six months, and that's if you're lucky. By the time the patent is finally received, the product has already been taken off of the shelf. On the other hand, if the design of a particular approach to basic programming, because of its innovative nature, holds the premise for widespread use once the concept become know, one should explore the possibility of obtaining a patent on it.

Trademark laws protect the name of the software, not the software itself. It may be that protecting a name from being used by others is more valuable than other protection. Some examples include: "Lotus 1-2-3", "Apple", "D-BASE", "Wordperfect", and many others.

The best approach for protection is to have a combination of trade secret protection, copyright laws, and trademark laws for the product being produced because these are cheap, effective, and fast ways of protecting a software product from being pirated.

To find out more about software protection techniques one can visit legal care at Island Graphics Click on Legal Care for your Software. This will take you to Legal Care for your Software's home page. This contains a step-by-step legal guide for computer sofrtware writers, programmers, and publishers. It also talks about a book called Legal Care for your Software. The fifth edition is now completely revised and remains the software industry's definitive book explaining software protection law. It shows how to take advantage of it, and offers practical advice for writers and publishers of computer software. It includes tear-out contracts and forms ready to be used or modified.

While computer software is a new form of intellectual property, it is covered under the same provisions of the copyright laws that protect music, books, and film from unauthorized distribution. Like the more traditional media, infringement of copyright law carries with it stiff penalties. All software comes with a license which specifically states the terms and conditions under which the software may be legally used. It is important to read and understand the license accompanying the program to ensure that you have sufficient legal copies of the software for your organization's needs.

Unauthorized duplication of software is a Federal offense that can subject one to not only a civil suit for damages, attorney's fees, and other relief, but criminal liability as well, including fines and jail terms up to five years. The primary legal weapon against software piracy is Federal copyright law. The owner of copyright has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize the reproduction
of the copyright work in copies, prepare derivative works based upon the copyrights works, distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer or ownership, or by rental, lease or lending. Anyone who violates any of the exclusive
rights of the copyright owner is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author, as the case may be. Any person who infringes a copyright willfully and for purposes of commercial advantages or private financial gain shall be punished. When any person is convicted of any violation the court in its judgment of conviction shall order the forfeiture and destruction of all infringing copies and all implements, devices, or equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies. Any person who, with fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person
knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500. Any person who, with fraudulent intent, removes or alters any notice of copyright appearing on a copy of a copyrighted work shall be fined not more than $2,500. Any person who commits an offense shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution, during any 180 day period, of at least 10 copies of 1 or more copyrighted works, with a retail value of more than $2,500.

Below is a picture is of the certificate of authenticity which came with Microsoft's Windows 95 package. The Certificate of Authenticity is an assurance that the software that the customer has purchased with their computer system is legally licensed from Microsoft Corporation. It also states that if the consumer has any concerns about the legitimacy of the Certificate of Authenticity or the software they have received, to call the Microsoft Piracy Hotline at 1-800-RULEGIT or contact a local Microsoft subsidiary.

Microsoft's home page contains information on the company itself. It contains information on its products, support, developers information, partners and solutions, their internet resource center, their internet explorer, and the Microsoft Network.

Microsoft's Windows 95 package also came with a license agreement for the end user. The license agreement reads, This Microsoft End-User License Agreement (EULA) is a legal agreement between you and Microsoft Corporation for the Microsoft product identified above, which includes computer software and associated media and printed materials, and may include "online"
or electronic documentation. By installing, copying, or otherwise using the Software Product, you agree to be bound by the terms of the EULA. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, promptly return the unused Software Product to the place from which you obtained it for a full refund. The license goes on to say, The Software Product is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The Software Product is licensed, not sold.
The license grants the user the right to install and use one copy of the Software Product on a single computer. If the Software Product includes functionalities that enables your single computer to act as a network server, any number of computers or workstations may access or otherwise utilize the basic network services of that server. To install the Software Product on other computers you must acquire and dedicate a license for each separate computer on which the Software Product is installed or run from. A license for the Software Product may not be shared or used concurrently on different computers. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software Product, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation. The Software Product is licensed as a single product. Its component parts may
not be separated for use on more than one computer. You may not rent or lease the Software Product. Without prejudice to any other rights, Microsoft may terminate this EULA if you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this EULA. In such event,
you must destroy all copies of the Software Product and all of its component parts. The license ends by saying, All title and copyrights in and to the Software Product (including but not limited to any images, photographs, animations, video, audio, music, text, and "applets," incorporated into the Software Product), the accompanying printed materials, and any copies of the Software Product, are owned by Microsoft or its suppliers. The Software Product is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Therefore, you must treat the Software Product like any other copyrighted material except that you may either make one copy of the Software Product solely for backup or archival purposes, or install the Software Product on a single computer provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes. You may not copy the printed materials accompanying the
Software Product.

The software industry losses millions of dollars each year in projected sales because of pirates. In 1993 it has been estimated that the software industry had lost $1.5 billion in the United States alone to software pirating. It has also been estimated that 40% of the software used in the United States is illegal. By losing the potential sales the industry also loses out on potential profits. By not knowing the users of pirated software they also lose the opportunity to cross-sell their other products, market upgrades, and they don't receive suggestions from pirates. There are three main ways in which legal users are effected by pirates. These are that it limits research and development funds of companies, drives retail prices on software up, and there is also a decline in software
production.

Besides the losses felt in the United States, there is much more of a problem with pirates overseas. Worldwide losses from pirated business software was $12 billion in 1993. Overseas, six of every seven software users utilize pirated software. Some countries provide no copyright protection at all for software. They are hostile towards enforcement because software is primarily a United States asset. One case in Germany was that there was a company called Microsoft OEM which copied Microsoft's Windows and DOS disks and sold them to consumers. Over 200,000 disks were recovered after a raid and the company settled for $200,000.

There was another case involving computer piracy which was printed in the New York Times, February 20, 1996. The headlines read, "Copyright Pirates Prosper In China Despite Promises". The author was talking to a Mr. Wang who is a pirate, and when asked about his business Mr. Wang replied, "Pirating is not so bad, if it means selling compact disks at prices ordinary Chinese can afford, like $1. Exports made up most of the five million disks copied at the Cai Ling Audio and Video Company, where Mr. Wang is the chairman and general manager. A year after a landmark agreement between the United States and China promised to fight intellectual property violations and pirates like Mr. Wang aggressively, factories like his in Guangdong Province are still
flouting enforcement efforts. In the meantime, 220 million cassette tapes and 45 million CD's, worth a total of $250 million, were
copied illegally in 1995. Although a few compact disk companies were finally suspended by Chinese Government officials last
year, not one has been prosecuted, nor has a business license been revoked. In fact, it is increasingly evident that pirates like Mr.
Wang are protected by powerful forces, military, secret police, and organized crime, which the central Government has failed, or
simply declined, to rein in. One piece of evidence is a CD-ROM compiling Windows 95, OS/2, and other computer software on
a single disk, that is widely sold for $2.50 in Shenzhen. During the conversation with Mr. Wang, he lost his composure when
asked about the federation's representatives. He said, "Those people are snakes!". He goes on to say, "I tried to help them when
they first approached me, even arranging a lunch with his friends in the local government to introduce them. I help them, and what
do they do?", he said, "they send people here undercover to buy CD's to see what we are making! They are spying". Mr. Wang
admitted that what he had sold the federation's buyers was pirated, and said he understood that it was against the law. And he did
not seem sheepish about displaying his closeness to local officials whom he invited for lunch. But he seemed to be most offended
by what he saw as a violation of a code of honor. Mr. Wang goes on to say, "They want to protect intellectual property rights. I
have no problem with that. But it is wrong for them to spy". I would ask Mr. Wang, "Isn't wrong to break the law to begin with
and there would not be a reason to spy if you did not break this law?". Below is a picture which is found in the New York Times
which displays the destruction of the pirated materials.



An article in Computerworld read, "Microsoft tries to quash European software piracy". Saying it is tired of losing money to
European software counterfeiters, Microsoft Corp. recently kicked off a multinational campaign to fight the growing crime of
software piracy. Microsoft's European president Bernard Vergnes said the company is committed to cracking down on
counterfeiting operations that have spread from Asia into Europe's established software markets. There is $5 billion in Europe not
being made by the software industry because of counterfeiting. Vergnes also went on to say that a number of new organizations
have begun to sell high-quality imitations of Microsoft's DOS and Windows programs with the Microsoft label, but without a
license. Microsoft hopes to curb the counterfeiting trend by heightening awareness of local and international enforcement
authorities; lobbying governments to classify software violations as copyright infringement; educating users about counterfeit
software and the benefits of buying original programs; and taking legal action against know violators.

Below is a graph which shows the losses of the industry over the years of 1992 and 1993 all over the world.


The Software Publishers Association (SPA) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) are the two major organizations which
fight against software piracy. The SPA is the leading international trade association for the personal computer software industry. It
is also the largest international network of software professionals representing over 90% of the US packaged software industry.
The SPA and its members are dedicated to serving the needs of the software publishing community, in addition to addressing
relevant issues and providing solutions to specific industry concerns. The SPA collected $2.7 million worldwide and the BSA
collected more than $4 million in North America alone from companies last year. The SPA initiated action against 447
organization in 1994. The SPA reports that the vast majority of anti-piracy cases are initiated by hot-line calls from current or
former employees. Of these, 80% or more are from former employees. The SPA reports that almost 30 times a day their
anti-piracy hot lines ring up a new tip. As a part of its ongoing mission to promote compliance with software license agreements,
the SPA has developed an eight point program for ensuring software compliance.

One can reach the Software Publishers Association by clicking here. The SPA offers information on subjects such as Membership
Benefits and Information, SPA Europe, Anti-Piracy, and the Certified Software Manager Courses.

One can reach the Business Software Alliance by clicking here. The BSA contains information on topics such as the 1994 piracy
statistics, information about the organzation, and wordwide anti-piracy hotlines.

The SPA has come up with an eight point program which allows for companies to ensure software compliance with the law. This
program includes appointing a software manager, implementing a software code of ethics, have procedures for acquiring and
registering software, establishing and maintaining a software log, conducting periodic audits, establishing an employee education
program, maintaining a library of software licenses, and finally to enjoy the benefits of compliance.

The software manager is responsible for implementing all aspects of software policy, maintenance of detailed records and
supervision of compliance. The importance of assigning a specific person to this task must be emphasized. To ensure a
comprehensive, uniformly administered program, employees should have access to a single individual.

Implementing a software code of ethics involves the organization having its employees sign a Software Code of Ethics agreement.
It should be made a condition of employment and should be documented as such in employee handbooks and organization hiring
policies. Employees should also be educated about this code of ethics.

The next topic is to establish procedures for acquiring and registering software. There are eight steps to this process.

1) Needs Assessment: Software purchasing decisions should be assessed like any other organization investment. The organization
defines its software requirements, supervisors approve the requirements, and software packages are evaluated to determine which
is best for the organization.

2) Planning and Budgeting: Software purchases must be budgeted. New software must be budgeted in when purchasing a new
pc. Software purchases can equal 50% or more of the cost of the computer.

3) Purchasing: It is essential that the purchasing of software can be a standard procedure just like the acquisition of other critical
assets. All software purchases should proceed through the organization's normal purchasing channels.

4) Registration: The software manager should complete registration cards for all software as it is purchased. Returning these
promptly to the publisher ensures that the organization will receive product support and timely product announcements.

5) Storage and Security: The software manager should deliver new disks and manuals directly to the individual user. After
installing the software for the user, the software manager should keep the original disks in a separate, secured, storage area.

6) Documentation: Original manuals, tutorials and other user-oriented documentation should reside with the software user. This
encourages employees to purchase the software.

7) Home Computers: Generally, employees should not be allowed to bring software from home and load it on organization's
computers because of the risk this poses. An organization's computers are important assets and risks to assets should be
minimized. To ensure that all software used in an organization is both legal and virus-free, software should be purchased and
installed through the organization's established software acquisition process only. Organization-owned software cannot be taken
home and loaded onto employee's home computers if it also resides on the organization's computer. If the employee is to use
software at home, the organization should purchase a separate package and record it as an organizational asset. However, there
are some exceptions, some software companies provide in their license agreements that home use is permitted under certain
circumstances.

8) Shareware: Shareware is copyrighted software that is freely distributed through bulletin boards and on-line systems. Shareware
applications should be considered as part of an audit and shareware authors should be paid for their efforts.

The next main point is to establish and maintain a software log. The software manager should maintain a log of all software
purchases by the organization. The software log should note the location of each software package and the computer on which it
was installed.

The software manager should also conduct periodic audits. The biggest benefit of the audit is that it allows to determine
compliance with the various aspects of the organization's software policy.

Another point is to establish an employee education program. To ensure that the software compliance program is successful, it
should be supported by an organization-wide education program, one that targets its message to all employees from senior
managers to support staff.

The next step is to maintain a library of software licenses. The software manager should not only become familiar with the license
agreement of the software products used by the organization, but should also be responsible for maintaining a library of product
licenses.

The final step is to enjoy the benefits of software license compliance. With original computer software, users receive full
documentation, technical support and upgrade notifications. The user will also be investing in the quality assurance and reliability of
the product.

Today there are many ways in which companies are trying to beat pirates. Copy protection and license management are technical
ways of protecting software. They are practical responses to a technical problem, software piracy. One of the new technologies
which does this is a program known as network license manager which roams a network and keeps track of programs in use.
When a user attempts to use more programs than they paid for this program makes them wait until a copy becomes free. Another
technique is known as mode locking. This is that a program is encouraged to be copied and freely distributed but the program
runs only in demo mode and if a person wants the full copy of the program they can call the company and get a password to do
so with a phone call and money. A new product from Link's is CopyLock II which makes software able to distinguish between
seemingly identical computers, therefore only one computer can have the software. Once protected, the program or data cannot
be copied by software utilities or hardware devices. SoftLock is another product out on the market today which encourages users
to freely pass software person to person. SoftLock carries a password so that demo copies are passed on and that the software
will only work on the system that the product was purchased for. Another new technology is the CD-ROM. Software companies,
mostly gaming companies, can now sell their products on CD-ROM and require the user to have the CD in their drive while using
the purchased software. This in turn allows only one copy of the program to be in use at one time. While the CD technology is
new and preventing software piracy, it only really effective in the gaming industry because on most application packages sold the
CD is not required to run the program and therefore people can still copy the software. It has been said that copy protection helps
keep honest people honest by removing the temptation to copy.

Two companies which specialize in protecting against piracy can be found at:

Data Encryption Systems

SoftCop International Inc.

Data Encryption Systems is a company which specializes in the encryption of data. SoftCop offers software publishers a one-stop
solution for user registration, secure distribution and authorization (anti-piracy).

There are two main reasons why pirating is an issue. The first is because software companies have to allow the buyer to make
backup copies of the purchased software. These backup copies therefore become pirated copies when a person gives their
copies away to another person (or sells them) instead of keeping the backup copies for their own use. The second reason why
pirating is an issue is because everyone does it and nobody thinks of it as a crime. Many people and companies have been fined
thousands of dollars and even in some cases have served jail time for pirating. Software pirating is a crime and everyone should
think of it as being a crime. I feel the only way that there will no longer be software piracy is when law enforcement plays a bigger
role, software companies work together and find a strategy to beat pirates, and when the public is finally educated about software
piracy and what it is doing to the software industry.

A site which contains a paper by Gary McGath which is about Pirates and Property Rights. It talks about software piracy and
how it has become a household word and a household crime. The paper also goes into a way of defense against software piracy.
This is a must read..

If there are any questions or comments I can be reached at kppt@maristb.marist.edu.

Works Cited



Cunningham, Cara. "Microsoft tries to quash European software piracy." Computerworld 25 April 1994: 41.

SYBEX Inc., "Legal Care for Your Software." Internet

Link's Security Products, "Cop's Copy Lock II" Internet

Link's Security Products, "SoftLock" Internet

Software Publishers Association. Certified Software Manager. Washington, DC: 1994

Faison, Seth, "Copyright Pirates Prosper In China Despite Promises." New York Times 20 February 1996: A1.

Givon, Moshe, Vihajan Mahajan, and Eitan Muller, "Software Piracy: Estimation of Lost Sales and the Impact on Software
Diffusion" Internet

Alster, Norm, "Copy Cops." PC-Week

Marshall, Patrick, "Software Piracy." CQ Researcher 21 May 1993.

McGarth, Gary, "Pirates and Property Rights." Internet

SoftCop International Inc., "SoftCop" Internet

Software Publishers Association. Internet

Business Software Alliance. Internet

Island Graphics, "Legal Care for your Software." Internet


*************************************************************************************

What is Software Piracy?


The simplest way to define software piracy is that it is a copyright infringement on programs developed for computers. These programs are considered intellectual property. Programs that are used without the permission or license of the developer are pirated. It is against the law in most every country in the world, yet it is an act that is carried out everywhere by many people that would normally not be considered criminals (Corcoran; 76). There are five basic types of software piracy:

1) Softlifting: The purchase of a single copy of software that is loaded on to more than one computer.

2) Renting: Software that is sold for temporary use and then returned for a percentage of the purchase price.

3) Hard Disk Loading: Unauthorized software is loaded onto computers that are sold by dealers or resellers.

4) Software Counterfeiting: The illegal duplication and sale of software that is sold to buyers as legitimate.

5) Downloading: Sharing unauthorized software through the Internet or bulletin boards(SPA Online).


What Are The Relevant Laws?


The major law governing the piracy of software is Title 17 of the Copyright Act located in the United States Commercial Code.
There is also the Computer Rental Act of 1990 which prohibits unauthorized rental of software. The laws state that one copy may be made for solely archival purposes; in other words, one backup copy is allowed. The copyright, if held by an individual, is good for a lifetime plus 50 years. If the copyright is held by a company, it lasts for 100 years from the creation of the product (Logsdon; 849). A license is needed for every computer that a particular software is operated on. One program cannot be distributed around an office, or to a collection of an individual's friends. In the international sale of computer software, the various countries copyright laws apply. For instance, in the United Kingdom, the main law applicable to software is the Copyright Design and Patents Act of 1988(Online Resource 1). There is also the Berne Convention; this has been signed by most industrialized
countries. It sets up international guidelines for the use and sale of copyrighted materials. This is the first step in the globalization of copyright law.

The punishment for violation of the US laws is a substantial fine and up to five years in jail for the first offense, and up to ten years in jail for the second offense. Making less than 10 copies of a particular program is a misdemeanor. Commercial piracy is a felony. Violators also face potential civil liabilities. They can be sued for up to $100,000 per unauthorized copy.


Financial Costs of Piracy


The advent of the Internet has made the previously significant problem of piracy much worse(Anthes; 12). Ken Wasch, executive director of the Software Publishers Association (SPA), on the topic of pirate bulletin boards, states, "Before, you might have a bulletin board with a couple of hundred people on it; now it's 20 million." As more and more people go on-line, their is an increased opportunity for and demand to pirate software. Companies are increasing their exposure on the Internet and also increasing the chance for employees to access unauthorized software.

The SPA estimates that the loss of revenue due to software piracy was $1.6 billion in 1993 in the United States alone.
Worldwide, the figure jumps to $7.45 billion in lost revenue for 1993. In the following year, US losses decreased to $1.04 billion, but the international estimate increased to just over $8 billion. The piracy problem is most severe in countries with little or no computer industry. Nations such as China, Russia, and Thailand have been labeled "One Copy Countries." This implies that only a single authorized copy of the business application is in use. In China, 98% of all business applications are believed to be pirated.
Russia is not doing much better; there, it is estimated that 95% of all software is pirated. Thailand is not too far behind these countries with a piracy rate estimated around 92%. The governments have made token concessions to this industry by enacting legislation prohibiting software piracy. Russia and China have had these laws in place for several years with little effect on the piracy rate. Thailand adopted laws governing software in 1994. The governments seem either unwilling or unable to stem the flow of illegal software.

In other areas of the world, the picture is not much better. Latin America is following closely behind the piracy leaders with rates from 70% to 90%. Somewhat surprisingly, the industrial leaders of the world; the United States, Germany, and Japan account for almost half of all pirated software. But in these countries the numbers are decreasing or at least remaining stable and the piracy rates are relatively lower. The US piracy rate is estimated at 34%, Germany has a 50% rate, and Japan is facing a 67% piracy rate(BSA On-Line).







Who Fights Piracy?



The primary agency in the war against software piracy is the Software Publishers Association. This association has over 2,000 members consisting of mainly software related companies. The SPA has two main objectives:

1) To educate computer users about copyright laws governing the use of computer software.

2) To lead a legal effort to fight software piracy.


The association gathers most of its piracy information through the use of hotlines. There is both a phone and an Email hotline setup for people to anonymously report cases of software piracy. An average of 30 calls are logged each day. Many are employees of companies or consultants working with companies. Each report is investigated; and, if warranted, the SPA releases one or more of the following responses:

Cease and Desist Letters: The SPA notifies the software pirates and warns them that their current actions are illegal and need to be immediately stopped.

Corporate Audits: When a company admits that it was at fault, and agrees to cooperate, the SPA inventories all computers and file servers and compares them to company software purchase records. The company pays a fine to the SPA equal to the purchase price of all unauthorized software found. The pirated software is then removed, and the company is forced to purchase legal, licensed software.

Litigation: The SPA works closely with the FBI, the Justice Department, and US Customs to prosecute software pirates that do not agree to stop their activities. Civil suits are also filed on behalf of all victims of the piracy.


Since the organization's formation in 1985, over $16 million in fines and settlements has been collected. In 1995, the SPA went after 386 companies and bulletin board operators that were found to be using or distributing software illegally.

The SPA also does much to educate the computer user community(SPA background On-line). Several different brochures are produced and distributed in both paper and electronic format. The organization has also developed audit kits for companies who wish to take a proactive stance on the prevention of software piracy. Video tapes outlining the need for control of software within companies are produced as well. In order to educate children about the illegality of software piracy, the SPA has produced and distributed a rap video titled "Don't Copy That Floppy."

A second organization that has been formed to battle software piracy is the Business Software Alliance. This organization has had great success in battling piracy in the international environment. The BSA has broke piracy rings throughout the far east and Europe. It is made up of many major international software producers who want to protect their own business interests any way possible.

A third group that has attempted to decrease software piracy is the Cyber Angels (CA On-line). This is a offshoot of the famed Guardian Angels. This group is a self-proclaimed "All volunteer Internet Patrol and monitoring Project." The Cyber Angels monitor news groups, bulletin boards, and chat rooms and report any offenses observed without becoming personally involved.
While developed as a way to protect children using the Internet, it has also become involved with other aspects of the Internet such as software piracy.


Other Types of Computer Fraud



Software piracy is not the only source of computer crime. Several other techniques have been discovered to illegally profit through a computer(Romney, 30). All it takes is a certain amount of computer knowledge in order to commit these crimes.


1) Trojan Horse: An u nauthorized set of instructions that reside in a program that instruct the software to perform an illegal act if certain conditions have been met.

2) Round Down Technique: This method takes advantage of financial institutions. A program rounds the interest rate down by a certain amount and deposits the difference into a specific account which is to be collected by the programmer.

3) Salami Technique: A programming method that shaves off small amounts of money of specific accounts and deposits the funds elsewhere.

4) Trapdoor: A programming code that bypasses security restrictions. This is legally used by software developers so programs can be debugged.

5) Piggybacking: Here a user accesses a system by following an authorized user through a tapped communication line.

6) Masquerading: An unauthorized user accesses a system by inputting an authorized user's identification and password.


********************************************************************

The Software Police


They hear from the snitch you copied that disk, they send in the marshals to bust your ass. No joke.

By Bronwyn Fryer



An old, baggy -eyed, Einstein-haired Frenchman, wearing a white lab coat and orange polyester pants, sits typing at a desk. He peers up to see a chic, statuesque woman in her late 20s, wearing a fringed black miniskirt, who materializes, as if in a dream, before him. "Salut," she says softly, her red lips mouthing the words, ever so slightly out of sync. Meanwhile, the eye of the
camera travels over her neck, pans down the curve of her shoulder, along the slope of her belted waist, and rests on a fringed hip.
Then she thrusts her hands into the old man's coat, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. "Je peux ... rendre service chez vous ou dans le
bureau," ("I can service you at your house or at the office") she willfully promises.

My Gawd, I'm thinking, I've seen a lot of bad corporate propaganda videos in my time, but this thing is so bad it's almost good.
It's more French than French, more allegorical than Aesop. The story is simple: the woman, representing the Whore of Illegally
Copied Software, tries without success to seduce the old man into putting her on his hard drive.

Eventually, realizing that she cannot succeed, she asks what she can do to work legally. He hands her a card bearing the number
of the Software Publishers Association. "They can help you," he sighs. On the video cover, the title La Pirate looms over a
cartoon of two men in an office, one of whom is passing a floppy disk to another. The cover doesn't give any hint of the cavorting
that is depicted on the magnetic tape within. The back cover, translated, reads: "The Software Publishers Association Europe is a
European professional association promoting the interests of microcomputer software publishers."

My French friend Dominique had tipped me off to this videotape. Though I knew that the Washington, DC-based Software
Publishers Association produced "educational videos," I was especially interested in this one, specifically made for the European
market.

As it turns out, producing "educational" videos like La Pirate takes up only a fraction of the SPA's activities. The 49-employee,
1,150-member trade association is a veritable octopus, whose tentacles extend into practically every arena of the PC software
industry. Its members (from Microsoft to Joe's Shareware and just about everyone in between) pay SPA anywhere from US$700
to $100,000 in annual dues, depending on the company's software sales.

In return, the SPA publishes market data and lobbies Washington on behalf of the software industry when it comes to GATT or
such encryption technology as the Clipper Chip. It also publishes a member newsletter, sponsors three annual conferences, and
holds its Excellence in Software Awards ceremony each March.

But the work for which the SPA is most famous is that of fighting software piracy. And piracy is big business: the SPA estimates
that revenue lost to software piracy in the US during 1993 was $1.57 billion. For years, the SPA has played the
software-industry's hired Batman to corporate MISers' evil Joker. Prior to 1992, the Software Publishers Association busted
some 200 companies - including such software publishers as Platinum Software of Irvine, California (which was forced to pay
$89,000 in damages), or Health Line Systems of San Diego (it paid $17,500).

Yet the SPA isn't exactly the beloved, do-gooder organization it bills itself as. The association takes the bulk of the money it
makes from software raids and pours it back into its own anti-piracy fund, rather than returning it to the software manufacturers
whose products were supposedly ripped off in the first place. And its executive director, an outspoken, tough, and litigious lawyer
named Ken Wasch, apparently has the entire industry cowed.

What's more, the SPA is now under siege within its own domain: fighting software piracy. Three years ago, a group of the SPA's
largest members - Microsoft, Lotus, WordPerfect, Aldus, and Autodesk - dissatisfied with what they saw as the SPA's
ineffectiveness, pulled their anti-piracy efforts from the hands of the SPA and passed it to another Washington, DC-based
anti-piracy group, the Business Software Alliance.

Many vendors who've moved their piracy-fighting efforts to the BSA still maintain membership in SPA for other benefits the
organization offers. And to be sure, the SPA still remains the most well-known anti-piracy organization in the US. But it has been
losing ground internationally to the BSA; and as is the case with most turf wars, the SPA-BSA struggle centers on power,
influence, and, most of all, money. The SPA's annual report claims that "nearly 80 percent of the industry's piracy losses occur
outside our borders"; these billions in lost revenue are the prize that the SPA and the BSA are tussling over.

Stopping piracy isn't simple. Rather than track and catch pirates themselves, SPA members turn over limited power of attorney to
the SPA to do audits against organizations suspected of illegally using their software. Whether or not to bring suit against
companies suspected of pirating software is the SPA's decision, which it makes on a case-by-case basis. (The SPA tends not to
go after individuals.) The organization's anti-piracy arm, headed up by one lawyer and a support staff, operates much like a
prosecutor's office or a specialized law firm. A bust works like this: a snitch - most typically, according to SPA litigation manager
Peter Beruk, a "disgruntled employee" wanting to wreak vengeance on a current or former employer - calls an 800-number hot
line to report illegal copying of software. After conducting an investigation and concluding that action should be taken, the SPA
either sends a cease-and-desist letter to the company, requests an audit (reminiscent of an IRS audit - the company has to prove
that it bought and paid for every piece of software), or sues. In 5 percent of cases - those in which, according to the SPA, it's
"obvious that the law is being deliberately ignored" - the SPA raids the company to catch the bad guys red-handed. After a
federal district court issues an order, a tactical team of federal marshals carries out the raid, working in conjunction with the SPA's
in-house staff and consulting attorneys. One-fifth of the SPA's employees work on anti-piracy activities.

Getting slapped by the SPA is one of the worst things that can happen to a company. Under the law, the SPA can force the
busted company to pony up as much as $100,000 for each copyright infringement (i.e., per product, not per copy), plus legal
fees. Aside from having to pay damages, or at least cover the cost of the software, raided companies also undergo the equivalent
of an old-fashioned tar-and-feathering; the SPA uses publicity to humiliate companies. While the association keeps its audits
confidential, Beruk points out, it issues press releases on actual raids.

According to Jeff Tarter, editor of the industry newsletter Soft*Letter and an outspoken critic of the organization, the SPA started
out as a run-of-the-mill trade organization. But, Tarter says, Wasch saw lucrative potential in policing software pirates and the
organization started hitting real pay dirt during the mid-1980s. "Wasch saw an emotional issue that the organization could make
money on," Tarter asserts. "Today, the anti-piracy stuff underwrites a large part of the operations of the SPA. It's the single most
profitable thing they do. Now they come out of every raid with a sackful of money. They turned piracy into a cash cow."

Indeed, playing software cop for the industry's members ain't a bad living, especially for a nonprofit. In 1993, SPA's anti-piracy
efforts pulled in $3.6 million in litigation settlements. The money from litigation goes right back into its own coffers to fund the
anti-piracy campaign (including the making of films like La Pirate and pricey, glossy press kits). As director, Wasch oversees the
SPA organization; he even wrote part of the script of It's Just Not Worth the Risk, a propaganda video that's part poorly acted
anti-piracy diatribe and part bad L.A. Law episode. About 40,000 free copies have been distributed to corporate MIS types.
"There are more copies of that out than there will ever be of Wyatt Earp," Wasch laughs.

In hot water

I thought it might be instructive to see what a software bust was like, so I asked Beruk if I could go along for a ride. But for legal
reasons the press is barred from raids. And, as it turns out, the SPA is conducting a lot fewer raids these days - in part, boast the
SPA folks, because the organization has done such a good job of educating the public, and in part because cease-and-desist
letters and audits are threatening enough.

Since firsthand experience of a raid was not in the cards, I tried instead to talk with companies that had been busted. I contacted
two dozen companies whose names had either been given to me by the SPA, or whose names I pulled from press clippings. The
SPA's "bullying" campaign - as Will Zachmann, president of Canopus Research in Duxbury, Massachusetts, calls it - has proved
marvelously effective. Almost no one returned my calls; of those who did respond, all but one declined my request for an
interview, even when promised anonymity.

One information-systems director with whom I finagled a brief conversation had a tremor in his voice when recalling the SPA
bust. He said he might share his opinions about the experience but would have to get permission to talk to me. A few days later, I
received a terse call from the company's corporate communications specialist "declining further interviews." I suppose they had
endured enough public humiliation, thanks to press releases put out by the SPA and articles that appeared after the investigations.

After dozens of phone calls, I finally managed to speak to the president of one mid-size West Coast manufacturing company who
requested that he not be identified. He said when his firm was found guilty of using illegal software after a raid in 1989, it wanted
to hush up the whole thing as quickly as possible. "We just worked out some deal, and paid a five-digit figure to get our general
absolution," he recalls. What about the raid itself? "It was - uh - a startling event," he recalled. "There was no warning. A group of
10 people in Brooks Brothers suits just showed up one day with a court order. They spent about two hours checking PCs and
looking for manuals and then left." In retrospect, he wishes that his company had received a warning in the form of a
cease-and-desist letter, or a demand for a software audit. "A cease-and-desist order would certainly have been more civilized,"
he sighs.

Nor were warnings in store for Snap-on Tools (now Snap-on Inc.) of Kenosha, Wisconsin - the only case the SPA has been
forced to drop. After a tip from a former employee, SPA auditors and federal marshals showed up at the guard house of Snap-on
with a warrant to search for illegal software.

The marshals spent three days searching 300 PCs for illegal software, moving from desk to desk to search hard disks. "It was
worse than getting audited by the IRS," says David Heide, a public relations manager who was present at the time of the raid. "At
least the IRS sends a letter of notice that it's coming," he adds. Snap-on spent days afterward documenting all the software,
ultimately proving that everything was paid for.

Despite being exonerated by both the SPA and the Feds, the raid on Snap-on took its toll. The worst part of the experience,
according to Heide, was the scarlet-letter effect. As a large employer in a small town, the notoriety damaged the firm's public
image. "The effect is what you might expect," he recalls. "The SPA had never lost a case, and the common presumption was that if
you were raided you were as good as guilty. People were nervous, and suddenly insecure about us as an employer. There was a
lot of negative feeling built into the action. The onus is on you to prove that you're honest."

Although Snap-on had a basis for a lawsuit on the grounds of lost productivity and disruption of deadlines, according to an article
in the local Wisconsin paper, the company didn't retaliate. "We didn't like the SPA's tactics, but we're sympathetic to the software
industry," says Heide. "We don't want to be in the vanguard of attacking the industry trade organization." The only thing that really
mattered was a correction to the public record, which was effected in the form of a press release put out by the SPA, patting
Snap-on on the back for being a model company. How could the SPA have gone in to Snap-on without having its ducks in a
row? "That was the only time we ever made a mistake," says Beruk. "We felt we had solid information from someone who was in
the position to know. It was a gamble we took. By the time we got authority to bring the suit, they got clean. I suspect they were
tipped off."

Told of this allegation, Heide waxed furious. "I've never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life," he retorted. "I'm surprised the
SPA would say that, after all their help and cooperation with the press release retracting the action."

Turf wars

Five blocks from the SPA's headquarters, the 16-employee Business Software Alliance pretty much walks the same public-policy
and anti-piracy walk and talks the same talk. With similar press kits full of similarly huge numbers about loss of revenues because
of software piracy, the only obvious difference between the two organizations is that the SPA is larger, both in number of
members and employees, and more diverse in its activities. Both organizations put the money they gain from litigation back into
their own coffers, using it to fund anti-piracy efforts in the form of surprise raids and audits. Indeed, agrees BSA President Robert
Holleyman, a former public-policy lawyer, "We have similar policies in place in terms of how we handle enforcement actions."

I'd never heard of the BSA, but chances are if I'd lived outside the US, I would have. During the 1980s, while the SPA was
battling software pirates on the domestic front, it was paying less attention to the international side, where most piracy takes place.
In the interest of pursuing international software piracy - and, perhaps smelling a lucrative opportunity to sell more software
licenses abroad - five software vendors (Aldus, Autodesk, Lotus, Microsoft, and WordPerfect) banded together in 1988 as "a
global alternative to the Software Publishers Association," according to one BSA member.

But unlike the SPA, a comparatively easy-to-join organization open to just about every programmer with a dream, the BSA is
more like an exclusive big-boys club for software giants like Microsoft and Lotus. The cost to join? "Prohibitive," says BSA
spokesperson Diane Smiroldo (who, when pressed further, would say only that cost "varies").

There's no love lost between the BSA and the SPA. Wasch claimed that Microsoft pays more than $3 million annually to the
BSA, while its yearly dues to the SPA are $100,000. "You can buy a lot of influence for that kind of money," he says. Microsoft
declined to comment on its BSA membership, but Lotus Development Corp.'s general counsel Tom Lemberg says simply,
"We've found it easier to work with the BSA. We were better off creating our own organization."

The BSA is enjoying ascendancy on Capitol Hill, thanks to power and talent in all the right places. The organization has worked
closely with Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) to try to ease export controls on software with encryption capabilities, and
with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on international copyright issues. And the BSA has also developed an international anti-piracy
organization: rather than taking the American-centric approach adopted by the SPA, BSA worked with foreign governments,
software distributors, and others to set up regional sub-organizations.

BSA members who asked not to be named said that splitting anti-piracy efforts into two sides - the SPA acting as domestic
software police, and the BSA doing the international crime-fighting - "worked well until around 1992." That was when the SPA
began to sense that it had left its international anti-piracy market wide open to a competitor. "The BSA was in 55 countries and
was doing a great job handling anti-piracy on a local basis," said a representative from a BSA member company that maintains
ties to the SPA. "Then the SPA started going into these countries, wanting to establish anti-piracy efforts there, too. The larger
publishers all thought, Why are we funding our own headache?"

Opting for more control over their own public-policy and anti-piracy operations, the five software publishers that formed the BSA
withdrew their support for the SPA's international and domestic litigation program in July of 1992, forbidding the SPA to litigate
against anyone, anywhere, on their behalf, though they remained members of the organization.

Meanwhile, the SPA chased the BSA into the international market, stepping up enforcement activities in individual countries and
producing $20,000 videos like La Pirate. The BSA claims that its 1993 worldwide settlements exceeded $5 million. Since it
began its North American program in 1992, it has settled 400 cases, one of the largest of which totaled $260,000.

Estimates by both the BSA and the SPA put the numbers for international piracy well in the billions. BSA estimates that 94
percent of the software in Poland, 98 percent in Kuwait, and 99 percent in Indonesia is pirated. The SPA places the grand total
of loss in revenue at $7.5 billion - an amount almost equal to that of 1993 revenues from legal PC business-application software
sales.

Though BSA's Holleyman argues that fighting software piracy in some countries is a financial "black hole," he also confirms that
fighting piracy in the US where laws are stronger is now "profitable."

Clearly, Wasch is not about to leave the enormous international anti-piracy market in the hands of the BSA. "There's no secret to
what this is all about," he says with the kind of directness that one can't help but admire. "It's about money."

The lawyer joke

In researching this article, I spoke with dozens of people - not only information-systems managers, but also representatives of
SPA-member companies and former SPA employees - who were clearly too frightened of Wasch to go on record discussing
him. SPA members and outside observers who asked not to be identified repeatedly referred to Wasch as "greedy," "inflexible,"
"aggressive," "single-minded," and "dictatorial," even applying canine terms ranging from "terrier-like" to "pit bull." (Fearing what
he described to me as "character assassination," Wasch contacted the legal counsel of one large vendor company to try to flush
out my sources.) As irritating as Wasch's intimidating calls and continual interrogation may have been to me, when compared with
the buttoned-down, well-handled, be-cooperative-but-say-little approach that BSA president Robert Holleyman politely offered,
Wasch's stubborn in-your-faceness was almost refreshing. And, after all, the complaints about Wasch could also serve as
compliments: If you were a software vendor and you felt you'd been ripped off, wouldn't you want your lawyer to be a bit
"terrier-like"?

Still, the fact remains that weird videos like La Pirate and fiascoes like Snap-on don't do much to help the SPA's reputation. And
Wasch has also lined up a slew of powerful critics, including industry influencers like Soft*Letter publisher Tarter. Some of
Wasch's critics sit in high places, and would like to see him retire his black cape. But Wasch, fresh from his eleventh reelection in
a row by a board of directors who firmly believe in his abilities, is predictably defiant. "This is a political job. So what would
happen if I left?" he snorts. "The board would find someone just like me to take my place."

To hear Wasch tell it, the whole turf war with the BSA is about the Big Software Companies trying to dictate the rules of the
anti-piracy game to the Little Guys, the game companies and others that make up the vast majority of the SPA's membership.

One of the "little guys" is my friend George Campbell, a white-bearded, gentle, hacker-writer guy who runs a shareware company
called OsoSoft in Los Osos, a small town near San Luis Obispo, California. Campbell told me that he paid the $700 membership
to the SPA "so I could put its logo on my stuff," but adds that it gets him the organization's marketing information and conferences,
too. He also says that the SPA stuck up for shareware authors when they needed it. "When the videogame companies were
getting their software rated, we wanted to have shareware rated, too," he notes. "But the $500 cost for rating was too prohibitive.
The SPA went to bat for us, so they got the price of the rating knocked down to $25. That was positive."

While the SPA may have made its mistakes - spreading itself thin among too many members with different interests, barking up
the wrong tree with Snap-on, or retaining a president with a pit bull reputation - the BSA appears to be a closed, élitist
organization.

I concluded that they were more or less two sides of the same coin, and that the only thing that really separates them from each
other is the color of their press kits. Ultimately, they seem to be two competing DC law firms, whose partners pass each other in
the street. They smile while preparing to run over anyone who stands in their way to win the case. It's like that old lawyer joke:
"How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb?" The answer: "Two. One to screw in the bulb and the other to kick the
ladder out from underneath."



Bronwyn Fryer is a business and technology writer based in Boulder Creek, California.



Copyright © 1995 Wired Ventures Ltd.

*********************************************************************************

France-FBI-Hacker



PARIS (AP) -- A French court fined a computer hacker $9,000 after
finding him guilty of using an FBI computer network to hold free on-line
conversations, the daily Le Monde reported Wednesday.

Chris Zboralski, 21, also received an 18-month suspended prison
sentence. He admitted connecting his computer to the FBI's network to
contact on-line friends around the world, the newspaper said.

Judge Francis Bruty called Zboralski "a computer genius with a
lamentable morality."

Zboralski obtained the FBI's connection numbers by ringing its free
international line and posing as a Paris-based agent. He used them for six
months, beginning in August 1994, costing AT&T about $250,000, the
FBI said in court, according to Le Monde. The FBI's network uses an
AT&T system.


********************************************************************************

L'affaire Kevin Mitnick



Voici différents documents sur l'arrestation de Kevin Mitnick:

1.FEDS NAB LEGENDARY HACKER (Time Daily/Online)
2.Coupures de presses
3.FBI Press Release in re Kevin Mitnick
4.Accused computer hacker is seized (Boston Globe)



FEDS NAB LEGENDARY HACKER (Time
Daily/Online)

TIME Daily, TIME Online, America Online, February 15, 1995.

EXTRA: FEDS NAB LEGENDARY HACKER: After chasing him for seven years, the
FBI has nabbed Kevin Mitnick -- America's most wanted computer hacker.
Mitnick, 31, whose exploits formed a good part of the book Cyperpunk by
Katie Hefner and John Markoff, was arrested in Raleigh, N.C. at 1:30 a.m.
He was convicted in 1988 in Los Angeles for stealing computer programs and
breaking into corporate networks and received a one-year sentence in that
case. Since then, he has attacked other systems. The administrator of one
of his targets, the San Diego Supercomputer Center (a federal computer
nerve center) helped the feds track him down. Mitnick is charged, among
other things, with fraud in connection with computers. "Mitnik's hacking
skills are uncanny," says TIME technology editor Philip Elmer-DeWitt. "He's
probably the most dangerous guy who ever sat down at a keyboard."


Copyright 1995.Time Inc.All Rights Reserved.



Coupures de presses

HEADLINE: FUGITIVE L.A. HACKER HELD IN NORTH CAROLINA

BYLINE: By JOHN JOHNSON and RONALD J. OSTROW, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

Kevin Mitnick, the nation's most wanted computer hacker, who had evaded
authorities in narrow escapes in Los Angeles and Seattle over the last two
years, was captured Wednesday morning at his apartment in Raleigh, N.C.

Although authorities were unable to say exactly how much damage he wreaked
during his years on the run, the cellular telecommunications industry alleges
that Mitnick, who used cellular phones to illegally access computers, cost it
millions of dollars.

To catch the man who used the code name "Condor," the government brought in
an expert from a firm he is suspected of penetrating last Christmas.

"We got him," Tsutomu Shimomura of the San Diego Supercomputer Center said
Wednesday morning after the capture, according to Sid Karin, Shimomura's
supervisor.

Mitnick, who grew up in North Hills, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of
violating the terms of his probation for a 1988 California computer hacking
conviction, as well as new charges of computer fraud originating in North
Carolina. Assistant U.S. Atty. David Schindler in Los Angeles said the
government is looking into additional cases in San Diego, Colorado and Seattle.

"We are all a little brain-dead," Assistant U.S. Atty. John Bowler in
Charlotte said. "We were up half the night tracking this guy down."

The raid was carried out at 1:30 a.m. on an apartment in which Mitnick, 31,
was living alone under a false name, authorities said. It ended what the
Department of Justice characterized as an "intensive two-week electronic
manhunt."

"The message that is important here," Karin said, "is that the bad guys are
not necessarily more clever than the good guys."

And although some people paint hackers as the last rugged individualists
cruising the information highway, Karin said he believes Mitnick merits
"serious, serious punishment."

"His obsession was his downfall," said Deputy U.S. Marshal Kathy Cunningham
in Los Angeles. "His obsession to hack using cloned (cellular) phones left us a
trail to follow. . . ."
Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1995

The arrest apparently brings an end to the career of a man whose computer
escapades began at Monroe High School, where he learned to break into the Los
Angeles Unified School District's main computers. Eventually, he was able to
break into a North American Air Defense Command computer in Colorado Springs,
Colo., several years before the showing of the movie "WarGames," about a hacker
who nearly starts a war after entering a government computer.

Mitnick also manipulated the telephone system to pull pranks on friends and
enemies, authorities said. He disconnected service to Hollywood stars he
admired, and a former probation officer said her phone service was terminated
just as she was about to revoke his probation.

"He's an electronic terrorist," said a onetime friend who turned him in to
authorities in 1988.

*

Mitnick served a year in prison and was placed on probation. He fled in late
1992 after the FBI showed up at the Calabasas private investigations' firm where
he was working. The agents were investigating break-ins of Pacific Bell
computers.

The Department of Motor Vehicles also has issued a $1-million warrant for
him, accusing him of posing as a law enforcement officer to obtain sensitive DMV
information, including driver's licenses and photographs.

Early in his flight, he was nearly captured at a Studio City copy shop, where
he showed up to pick up materials faxed from the DMV. A chase ensued, but he got
away.

Over the last two years, rumors of Mitnick surfaced at computer conventions
and, on one occasion, authorities took a man into custody who they mistakenly
believed was Mitnick.

"I think Kevin thought he was uncatchable," Cunningham said. "But he chose to
continue hacking . . . and now he is in a whole lot of trouble."

In recent months, Mitnick eluded law enforcement once more. This time,
authorities were investigating complaints from McCaw Cellular Communications
Inc. in Kirkland, Wash., that someone was using cellular phones to steal secret
electronic serial numbers to break into computers at several university
campuses.

When police and the Secret Service broke into the house Mitnick was using
last October, they found cellular phones, as well as manuals telling how to
clone a phone, and a scanner Mitnick may have been using to track law
enforcement efforts to find him.

Paychecks from a local hospital, where Mitnick allegedly worked under an
assumed name as a computer trouble-shooter, and bank account records show he had
been living near the University of Washington for at least three months.

In Seattle, "he was leading a fairly innocuous life," said Ivan Ortman, a
King County prosecutor who said Mitnick used the alias Brian Merrill. "We had no
reports from anyone around him about unusual activity."
Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1995

"He was just a real quiet, typical person," said Sherry Scott, a secretary in
the Virginia Mason Hospital and Medical Center's Information Systems Department,
where Mitnick worked from June through September. "He never talked about his
personal life. He just came and went and did his thing."

The threat that Mitnick posed was described in a recent circular distributed
by federal authorities pursuing the fugitive.

"Please be aware that if Mitnick is taken into custody, he possesses an
amazing ability to disrupt one's personal life through his computer knowledge,"
said an advisory from the U.S. Marshal's Service issued to law enforcement
recently.

On Christmas Day, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, a national laboratory
for computer science, which does research on everything from environmental
pollution to AIDS, was attacked by a hacker using unusually sophisticated
techniques.

After the break-in, Shimomura, known as one of the nation's leading
specialists in computer security, joined the effort to capture the Condor, who
took his nickname from a movie starring Robert Redford as a man on the run from
the government.

Times staff writer Josh Meyer in Los Angeles contributed to this story.
Johnson reported from Los Angeles and Ostrow from Washington.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE-MDC: February 16, 1995

Copyright 1995 Chicago Tribune Company
Chicago Tribune

February 16, 1995 Thursday, NORTH SPORTS FINAL EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 3; ZONE: N

LENGTH: 763 words

HEADLINE: COMPUTER EXPERT TRACKS 'MOST WANTED' HACKER;
FUGITIVE ERRED BY TAUNTING A VICTIM, MAKING HIM A HUNTER

BYLINE: New York Times News Service.

DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C.

BODY:
After a search of more than two years, a team of FBI agents Wednesday
captured a 31-year-old computer expert accused of a long crime spree that
includes the theft of thousands of data files and at least 20,000 credit card
numbers from computer systems around the nation.

The arrest of Kevin D. Mitnick, one of the most wanted computer criminals,
followed a 24-hour stakeout of a Raleigh apartment building.

A convicted computer felon on the run from federal law enforcement officials
since November 1992, Mitnick has used his sophisticated skills over the years to
worm his way into many of the nation's telephone and cellular telephone networks
and to vandalize government, corporate and university computer systems.

Most recently, he had become a suspect in a series of break-ins on the global
Internet network.

"He was clearly the most wanted computer hacker in the world," said Kent
Walker, an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco who helped coordinate the
investigation. "He allegedly had access to corporate trade secrets worth
billions of dollars. He was a very big threat."

But federal officials say Mitnick's confidence in his hacking skills may have
been his undoing. On Christmas Day, he broke into the home computer of a
computer security expert, Tsutomu Shimomura, a researcher at the
federally-financed San Diego Supercomputer Center.

Shimomura then made a crusade of tracking down the intruder.

It was Shimomura, working from a monitoring post in San Jose, Calif., who
determined last Saturday that Mitnick was operating through a computer modem
connected to a cellular telephone somewhere near Raleigh.

Sunday morning, Shimomura flew to Raleigh, where he helped telephone company
technicians and federal investigators use cellular-frequency scanners to home in
on Mitnick.

Mitnick was arrested at 2 a.m. Wednesday in his Raleigh apartment after FBI
agents used their scanners to determine that Mitnick, in keeping with his
Chicago Tribune, February 16, 1995

nocturnal habits, had connected once again to Internet.

Shimomura was present Wednesday at Mitnick's pre-arraignment hearing at the
federal courthouse in Raleigh. At the end of the hearing, Mitnick, wearing a
black sweatsuit and handcuffs, turned to Shimomura, whom he had never met face
to face.

"Hello, Tsutomu," Mitnick said. "I respect your skills."

Shimomura, 30, nodded solemnly.

Mitnick, already wanted in California for a federal parole violation, was
charged Wednesday with two federal crimes. The first, illegal use of a telephone
access device, is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The second charge, computer fraud, carries potential penalties of 20 years in
prison and a $250,000 fine.

Federal prosecutors said they are considering additional charges related to
Mitnick's reported Internet spree.

Federal officials say Mitnick's motives always have been murky. He recently
was found to have stashed thousands of credit card numbers on computers in the
San Francisco Bay area-including the card numbers of some of the best-known
millionaires in Silicon Valley. But there is no evidence yet that Mitnick had
attempted to use the credit card accounts.

Indeed, frequently ignoring the possibility of straightforward financial gain
from the information he has stolen, Mitnick often has seemed more concerned with
proving that his technical skills are better than those whose job it is to
protect the computer networks he has attacked.

The recent break-ins he is accused of conducting include forays into computer
systems at Apple Computer Inc. and Motorola Inc.

To make it difficult for investigators to determine where the attacks were
coming from, Mitnick is said to have used his computer and modem to manipulate a
local telephone company switch in Raleigh to disguise his whereabouts.

In recent weeks, as an elite team of computer security experts tightened an
invisible electronic net around the fugitive, Mitnick continued to taunt his
pursuers, apparently unaware of how close they were to capturing him.

About 10 days ago, for example, someone whom investigators believe to have
been Mitnick left a voice-mail message for Shimomura, a Japanese citizen. The
message reprimanded Shimomura for converting the intruder's earlier voice-mail
messages into computer audio files and making them available on Internet.

"Ah, Tsutomu, my learned disciple," the taunting voice said. "I see that you
put my voice on the Net. I'm very disappointed, my son."

The attempts at one-upmanship simply gave the pursuers more electronic
evidence.
Chicago Tribune, February 16, 1995

GRAPHIC: PHOTOPHOTO: Kevin D. Mitnick is a convicted felon who has used his
computer skills to invade business and government systems, and he is a suspect
in a break-in on the Internet.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH



FBI Press Release in re Kevin Mitnick

Date: Thu, 16 Feb 1995 22:36:02 -0600
From: jthomas2@SUN.SOCI.NIU.EDU(Jim Thomas)
Subject: File 1--FBI Press Release in re Kevin Mitnick

FBI PRESS RELEASE (Feb 15, 1995)

At 1:30 a.m., today, February 15, 1995, agents of the FBI
arrested KEVIN MITNICK, a well-known computer hacker and federal
fugitive.The arrest occurred after an intensive two-weak electronic
manhunt led law enforcement agents to MITNICK's apartment in Raleigh,
North Carolina.

MITNICK, 31, was convicted by Federal authorities in 1988 in
Los Angeles for stealing computer programs and breaking into
corporate networks.

He received a one-year sentence in that case, and a Federal warrant
was issued following MITNICK's violation of probation.

In this latest incident, MITNICK is alleged to have
electronically attacked numerous corporate and communications carriers
located in California, Colorado, and North Carolina where he caused
significant damage and stole proprietary information.One of the
attacked sites was the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), and
Tsutomu Shimomura, a system administrator at SDSC, provided
significant assistance to law enforcement personnel during the
investigation.MITNICK is also under investigation by state law
enforcement authorities in Seattle for separate activities there.

As is typical in such interstate computer cases, may FBI
offices and United States Attorneys' Offices have carefully
coordinated their efforts.These offices include the FBI's Nation al
Computer Crime Squad at the Washington Metropolitan Field Office, as
well as FBI and United States Attorneys' Offices in the Eastern
District of North Carolina (Raleigh), the Central District of North
Carolina (Greensboro), the Southern District of California (San
Diego), the Central District of California (Los Angeles), the Northern
District of California (San Francisco), and the District of Colorado.
Legal and technical assistance is also being provided by the
Criminal Division's Computer Crime Unit in Washington, D. C.

On February 15, 1995, a complaint was filed in U. S. District
Court, Raleigh, N. C., charging KEVIN MITNICK with violation of 18 U.
S. Code, Section 1029 (Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With
Access Devices) in violation Title 18, Section 1038 (Fraud and Related
Activities in Connection with Computers).



Accused computer hacker is seized

Boston Globe
Thursday Feb 16, 1995
Page 6

_Accused computer hacker is seized_

Suspect is called most wanted in US
By John Johnson and Ronald J. Ostrow
Los Angeles Times

Washington - Kevin Mitnick, America's most wanted computer hacker
who narrowly evaded authorities in Los Angeles and Seattle over the past
two years, was captured yesterday at his apartment in Raleigh, N.C.
Although authorities were unable to estimate the damage he caused,
the cellular phone industry alleges that Miknick, who used cellular phones
to log onto computers illegally, cost it $1 million a day.
To catch the man, who used the code name "Condor," the government
brought in a specialist from a firm he is suspected of penetrating last
December.
Mitnick, who grew up in Los Angeles, was arraigned yesterday on
charges of violating the terms of his probation for a 1988 California
computer hacking conviction, as well as new charges of computer fraud
originating in North Carolina.Assistant US Attorney David Schindler in Los
Angeles said the government is looking into additional cases in San Diego,
Seattle and Colorado.
The raid was carried out at 1:30 a.m. on an apartment in which
Mitnick, 31, was living alone under a false name, authorities said. It
ended what the US Department of Justice characterized as an "intensive
two-week electronic manhunt."
"His obsession was his downfall," said Deputy US Marshal Kathy
Cunningham in Los Angeles."His obsession to hack using cloned phones
left us a trail to follow."
The arrest apparently brings an end to the career of a man whose
computer escapades began in high school, where he learned to break into the
Los Angeles Unified School District's main computers.Eventually , he was
able to break into a North American Air Defense Command computer in
Colorado Springs several years before the showing of the movie "WarGames,"
about a hacker who nearly starts a war after entering a government
computer.
Mitnick also manipulated the telephone system to pull pranks on friends
and enemies, authorities said.He disconnected service to Hollywood stars
he admired, and a former probation officer said her phone service was
terminated just as she was about to revoke his probation.
"He's an electronic terrorist," said a onetime friend who turned him
in to authorities in 1988.
Mitnick served a year in prison and was placed on probation. He
fled in late 1992, after the FBI showed up at the Calabasas, Calif.,
private investigations firm where he was working. The agents were investigating
break-ins to Pacific Bell computers.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles also has issued
a warrant for him, accusing him of posing as a law enforcement officer
to obtain sensitive DMV information, including driver's licenses and
photographs.
The threat that Mitnick posed was described in a recent circular
distributed by federal authorities pursuing the fugitive.
"Please be aware that if Mitnick is taken into custody, he
possesses an amazing ability to disrupt one's personal life through his
computer knowledge," said an advisory from the US Marshal's Service issued
to law enforcement recently.






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