[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\
[\                      Hackers and the Authorities:                      [\
[\     A question of harassment, as seen in an article from a recent      [\
[\                         newspaper on 11/15/92                          [\
[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\[\

..

  There were about 20 of them, computer hackers mostly in their late teens
and early 20s. They met in the Food Court at a suburban Virginian shopping
mall, where they pushed a few tables together, munched on junk food and
began to discuss thier hobby: Infiltrating private computer networks.
  Suddenly, in a scene that resembled something from a spy novel, they were
surrounded by a few mall security guards and at least one agent from the
Secret Service. The guards demanded indentification and wrote down the
computer hacker's names, authorities said later..
  Several bags containing computer books and printouts were confiscated, and
the group was booted out of the mall. Arlington County, Va., police, who
described the incident as a Secret Service matter, were on the scene but
arrested no one.
  The incident Friday, 11/13/92 offered a glimpse into a cat-and-mouse game
being played out in malls and train stations and on computer networks across
the nation by hackers and federal agents who track them as part of an effort
to crack down on computer and telephone fraud.
  It's a game in which computer hackers, many of whom take pride in their
ability to snoop through private records , are complaining that their
privacy rights are being violated by law enforcement officers who track
them.
  The Secret Service, which Congress has directed to go after computer
hackers who use telephone lines to break into computer systems for free LD
phone service or information, acknowledges that its agents often track
groups of young hackers who gather to discuss their passion. <!>
  Special Agent David Adams, an agency spokesman, would neither confirm nor
deny agency involvement in the mall incident, which involved a group called
the 2600 meeting.
  "We don't make any comment on ongoing investigations," said Adamns, who
said the agency believes that hackers across the country are responsible for
computer and telephone fraud costing more than $1 billion annually.
  "We're not targeting any group," said Adams, who said that in addition to
following suspected hackers, the agency searches for them by working
computer networks. <damn narcs>
   In general, he said, "We're targeting people who have committed
violations under the (federal) statute."
   The current issue of 2600 magazine contains articles on such topics as
creating computer viruses, using long-distance phones lines without paying
for them and other high-technology tricks. <gee, really..>
   The term "hackers" is used to desribe a variety of computer users , from
whizzes who test their skills by scanning private networks, to those who use
computer networks illegally and phone lines for profit. <you needed to know
that, really..>
   Most fall somewhere in between. They use sophisticated software to search
telephone systems for on-line computers, collect data as proof of their
exploits and consider hacking a game.
   Michael Minnich, a 17-year-old Arlington, Va resident who organized the
local group, said its members "explore things in technological sociery that
have not been explored very well."


<<< Welp as you probably have noticed, alot of articles simular to this one
have been appearing in newspapers everywhere across this country. The media
and Hollywood are getting into us 'hackers' more and more these days.
What is kind of ironic about this though is that most of it is a bunch of
god damn fucking propaganda.. Nothing beats misinforming a nation of people,
eh?
Actually, this article I transcribed wasn't that bad, a little cheezy, and
simplistic. Then again, the media presumes the nation is dumb.. o'well

This and the derogatory comments were typed by :
Thrasher on 11-16-92
(1992) URN Underground Ripoff Network



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