hacker philosophy

The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey
by Emmanuel Goldstein
Published 28 Jul 2008

If we keep asking questions and thinking outside the box, there will always be something good to look forward to. 94192bindex.qxd 6/3/08 3:29 PM Page 835 Index Symbols and Numbers # key, as end of dialing feature, 96 10 reserved bytes, and virus detection, 291 10297, 484 10457, 484 10502, 484 10811, 484 10nnn, 93–97 110w, 761 128-bit keys, cryptosystems, 308 1633 Hz, 31 1980s corporate history, see corporations. see corporations, 1980s early days of Net. see Internet, early days of hacker philosophy. see hackers, philosophy last days of Ma Bell. see Ma Bell new toys. see telecommunications toys, 1980s raids. see raids, 1980s stories. see stories, 1980s 1990s computer revolution. see computer revolution hackers and the law. see law enforcement, 1990s hackers really discovered in, 233–234 hacking other things. see hacking other things pop culture. see pop culture, 1990s stories. see stories, 1990s 2000 and beyond hacker stories. see stories, 2000 and beyond lawsuits. see lawsuits, 2000 and beyond retail hacking. see retail hacking telephony. see telephones, in 21st century toys. see telecommunications toys, 21st century 2111 conference, 81 2600 meetings, 512–522 writer indicted, 73 2600 Hz, 221 300 baud modems, 43 311, 483 31337SP34K, hacking, 816–817 3D glasses, 812–816 411 directory assistance, 47 step offices and, 51 414 gang, 22 56-bit keys, Data Encryption Standard, 308 62-second trick, and virus detection, 291 64-bit keys, cryptosystems, 308 *67, 483, 669 710 trick, 667 800 numbers allocating, 92–93 types of, 111–112 802.11b wireless networks, 733–739 background and basics, 733–734 community, 737–738 detecting, 734–736 getting to know your neighbors, 739–743 hacking Captivate network, 743–744 non-beaconing, 737 packet types, 734 practical examples, 738–739 securing, 737 SSID cloaking, 736–737 threats to, 738 WEP, 736 900 numbers, 93 94192bindex.qxd 6/3/08 3:29 PM Page 836 836 Index 911 computer program facts and rumors, 509–510 negative feedback on hacking, 506–507 seizing of Phrack newsletter, 493–496, 500–501 seizure of Jolnet, 497–498 views from a Fed, 384–385 950 exchange, 84 976 (dial-it) numbers, 62 9999 numbers, 9–11 A A400S Fortezza Serial Modem, 312 AB50 California bill, 811 ABIX cellular interface, 105 absent without leave (AWOL), 628 access charges, 488–490 access codes equal access, 93–97 for networks, 109–111 obtaining, 106 pseudo-felon obtaining, 630–634 safe phreaking and, 106 access points connecting to wireless network, 740–741 discovering with Kismet, 740 exploring, 741 as security professional’s job, 386 WiFi MITM attacks, 744–746 ACCS (Automated Calling Card Service), 40 Acid Phreak, imprisonment of, 526 ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), 185–188 acoustic modems, cell phones, 105 ACR (Anonymous Call Rejection), 669–670 active detection, wireless networks, 734 activity logs, hacking, 400 ACTS (Automated Coin Toll System) added to red box, 443 how pay phones work, 36–38, 40 why redboxing doesn’t work, 447–448 ad groups, Google AdWords, 796–800 addresses guide to credit card fraud, 190 reading network, 153–155 ad-hoc packets, 734 ADS (Audio Distribution Systems), hacking, 69–71, 181–184 advanced dial-out slave infinity device, 359 advanced modulation transmitters, 355 Advanced Multi-Band Excitation (AMBE), XM Radio, 756 Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. see ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) advanced transmitters, 360 advertising, while on hold, 90 AEGIS encryption, 364 Aercom, 436 AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association), 248 Afghan phone system, 657–659 Afghan Wireless Communications Company (AWCC), 658 Aiken Biphase, MetroCards, 790 Air Force law enforcement agencies, 620–623 Airfone, 93 AirSnort, 701 Airsnort, 735 Akamai, 738 alarms, ATM, 768 algorithms, hacking credit card, 370–372 ALI (Automatic Location Identification), 681–682 Alliance Teleconferencing Service, 76–82 conference controls, 78–79 conference numbers, 76–78 dangers, 79 other conferences, 81 overview of, 76–77 stunts, 80–81 Allnet (Combined Network Services) access code, 94 how it works, 66–69 leasing lines from AT&T, 96 multi-carrier toll abuse and, 222–223 sleazy practices of, 171–173 all-relay step office, 51–52 alpha numeric pager units defined, 340 length of messages, 342 sending out messages, 341 alter tone, pagers, 341 altered bias oscillator frequency, surveillance tape recorders, 361 Alternate Operator Services (AOS), 158, 169–170 Alvord, Thomas, 114 Amateur Action BBS, 559 Amateur Radio, 367–369 94192bindex.qxd 6/3/08 3:29 PM Page 837 Index AMBE (Advanced Multi-Band Excitation), XM Radio, 756 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 185–188 American Express phone story, 18–19 Ameritech, 83 AMPS control bus, 104 Amsterdam elections, hacking, 807–809 ANAC (Automatic Number Announcement Circuit), ANI, 664 analog receivers, satellite TV, 763–764 Andrews, Rich, 497 ANI (Automatic Number Identifier) Caller ID vs., 665 spoofing, 664–669 using diverters, 61 Verizon’s Call Intercept and, 671–672 ANI-fails, 665, 667–669 Anna Virus, 639–640 ANONYMOUS accounts, ARPANET, 147–148 Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR), 669–670 answering machine hacking, 659–662 answering services, 62 Answers for Gateway, hacking, 729–730 antennas cell phone, 105 detecting 802.11b networks, 736 GSM system, 431 pager decoding setup, 347 radio piracy using, 760 XM Radio, 754 AntennAudio, 724–725 anti-cybersquatting act, 581, 583 AOS (Alternate Operator Services), 158, 169–170 appeals process, military, 623 Application Processors. see APs (Application Processors) application-layer encryption, wireless networks, 737 APs (Application Processors) CampusWide servers, 605 exploits, 611–612 getting into database through, 606 area code (NPA), pagers, 346 area codes New York City in 1990s, 486–487 Telnet using, 121–122 Argentina hackers, 557–559 Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA), 248 Army law enforcement agencies, 620–623 ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) communications network of, 148–149 future of, 148 gateways, 149–150 how it works, 146–147 moving around, 146 overview of, 145–146 reading addresses, 154 safety tips and interesting programs, 147 Worldnet concept, 151–152 Worldnet concept and, 151–152 Article 15, military law, 621–622 Article 32 hearing, military hearing, 620 Article 32 hearing, military hearings, 622 ARU (Audio Response Unit), ANI, 664 ASPENs (Automated SPeech Exchange Network) voice mail, 472–473 Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul (Crick), 826 Astro, 363 AT&T Communications 800 numbers, 111–112 900 numbers, 93 access code, 94 Advanced 800 Service, 92 Alliance Teleconferencing Service owned by, 76–77 dark side of Ma Bell breakup, 71–73 detecting blue box usage, 29 how it works, 66–69 Italian yellow page directory, 114 multi-carrier toll abuse and, 222–223 phone call rates, 483 privacy petition of, 99 regulated through divesture agreement, 83–84 ATA-186 adapter, Vonage broadband security, 686–687 Atlanta Three, 509–510 ATMs, NCR, 765–768 atomic bomb, true story of first, 5–7 ATSC standard, 762 ATTRIB command, 291 attribute byte, and virus detection, 291 A-type pay phone system, 36 837 94192bindex.qxd 6/3/08 3:29 PM Page 838 838 Index AUC (AUthentication Center) database, 430, 432–433 Audio Distribution Systems (ADS), hacking, 69–71, 181–184 authentication, wireless networks, 737 authorization codes, phone phreaks, 109 AUTHORIZE program, hacking VMS, 131–132 AUTODIN (AUTOmatic DIgital Network), 30–31 AUTOEXEC.BAT file, 291 Automated Calling Card Service (ACCS), 40 Automated Coin Toll System. see ACTS (Automated Coin Toll System) Automated SPeech Exchange Network (ASPENs) voice mail, 472–473 AUTOmatic DIgital Network (AUTODIN), 30–31 Automatic Location Identification (ALI), 681–682 Automatic Number Announcement Circuit (ANAC), ANI, 664 Automatic Number Identifier. see ANI (Automatic Number Identifier) AUTOSEVOCOM (AUTOmatic SECure VOice COMmunications), 30 AUTOVON (AUTOmatic VOice Network) false charges against Private Sector BBS, 190 history of, 30–31 silver box and, 24 AWCC (Afghan Wireless Communications Company), 658 AWOL (absent without leave), 628 Axxess Technologies, 710–711 B Baby Bells, 21–22 NYNEX/New York Telephone as, 83 baby monitors, 356 .BAC extension, RSTS/E, 129 Back in Business: Disaster Recovery/Business Resumption (Commonwealth Films), 239 Back Orifice (BO) tutorial, 294–296 backbones, Internet, 303 backdoor exits, from U.S.

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ix 94192ffirs.qxd 6/3/08 11:18 PM Page x 94192ftoc.qxd 6/3/08 3:28 PM Page xi Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii I II The 1980s: In the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Stories and Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 The Last Days of Ma Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3 New Toys to Play With . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 4 The Early Days of the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 5 Corporate History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 6 Raids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 7 The Hacker Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 The 1990s: The World Discovers Hackers . . . . . . 231 8 Pop Culture and the Hacker World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 9 The Computer Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 10 Learning to Hack Other Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 11 More Hacker Stories and Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 12 The Changing of the Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 13 Hackers and the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491 94192ftoc.qxd 6/3/08 III 3:28 PM Page xii 2000 and Beyond: A Changing Landscape . . . . . . 571 14 The Lawsuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573 15 Still More Hacker Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601 16 A New Era of Telephony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651 17 Retail Hacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691 18 Toys of the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835 94192flast.qxd 6/3/08 3:28 PM Page xiii Introduction T he question we get asked more than any other at 2600 is how in the world did we pull this off?

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And just like it felt back in the early days when everything just sort of came together at a particular moment, this feels like the right people are in the right place at the right time to test the system, develop new tools, and keep freedom of speech alive. 94192c01.qxd 6/3/08 3:30 PM I Page 1 The 1980s: In the Beginning Chapter 1: Stories and Adventures Chapter 2: The Last Days of Ma Bell Chapter 3: New Toys to Play With Chapter 4: The Early Days of the Net Chapter 5: Corporate History Chapter 6: Raids Chapter 7: The Hacker Philosophy 94192c01.qxd 6/3/08 3:30 PM Page 2 94192c01.qxd 6/3/08 1 3:30 PM Page 3 Stories and Adventures O ne of the true joys of the hacker world is the wealth of firsthand accounts that get shared throughout the community. Everyone has a story and many hackers have a whole treasure trove of them.

Free as in Freedom
by Sam Williams
Published 16 Nov 2015

Moglen, then working with encryption expert Phillip Zimmerman during Zimmerman's legal battles with the National Security Administration, says he was honored by the request. "I told him I used Emacs every day of my life, and it would take an awful lot of lawyering on my part to pay off the debt." Since then, Moglen, perhaps more than any other individual, has had the best chance to observe the crossover of Stallman's hacker philosophies into the legal realm. Moglen says the difference between Stallman's approach to legal code and software code are largely the same. "I have to say, as a lawyer, the idea that what you should do with a legal document is to take out all the bugs doesn't make much sense," Moglen says. "There is uncertainty in every legal process, and what most lawyers want to do is to capture the benefits of uncertainty for their client.

Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto, and the War for Our Wallets
by Brett Scott
Published 4 Jul 2022

Behind discreet doors in upmarket Mayfair, Russian oligarchs raise money for mining ventures while Middle Eastern oil sheikhs get investment advice for their sovereign wealth funds. In 2013 I published a book about that world called The Heretic’s Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money. I have a background in anthropology, and I used approaches from that discipline to delve into Big Finance. The book also drew upon hacker philosophy – which explores how to infiltrate complex systems – as an approach to challenging the power of the financial sector. Its publication paved the way for me to criss-cross the world, collaborating with many different communities who claim to have uncovered the keys to financial revolution or reform.

Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America
by Christopher Wylie
Published 8 Oct 2019

Most hackers couldn’t care less what you look like or if you walk funny. They share your love of the craft and want to help you get better at it. My brief exposure to hacking communities left a permanent impression. You learn that no system is absolute. Nothing is impenetrable, and barriers are a dare. The hacker philosophy taught me that if you shift your perspective on any system—a computer, a network, even society—you may discover flaws and vulnerabilities. As a gay kid in a wheelchair, I came to understand systems of power early on in life. But as a hacker, I learned that every system has weaknesses waiting to be exploited

In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
by Steven Levy
Published 12 Apr 2011

Page and Brin’s reluctance to write a paper about their work had become notorious in the department. “People were saying, ‘Why is this so secret? This is an academic project, we should be able to know how it worked,’” says Terry Winograd. Page, it seemed, had a conflict about information. On one hand, he subscribed heartily to the hacker philosophy of shared knowledge. That was part of what his project was all about: making human knowledge accessible, making the world a better place. But he also had a strong sense of protecting his hard-won proprietary information. He remembered Nikola Tesla, who had died in poverty even as his inventions enriched others.