[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.They were sure Brand hadDeszip on his computer.It would require a good deal of effort, and possibly another roller-coaster ride of desire,expectation and possible disappointment.For now, the four hackers resolved to sign off, lickingtheir wounds at their defeat in the quest for Deszip.`Well, I'm off.See you l8r,' Pad said.`Yeah, me too,' Electron added.`Yeah, OK.L8r, m8s!' Gandalf said.Then, just for fun, he added in typical Gandalf style, `See you in jail!'Underground: Chapter 6 -- Page 1 The New YorkTimesRead about it Just another incredible scene There's no doubt about it-- from `Read About It', on 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 by Midnight OilPad had an important warning for the Australian hackers: the computer security communitywas closing in on them.It was the end of February 1990, not long after Phoenix and Electronhad captured Zardoz and just missed out on Deszip.Pad didn't scream or shout the warning,that wasn't his style.But Electron took in the import of the warning loud and clear.`Feen, they know you did over Spaf's machine,' Pad told Phoenix.`They know it's been youin other systems also.They've got your handle.'Eugene Spafford was the kind of computer security expert who loses a lot of face when ahacker gets into his machine, and a wounded bull is a dangerous enemy.The security people had been able to connect and link up a series of break-ins with thehacker who called himself Phoenix because his style was so distinctive.For example, wheneverhe was creating a root shell--root access--for himself, he would always save it in the samefilename and in the same location on the computer.In some instances, he even createdaccounts called `Phoenix' for himself.It was this consistency of style which had made things somuch easier for admins to trace his movements.In his typical understated fashion, Pad suggested a change of style.And maybe, he added, itwasn't such a bad idea for the Australians to tone down their activities a bit.The undercurrentof the message was serious.`They said that some security people had contacted Australian law enforcement, who weresupposed to be "dealing with it",' Pad said.`Do they know my real name?' Phoenix asked, worried.Electron was also watching thisconversation with some concern.`Don't know.Got it from Shatter.He's not always reliable, but.'Pad was trying to soften the news by playing down Shatter's importance as a source.Hedidn't trust his fellow British hacker but Shatter had some good, if mysterious, connections.Anenigmatic figure who seemed to keep one foot in the computer underworld and the other in theupright computer security industry, Shatter leaked information to Pad and Gandalf, andoccasionally to the Australians.While the two British hackers sometimes discounted Shatter's advice, they also took the timeto talk to him.Once, Electron had intercepted email showing Pengo had turned to Shatter foradvice about his situation after the raid in Germany.With some spare time prior to his trial,Pengo asked Shatter whether it was safe to travel to the US on a summer holiday in 1989.Shatter asked for Pengo's birthdate and other details.Then he returned with an unequivocalanswer: Under no circumstances was Pengo to travel to the US.Subsequently, it was reported that officials in the US Justice Department had been examiningways to secretly coax Pengo onto American soil, where they could seize him.They would thenforce him to face trial in their own courts.Had Shatter known this? Or had he just told Pengo not to go to the US because it was goodcommonsense? No-one was quite sure, but people took note of what Shatter told them.`Shatter definitely got the info right about Spaf's machine.100% right,' Pad continued.`Heknew exactly how you hacked it.I couldn't believe it.Be careful if you're still hacking m8,especially on the Inet.' The `Inet' was shorthand for the Internet.The Altos hackers went quiet [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]