Underground: Hacking, madness and obsession on the electronic frontierDreyfus, Suelette
Science
Underground: Hacking, madness and obsession on the electronic frontier
Dreyfus, Suelette
Computer crimes -- Australia; Computer hackers -- Australia -- Biography; Computer security -- Australia
Sexton went through a few more numbers, most of which Anthrax hedged.
He asked Anthrax questions about his manipulation of the phone system,
particularly about the way he made free calls overseas using
Australian companies' 008 numbers.
When Anthrax had patiently explained how it all worked, Sexton went
through some more speed-dial numbers.
`Number 43. Do you recognise that one?'
`That's the Swedish Party Line.'
`What about these other numbers? Such as 78? And 30?'
`I'm not sure. I couldn't say what any of these are. It's been so
long,' Anthrax paused, sensing the pressure from the other side of the
table. `These ones here, they are numbers in my town. But I don't know
who. Very often, 'cause I don't have any pen and paper with me, I just
plug a number into the phone.'
Sexton looked unhappy. He decided to go in a little harder. `I'm going
to be pretty blunt. So far you have admitted to the 008s but I think
you are understating your knowledge and your experience when it comes
to these sort of offences.' He caught himself. `Not offences. But your
involvement in all of this ... I think you have got a little bit more
... I'm not saying you are lying, don't get me wrong, but you tend to
be pulling yourself away from how far you were really into this. And
how far everyone looked up to you.'
There was the gauntlet, thrown down on the table. Anthrax picked it
up.
`They looked up to me? That was just a perception. To be honest, I
don't know that much. I couldn't tell you anything about telephone
exchanges or anything like that. In the past, I guess the reason they
might look up to me in the sense of a leader is because I was doing
this, as you are probably aware, quite a bit in the past, and
subsequently built up a reputation. Since then I decided I wouldn't do
it again.'
`Since this?' Sexton was quick off the mark.
`No. Before. I just said, "I don't want anything to do with this any
more. It's just stupid". When I broke up with my girlfriend ... I just
got dragged into it again. I'm not trying to say that I am any less
responsible for any of this but I will say I didn't originate any of
these 008s. They were all scanned by other people. But I made calls
and admittedly I did a lot of stupid things.'
But Sexton was like a dog with a bone.
`I just felt that you were tending to ... I don't know if it's because
your dad's here or ... I have read stuff that "Anthrax was a legend
when it came to this, and he was a scanner, and he was the man to talk
to about X.25, Tymnet, hacking, Unix. The whole kit and kaboodle".'
Anthrax didn't take the bait. Cops always try that line. Play on a
hacker's ego, get them to brag. It was so transparent.
`It's not true,' he answered. `I know nothing about ... I can't
program. I have an Amiga with one meg of memory. I have no formal
background in computers whatsoever.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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