Contra Cabal 804-01-2 - Computer Fraud

Washington State Computer Crackers[1]

Monday, January 10, 2000, the Washington state governor, attorney general, auditor, also University of Washington officials and regents, received a prepublication notice from Contra Cabal. The notice introduced a new web site that contains a series of essays that refer to them and their official actions. It contained a declaration that Contra Cabal conforms to the journalism codes of conduct and ethics mainly tested by courts in both Great Britain and the United States of America. It also gave named individuals an opportunity to respond to charges affecting their reputation and moral character within ten days and before publication. That time has now expired and they have not responded in a civilized manner.

Instead, University of Washington officials have hacked and crashed the Contra Cabal computers. Hacking or cracking computers violates both state and federal law. This instance follows a succession of similar occurrences since Contra Cabal first published during 1992. Moreover, it clearly shows a documented pattern and practice of unlawful acts designed to prevent publication of reports about criminal activity by public officials.

A remarkable parallel exists between the activities of the University of Washington crackers and Kevin Mitnick. The authorities released Mitnick, the notorious computer hacker, January 21, 2000. He has spent almost five years in federal custody in Lompoc, California. Upon his release he immediately accused New York Times reporter John Markoff of a breach of journalistic ethics. Markoff covered the latter portion of the two-and-a-half-year pursuit of Kevin Mitnick and published an article about him entitled "Cyberspace's most wanted." He also covered the latter portion of the trial.

Markoff has stood by his reporting. He said that he found it really disappointing that in the past five years, and perhaps in the last twenty years, Mitnick had not learned anything. Especially, that he might have learned from all his time in prison not to break into other people's computers. The authorities had arrested Mitnick five times during the previous twenty years for similar computer hacking offenses.[2] Not surprisingly, a recent poll showed that 2614 people (62%) think Mitnick rates as a prankster and not as a criminal.[3] Apparently, a majority among the nerds consider him a hero. However, he probably classifies more as a digital terrorist who exhibits a variety of psychopathic traits.

The behavior of Ronald A. Johnson, Vice President, Computers and Computing, University of Washington, and several people among his staff, differs little from that of Mitnick and his associates. They also have apparently learned nothing during the past five years. Gorged with political power and technocratic hubris they flaunt their bloated taxpayer-funded salaries and remain devoid of any social mores.

Last week, State employees at the University of Washington hacked into the Messaging Application Program Interface (MAPI) of the Contra Cabal computers. They used the Northwest Link ISP server as a gateway. In addition, they entered the voice mail program through the US West telephone lines. Both these intrusions have since caused considerable damage and repeated computer crashes. Over an extended period, Johnson and his team have arbitrarily destroyed computer programs and databases that contained intellectual property belonging to other people.

Many computer users think they have nothing on their computers worth hacking. However, malicious hackers (or crackers) irrationally access and cause damage to unsecured computers claims a security expert and senior systems engineer. He said that recently hackers deposited payloads in about a half-dozen computers on his campus. These payloads contained instructions for remote hacking that could prevent future use of the network.[4]

University of Washington employees use the knowledge gained from prevention research to deposit computerized payloads. They reverse their own rules for computer protection. Almost five years ago they destroyed upwards of twelve years of academic research data. Later they deposited a payload that required reformatting the hard drive and reloading all the programs and data. That project took sixty hours.

Fantastic as these allegations may sound, one must remember that one deals with intellectual thugs who follow anarchist policies. They have no morals or ethics and, consequently, do not care about state or federal law. With new technologies, one may protect oneself more than in the past. However, not completely when adversaries have unlimited expert time and resources at their disposal provided by the taxpayer.

Filing complaints with a university that holds a mandate to investigate itself, which consistently finds no reasonable or probable cause at clandestine hearings, means that no due process exists on that campus. In fact, one of the UW computer hackers chaired a university investigating committee. Moreover, Christine O. Gregoire, the Washington State Attorney General, although informed five years ago about these criminal acts, continues to turn a blind eye to them. She neither responds to correspondence nor investigates the charges. In fact, her assistant attorneys general actively cover up unlawful activities at the university and thwart attempts to obtain due process of law. For example, former assistant attorney general Carol S. Niccolls (now executive assistant to the UW president) deliberately obstructed an ACLU investigation that found reasonable and probable cause for prosecuting the same allegations.

A complaint sent by certified mail January 31, 2000, to Seth P. Waxman, Solicitor General of the United States, cites UW officials. It requests a full and independent investigation of alleged federal crimes committed by state employees. Generally, the complaints allege that state employees have hacked into the Contra Cabal computers over a period of almost five years and violated federal law 18 USC § 1030(a)(5) and other sections of that title.

Contra Cabal classifies as a lawfully published Internet column that exposes academic and state corruption. Its content explores the murky depths of academic and state totalitarianism. Published since 1992, it will soon appear as a web site. University officials have tried, without success, for almost five years to apply prior restraint to this writer through unlawful practices including computer fraud.

However, after possessing an international press card for more than forty years, this writer does not easily succumb to intimidation by Johnny-come-lately nerds. The web site will soon appear using backup offline computers beyond the reach of hackers. It will eventually contain all new and previously published work. However, the size and complexity of the overall project determine a practical need to publish periodically. Several hundred essays have reached stages of final copyediting, final investigation, validation, or verification.

Publishing in stages allows for complete verification and validation of facts. It also provides a practical way to protect the databases from a fifth attempt to destroy them. The site presently comprises four volumes numbered six through nine (volumes one through five published 1992-99 using electronic mail will eventually form part of the web site). Some essays result from excerpting from work previously published in journals. Other essays report new revelations that frequently occur during investigation of disclosures made by sources. Some will result from contributions by other writers.

Many delays in verification have occurred during the past two years because the Washington State Attorney General and the University of Washington continue unlawfully to deny access to public records. They use this tactic, and many other bureaucratic ploys, to cover up crimes at the University of Washington that the Attorney General should have prosecuted long ago.

The University of Washington continues to try to hack/crack then sabotage Contra Cabal computers and databases. Therefore, please report any unusual technical difficulties or suspicious occurrences to webmaster@contracabal.org for onward transmission to state and federal authorities. Meanwhile, Richard L. McCormick, President, University of Washington <rlm@u.washington.edu>, Governor Gary Locke <leslie.frank@gov.wa.gov>, and Attorney general Christine O. Gregoire <mariang@atg.wa.gov>, await readers' messages of consternation and disgust about the alleged unlawful behavior of Washington state employees.

Nmesis.

1. Hackers. A person who illegally gains access to another's electronic system. Crackers. Hackers who intentionally cause damage to another's electronic system.
2. Robert Lemos, Mitnick: I was manipulated, That's how hacker Kevin Mitnick feels after almost five years behind bars, ZDNet News. Updated January 21, 2000, 15:41 PT.
3. ZDNet News (00-0127-1542 PST)
4. Florence Olsen, Any Computer Can Be a Launching Pad for Hackers, Security Expert Warns, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 21 Jan 00.