Hacker case is a challenge as authorities try to retrace suspect's steps in
cyberspace
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   (c) Copyright the News & Observer Publishing Co.

   Kevin  Mitnick,  suspected  computer hacker, makes his entrance at the
   U.S.  Courthouse  in  Raleigh,  N.C.,  for  a first appearance hearing
   Friday.

   By Sarah Avery

   RALEIGH  (10  p.m.) -- Kevin Mitnick was shackled as he came into U.S.
   District  Court  on  Friday, but the case against the alleged computer
   hacker might be a good deal more difficult to lock up.

   Proving  Mitnick  was  behind the raids on data banks and thefts of at
   least  20,000  credit  card  numbers  from computer systems across the
   nation  will  be  a  special challenge involving retracing the alleged
   hacker's steps in cyberspace.

   And  while  federal  authorities  are  relatively inexperienced in the
   complicated  machinations  of  computer  burglars,  they  are  gaining
   expertise.

   "We'll  view  this  like other technical cases," said John Bowler, the
   assistant  U.S.  attorney  in  Raleigh  who's  assigned  to  prosecute
   Mitnick.  "We'll  employ  expert  witnesses  and  try  to  lay out the
   activity on charts."

   Bowler  said  investigators  will  piece together Mitnick's activities
   using computer system billings and other means.

   Evidence  -- much of it in databases and computer systems from Raleigh
   to Colorado to California -- must be sorted.

   When  federal  agents descended on Mitnick's apartment this week, they
   hauled off an array of computer gadgetry.

   The  traces of break-ins and security breaches that might be stored on
   Mitnick's equipment would be significant for the government's case.

   What  evidence  the  government currently has against Mitnick remained
   undisclosed Friday after Mitnick declined to have the case against him
   spelled out.

   Mitnick,  31,  also  said he didn't want bond set. For now, he will be
   housed in a jail somewhere in Eastern North Carolina -- wherever space
   is available.

   Wallace   W.  Dixon,  a  U.S.  magistrate,  allowed  Mitnick  to  make
   occasional calls to his mother, grandmother and a lawyer in California
   -- but only with the assistance of jailers.

   When  Mitnick was arrested in 1987 in California, he was denied access
   to telephones for fear he would commit more crimes from prison.

   As Mitnick walked into the courtroom, his brown, wavy hair pulled back
   into a ponytail, he scanned the crowd of national reporters and locked
   his  eyes  on  his  archrival,  Tsutomu  Shimomura  --  the man widely
   credited with cracking the case.

   Shimomura  has  said  that  Mitnick  became increasingly sloppy in his
   hacking,  and officials were able to trace him to Raleigh earlier this
   week.

   On Wednesday morning, authorities raided Mitnick's apartment, which he
   had  rented  Feb.  4, at The Players Club complex. Mitnick was charged
   with  computer  fraud and access device fraud -- federal felonies that
   carry a maximum prison term of 35 years.

   Although  Mitnick  was arrested in Raleigh, officials said Friday they
   are  uncertain  whether  he  will  be  tried  here.  Charges  could be
   consolidated  with  others  in  California  and Colorado, and his case
   could be settled there.

   If  Mitnick  is  tried  here, Bowler said, the government has a strong
   case  against  him,  which he said would have been outlined Friday had
   Mitnick not waived that option.

   Bowler  said  he  himself is not an expert in computer crimes, despite
   having  been  assigned  to  the  case. Bowler is scheduled to attend a
   Justice Department seminar to gain some expertise.

   James  Walsh,  an  FBI  agent specializing in white-collar crime, said
   Friday  that  the  FBI  only  three years ago set up a Computer Crimes
   Squad  in  Washington.  The  squad  investigates  sophisticated crimes
   throughout  the  nation  since  many  field offices lack the skills to
   conduct the probes.

   "To  some  extent it's true that we've been ill-prepared," Walsh said.
   "But we're trying to catch up."

   Dan  Boyce,  a  former  U.S.  attorney  who  has started a private law
   practice   in  Raleigh  specializing  in  computer  crimes,  said  law
   enforcement  agencies  are unprepared to deal with the growing problem
   that sophisticated hackers present.

   "Computer  crime  is the crime of the '90s," Boyce said. "You've heard
   the old expression that it's easier to rob a bank with a pen than with
   a  gun, and now it's even easier to rob a bank with a computer because
   of the ability to gain access to information without being noticed."

   While  Mitnick's  breaches  were  brash -- signaling what experts have
   said  was  a  desire  to  draw  attention  to  his prowess -- security
   infractions can go undetected.