News Items
The anonymous remailer in Finland used by thousands to transmit anonymous messages over the Internet apparently isn't so anonymous after all. Finnish police, aided by the good folks at INTERPOL, raided the anon.penet.fi site at the behest of the Church of Scientology and successfully got the real email address of a person who had posted sensitive information to the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup. According to the system administrator, he had the choice of giving up one name or the entire system. As far as we're concerned, there's not much difference. The Internet needs real anonymity to prevent this kind of scare tactic. Meanwhile, the Church of Scientology continues to pursue a lawsuit against Netcom for allowing people to post things that the Church finds objectionable. The CoS attempt to "shut down" the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup appears to have loudly backfired. In true democratic form, more people than ever are sharing ideas and information through that forum thanks to all the publicity.
Speaking of scare tactics, Internet users in Hong Kong experienced the power of government firsthand. Access to the Internet was all but cut off after a series of government raids that, depending on who you talked to, were designed to curtail unlicensed connectivity or prevent computer hackers from operating. Whatever the intent, the effect was most chilling as nearly all access to the Internet was cut off throughout the country.
According to the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST), two bulletin boards (Montreal's "90-North" and Toronto's "Legion of Death") were shut down and their owners indicted under the Canadian Copyright Act. They were fined a total of $22,500 after pleading guilty to having unlicensed software.
A brief story in the Dallas Business Journal says the Internal Revenue Service is "expanding a secret database it keeps on the lives of U.S. citizens" to include motor vehicle records, child support information, credit reports, news stories, and tips from IRS informants.
The New York Times claims that Big Brother "is definitely watching" in central Liverpool and in many other British towns and cities. "Local governments, civic associations, and law enforcement agencies are rushing to install elaborate video security systems, brushing aside any concerns about civil liberties in an effort to deter crime." The surveillance program cost $600,000 and is focused upon a busy half mile stretch of Church Street. The 20 cameras are perched on top of 20-foot poles several hundred yards apart and are individually controlled from a darkened room a few blocks away. Systems like this one are popping up all over the country with only a few people wondering what kind of effect this could have on such things as public demonstrations. In America, however, we can always depend on pure stupidity. Five teenagers in Florida are standing trial for vandalism and the main piece of evidence against them is a videotape. The difference is that they made it themselves for their own entertainment.
A Pennsylvania plumber ordered "Ultra Call Forwarding" on the lines of five competitors and had their calls routed to himself. Apparently, Bell Atlantic never thought of this scenario. The competitors lost thousands of dollars in business and the plumber was charged with various crimes, the strangest one being unlawful use of a computer. That's right, you can now be charged with computer crime without ever actually using one yourself!
NYNEX has done it again - this time they slipped up when installing All-Call Restrict, the service that blocks your phone number from appearing on Caller ID displays. It seems that a large number of customers weren't actually being blocked when they thought they were. We'll never know how many people were ultimately affected nor will we find out what horror stories took place as a result. But we will be able to reaffirm that NYNEX continues to have major problems performing even the simplest of tasks for its hostage customers.
Some highlights from a recent NYNEX security publication called Security Quarterly Activity Report.
"Security investigated a report that a Service Technician solicited and received $30 from a customer to install an additional unauthorized jack and wiring during a new line service connect. The allegation stated that the Service Technician claimed that this was new Company policy and payment should be made to him. A relative of the customer called regarding this policy and was advised to contact Security. The technician denied receiving any money. The customer, in a written statement, maintained that the technician returned the following day and suggested that the $30 be called a 'tip.' When the customer refused, the technician returned the money. The employee could not satisfactorily explain why the work was performed but no billing forms were submitted for the work. The employee was dismissed."
"Security received a report from the NYPD that the husband of a New York Telephone employee was arrested for the armed robbery of an armored truck delivering payroll funds to a Company location. It was also reported that our employee had prior knowledge of the crime. The employee made a video-taped interview, with the police, admitting that she was aware her husband planned to commit the robbery. She also admitted to spending a portion of the proceeds from the crime. The employee was dismissed."
"Security received an anonymous report that a New York Telephone employee was call forwarding customers' lines without authorization. During the investigation, Security observed an employee acting suspiciously while working in a terminal box. When questioned, the employee admitted to call forwarding six to ten lines per week to specified telephone numbers for weekly payments of $250. This has been occurring for over seven months. The employee also admitted to turning back some customer's lines in order to prevent them from knowing that the service was compromised. The lines were eventually used to place fraudulent third-party calls all over the world. The local D.A.'s office became involved; no arrests have been made to date and the employee was dismissed."
"A Service Technician was accused for defacing a religious article in a customer's business location. Security determined the allegation to be true. The employee made a formal apology, paid restitution of $300 and was also suspended fro three days."
"The ex-wife of a New York Telephone Representative reported that the telephone records for her non-published service were being compromised. She alleged that her ex-husband was obtaining the records from his girlfriend who is a TRG Staff Manager. Security investigated and found that the TRG manager had accessed the records. When interviewed, she acknowledged accessing the records and stated it was done at the request of the ex-husband. The representative claimed that he made the inquiry at the request of his ex-wife, which she denied. Both employees were dismissed."
"Security investigated a report from a TRG manager that a fellow manager had made threatening statements concerning the Company, Vietnam veterans, guns, and explosives. The threats were made in the presence of other co-workers. The employee admitted to making the threats but claimed they were made in jest and he would never do anything to cause damage to the Company or his fellow employees. The employee had previously been placed 'at risk' under FMP but was able to keep his job. In a subsequent FMP, he was again identified 'at risk' and has been separated from the payroll."
"Security received a report that four orders for new telephone service were processed in a fraudulent manner. The orders were directly entered into the Service Order Processing (SOP) system, bypassing the Direct Order Entry (DOE) system, thereby avoiding the need for customer credit information. Security determined that the orders were processed from one specific RMO terminal. The employee assigned to the terminal was identified as a Business Office Representative and questioned. The employee at first denied any knowledge of the orders but later admitted the infractions when confronted with the evidence. The employee also alleged that his practice is widespread but would give no further information in this regard. The employee resigned."
"Security received an anonymous report alleging that a Special Representative permitted his daughter, a non-employee, to accompany him to work on Saturdays. It was also alleged that the daughter had access to Company records, and had assisted her father by performing various typing functions in the Integrated Customer Record Information System (ICRIS) and SOP systems. The employee admitted to bringing his daughter to work on one occasion but denied that she had performed any work in the database systems. Security was unable to substantiate access into the systems. The employee was cleared of the charges and the Personnel Policies and Practices section dealing with access of unauthorized persons to work locations was reviewed with him."
"Security received a report from a subscriber that an employee offered to return after hours to install an additional jack for $70. Security identified the employee to be an Escort who had been temporarily promoted to Service Technician. When interviewed, the employee admitted that he had installed unauthorized jacks on other occasions and had solicited the complaining customer for the unauthorized installation of the jack. The subject also implicated another employee in the scheme but Security was unable to substantiate this allegation. The Escort was dismissed."
The bad news is that this is a quarterly publication and there are many more such stories involving only one phone company in one state. The good news is that it seems virtually anyone can get a job in a phone company these days.