The Contra Costa Times vs. NIRVANAnet(tm)
by Michael Liedtke
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MODEM OPERANDI: Tips on crime go on-line
by: Michael Liedtke
staff writer for the Contra Costa Times
Wednesday, July 28, 1993
Tips on how to commit fraud, murder and other mayhem are just a
phone call away in the Bay Area, courtesy of rabble-rousing
electronic bulletin boards that turn the personal computer into a
clearinghouse for crime.
Using the First Amendment as a legal shield, a group of electronic
bulletin boards in the Bay Area has created an information network
providing criminal insights to anyone with a phone, personal
computer and modem.
Essentially, these computer forums, known as bulletin board
services, are electronic libraries. While some computer bulletin
boards are limited to paying subscribers, the rebel network
distributing criminal expertise is open to everyone, free of
charge.
Most of the bulletin board files can be fetched over phone lines
and brought into the caller's home. In turn, callers to the
bulletin boards are encouraged to send in files, so the systems
can accumulate advice from experts and novices.
More than 45,000 computer users have called an underground Bay Area
bulletin board, known as "Lied Unlimited," that offers a
roguish gallery of information. File titles include:
"How to Make Your Own Valid American Express Card"
"How to Rob a Bank"
"How to Break Into Houses"
"Stealing Toyotas and What to Do With Them"
"Simple Way to Make a Car Go BOOM!"
"Twenty-two Ways to Kill"
The bulletin boards also have other categories offering
more-mainstream advice and entertainment, but they appear to be
primarily interested in promoting disorder.
In a self-description appearing on a bulletin board review, Lied
Unlimited said it tries to focus "on political realities. The
point being that this reality is created by consensus, and the only
way to change the reality is to change the consensus."
Lies Unlimited plans to shut down today and reopen next month after
the system operator, listed a Mick Freen, moves from South San
Francisco, to Salt Lake City. Mischievous information similar to
Lies Unlimited's archives remains available on several other Bay
Area bulletin boards, including a Walnut Creek-based system known
as "And the Temple of the Screaming Electron."
Based on computer files retrieved by the Times, other
contributors in this unorthodox network include "My Dog Bit
Jesus" in Berkeley, "realitycheck," in Albany, "Burn This Flag" in
San Jose and "The New Dork Sublime" in San Francisco.
Among them, the bulletin boards offer hundreds of files providing
instructions on credit card fraud, money laundering, mail fraud,
counterfeiting, drug smuggling, cable-tv theft, bomb- making and
murder.
The Times left electronic messages on several of those bulletin
boards seeking interviews with the system operators. None of the
operators responded by late Tuesday.
Virtually anyone who understands how to use a computer and modem
can tap into the rogue bulletin boards, if they have the phone
numbers. The boards allow callers to create their own logons
and passwords, opening the door for kids to get into the system.
Based on their content, the bulletin boards appear to be
particularly popular among teen-agers.
"This shows why people need to be much more aware of what kids
are doing with their computers," said Hans Von Braun, a
computer security expert who works for San Francisco-based Comsec.
One bulletin board, Burn This Flag, requires callers to fill out
an application before gaining access to an adults-only section
that contains files describing "bizarre sexual behavior." But in
a written message, Burn This Flag's system operator, known
as "Zardoz," acknowledges there is no foolproof way to ensure
all users of the adult section are at least 18.
The Time isn't publishing the phone numbers of the rebel bulletin
boards as a children's safeguard.
The bulletin boards remain open by straddling a fine line between
the legal definitions of free speech and criminal behavior.
Under First Amendment rights guaranteeing free speech, the
law allows the bulletin boards to serve as criminal primers, as
long a the advice is limited to generic instructions.
Essentially, it's legal for individuals to discuss how to commit
a crime as long as they don't solicit or encourage the commission
of a crime.
"We're aware of these types of bulletin boards," said Rick Smith,
an FBI spokesman in San Francisco. "But to shut them down, you
have to make a link between the discussion of a crime and the
commission of a crime."
Law enforcement officials and security experts said they snoop
through rogue bulletin boards to stay abreast of advice available
to prospective criminals. These periodic checks might spot
possible weaknesses in security systems and help authorities take
precautions.
Pacific Bell can't refuse phone access to the underground bulletin
boards, even though the forums often contain advice on how to commit
phone fraud. For instance, one file on the "realitycheck" board is
titled "basic telephone sabotage."
Date: 07-29-93 09:07
From: DEMENTED PIMIENTO
The following is the letter I sent in response to the Contra Costa Times
article slamming NIRVANAnet bbses as a 'rabble-rousing' network. I encourage
all reasonably lucid people to voice their opinions to the editor of said
paper.
July 28, 1993
Letters to the Editor
c/o Michael Liedtke
Contra Costa Times
P.O. Box 8099
Walnut Creek, CA 94596-8099
Mr. Liedtke:
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your recent article on
NIRVANAnet, (although you never mentioned the network by name). It's proven
quite popular among our callers, and I thank you for your unsolicited
publicity.
Blatantly slanted, chock-full-o-buzzwords ("rebel network," "bizarre sexual
behavior," "rogue bulletin boards"), long on sensationalism and short on
content, Mr. Liedtke's story weaves a fantastic vision of intrigue,
underground conspiracies, and computer criminals lurking in suburban rumpus
rooms in the guise of adolescent cyberpunks. While this certainly adheres
to the media stereotype of computer hobbyists that your paper seems happy to
portray, it is simply not the truth.
All information compiled on NIRVANAnet; has been compiled over the years from other such "rebel" sources as the Library of Congress, and the Internet
(network which connects universities & government offices worldwide), but
perhaps I shouldn't include their addresses here "as a children's safeguard
NIRVANAnet was founded on the belief that bulletin board systems should rema
open and free. We don't charge for access to our systems because we're all
nice folks and wouldn't want the public to pay for something which is
absolutely free and available at any public library. We are not "undergroun
in any way, and the phone numbers to ALL the NIRVANAnet BBSes are printed ev
two weeks in Computer Currents and every quarter in MicroTimes (Bay Area
computer trade magazines) and indeed, the numbers have been printed there fo
years. I'm including the phone numbers to all NIRVANAnetþ bulletin boards,
and I encourage your readers to call the nearest one to judge for themselves
whether or not criminal behavior is encouraged or even tolerated on NIRVANAn
Perhaps if Mr. Liedtke had bothered to actually READ a few messages in ANY o
the message areas, he would have come to a more reasonable conclusion on
NIRVANAnet before going to press.
& the Temple (510) 935-5845
of The Screaming Electron
realitycheck (510) 527-1662
My Dog Bit Jesus (510) 658-8078
Lies Unlimited (415) 583-4102
The New Dork Sublime (415) 864-DORK
Burn This Flag (408) 363-9766
The Shrine (408) 747-0778
Sincerely,
Demented Pimiento
Sysop - The New Dork Sublime BBS
Date: 07-29-93 13:44
From: SAM UZI
Subject:: MY letter to CCTimes
Sirs,
I am deeply disturbed at the tone of your article, dated Aug, 28, 1993,
by Michael Liedtke, concerning the supposed criminal
predilections of the free-access electronic bulletin-board
community. The bulletin boards (BBSs) that you singled out in your article
all belong to what is called the NirvanaNet, which is a
network of Bay Area BBSs. I have been a user of this network for four years,
and take great offense at your relentless
characterization of NirvanaNet as an "unorthodox", "rebel", "rogue" network,
and by the wanton claim that we are "primarily interested is promoting
disorder".
I would like to address the charges that you have made against us in
detail.
You stated that "using the First Amendment as a shield", we
are a collection of "rabble-rousing electronic bulletin boards
turning the personal computer into a clearinghouse for crime" which "remain
open by straddling a fine line between the legal
definitions of free speech and criminal behavior". Using these
terms, you have painted a picture of us a group of criminal-minded people who
advocate crime, and who's purpose is to create more
criminals in the world, as well as directly implying that we
ourselves are engaged in criminal behavior. This is patently
untrue, and a gross misinterpretation of fact.
The statement that "Pacific
Bell can't refuse phone access to underground bulletin
boards" further implies; one, that we are an "underground" network, and also;
that the telephone company should somehow have the right to deny telephone
access to anyone that it might find politically offensive. We are in no way
an "underground" network. All of the NirvanaNet BBSs advertise quite openly,
as noted by Liedtke himself elsewhere in the article. In fact, in attempted
support of his
claims of our supposed "criminal behavior", Liedtke quoted a "self-
description" of Lies Unlimited (which is a NirvanaNet BBS) which
stated that its focus is "on political realities".
The quote went on to say
that "the point being that this reality is created by
consensus, and the only way to change the reality is to change the
consensus". I fail to see how this statement can, in any way, be interpreted
as an advocacy of criminal behavior, unless the author is intending to imply
that any attempt to become involved in the
political process is criminal in and of itself, which - if true -
would be in direct conflict with the letter and intent of the
Constitution of the United States and with the basic principles of our
nation.
The NirvanaNet BBSs do have available all of the noxious text files that
were mentioned, but, quite frankly, none of the regular users I know of on
the network has much interest in reading any of them. In discussions with
the system administrators (Sysops) of
the various BBSs, I have gathered that the main reason that they
are there is because we have a legal right to have them. Far from "using the
First Amendment as a shield", the NirvanaNet users are, as a whole, deeply
dedicated to the concepts contained and
expressed by the Bill of Rights, and the Sysops seem to have
decided that it is their duty to take a stand on this issue.
Also, far from
being "primarily interested in promoting disorder" by
"distributing criminal expertise", the main function of NirvanaNet is as a
message system, by which the users can (and do) engage in debates on broad
topics ranging from our tastes in books and films, our views on psychology,
to our opinions on political issue such
as the National Debt and Constitutional law. Never has anyone I
know of on the network (other than the occasional crank, who might call once
or twice, leave an inflammatory message, and then never be heard from again)
ever advocated criminal activity, nor
expressed a sentiment of condoning criminal activity. We are all responsible
and concerned citizens.
As for the statement made by Liedtke that he
refrained from noting the telephone numbers of the BBSs, as "a children's
safeguard", this strongly implies that we
are somehow intent on the corruption of children. There are many things in
the world that are dangerous to children, but access to a BBS dedicated to
free speech is not one of them.
In any case,
if a parent does not wish a child to have access (which is wholly appropriate
in the case of pornography), then it is up to the
parent to restrict the child, as much as it is for the Sysops to
attempt to restrict their access, in just the same way that it is a parent's
responsibility to restrict a child's access to
pornographic telephone services. The Sysops, in good conscience, do attempt
to restrict access of pornographic materials to minors, and there is no one
on NirvanaNet who would wish it to be
otherwise.
NirvanaNet is a forum which provides its users with the
opportunity to engage in discussion and debate on a daily basis. It is NOT a
"clearinghouse for crime", as Liedtke characterized it, nor are the
NirvanaNet users rogues, rabble-rousers, or criminals.
I am disappointed that a responsible and respected newspaper such as the
Contra Costa Times would make such a vilifying attack on a entity such as
NirvanaNet, leaving the general public with an image of us which is very much
the inverse of the truth.
Sincerely,
(me)
NirvanaNet user.
Date: 07-29-93 18:46
From: Quaker State Tapioca Rupture
To: All
Subject:: Letter To The Editor
Editor
Contra Costa Times
Editor,
I read with amusement your yellow-journalism piece, "Modem
Operandi: Tips on Crime Go On-Line" (Michael Liedtke, 07/28/93).
As a frequent browser of such systems, I can tell you his gross
mischaracterization of BBSs was reminiscent of the Hippie-Scare
articles of the late sixties.
The alarmist sensationalism of the article notwithstanding,
BBSs are a lot more than Liedtke makes them out to be: they are
repositories of all sorts of arcana, some of it rather hair-
raising. "Using the first amendment as a kind of shield?" The
first amendment is the boards' Reason for being (the same
shield, incidentally, that lets him sell sleazy papers by telling
only half a story). Like Rap music, BBSs are a forum for the
voiceless.
Yes, some of the data he reports can be found; it's also
commonly available elsewhere. A lot of the mayhem described
comes from such "underground" sources as the Navy Seals training
and CIA covert activities in Nicaragua; the chickens come home to
roost. Actually, most of what your reporter saw was teen
posturing, nothing more. Do you think a true criminal needs such
a system for pointers? Or that he would give away his/her best
trade secrets?
Would that this were the work of some diabolical cabal.
Boards of this nature are a nationwide social phenomenon,
numbering in the tens of thousands, and growing. It's almost
mainstream! That ought to give Mr. Liedtke pause enough to ask,
"Why is it that law-abiding citizens feel they need to trade in
such unsavory information? What's going on?"
In a New World Order, where the Only Policeman In Town
(with its Only Media In Town) acts with increasing arrogance and
impunity, from Simi Valley to Iraq, is it any surprise the
powerless are asking "Who will tell me the truth, protect me?"
As The Boomers loot the last of the goodies from the economy,
does it come as a shock that the twentysomethings don't have a
whole lot of respect for ethics or morals? Why, this stuff is as
American as apple pie!
So the cheesy bathos of Liedtke's invocation of "protecting
the children" rings pretty hollow, except perhaps as a comfort to
parents who need a scapegoat to explain away the alienation of a
generation of abandoned kids. When those kids see what a crock
that article was, they'll just know they've been lied to again.
Adam Douglass Burtch
Date: 07-29-93 06:18
From: Poindexter Fortran
Subject: More CCTimes Letters...
Letters to the Editor
Contra Costa Times
P.O. Box 8099
Walnut Creek, CA 94596-8099
Dear Sir/Madam,
In regards to Michael Liedtke's article, "MODEM OPERANDI: Tips
on Crime go online":
How can the Bulletin Board Services (BBSes) mentioned in the
article be "Underground" when the telephone numbers are
published in several publications?
According to my BBS logs, Mr. Liedtke logged onto my BBS on
Tuesday, 7/27 at 11:50 a.m.. Without looking at any part of the
Bulletin board, he left me a message, and logged off. I find
it curious that an investigative reporter would not actually
investigate a BBS he was writing about, given the opportunity.
The message asked me to contact him that day, because the piece
was going to press tomorrow, 7/28. Other sysops mentioned in
the article have cited a similar lack of notice.
I would like to note that Mr. Liedtke took this article
to press without any information from the people involved, and
he denied those people the opportunity to present all sides of the
issue in question. BBSes offer a lot to their callers - a
place for debate, a place to make friends, a place to call
their own. Mr. Liedtke appears to have not seen this.
As it stands, Mr. Liedtke has presented one side of the story.
I invite him to contact any of the system operators of any of
the BBSes he mentioned for further information.
(my real name)
Sysop, RealitycheckBBS
Date: 07-28-93 09:30
From: Your Kindly Parole Officer
Subject: Contra Costa Times
Editor,
Thank you for the wonderfully entertaining article "MODEM OPERANDI:
Tips On Crime Go On-Line" by Michael Liedtke. As a regular caller of
the "rogue" bulletin board systems described in the article, I found
Mr. Liedtke's description delightfully amusing... in fact, hilarious.
I laughed out loud. I hope you print more tall tales like this as
often as you can.
It isn't every day I get to look like a dangerous outlaw trying to
disrupt society. I feel three inches taller just thinking about it.
But you missed the best part of the story. In writing about the
NIRVANAnet(tm) boards like "Lies Unlimited" and "Burn This Flag", you
only scratched the surface of the real computer bulletin board
underground. NIRVANAnet is open to everyone and publically
advertised -- if you think we're bad, you should look into some of
the hundreds of more secretive outfits. The conspiracy is vaster
than you ever imagined!
Not only that, but distributing how-to files is only a secondary
aspect of NIRVANAnet's true purpose... something that the article
scarcely caught a glimpse of. What might this insidious purpose be??
Anyone who wants to know can call and see for themselves. We have
nothing to hide.
Date: 07-30-93 20:39
From: Suzanne D'fault
Subject: Another further different
My dictionary defines yellow journalism as "Journalism that exploits,
distorts or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers".
Your July 28 article "Modem operandi: Tips on crime go on-line" definitely
fits the above criteria.
NIRVANAnet is not "underground" in any sense of the word. We have
operated for years and advertise, along with most other Bay Area BBSs, in
Computer Currents and Microtimes, two respectable, widely-read, computer
publications. The network is open to everyone, free of charge, a fact
Michael Liedtke seems to find suspicious. Anyone can call: kids, moms,
dads, law enforcement officials, and journalists desperate for a story.
If we were really "clearinghouses for crime", don't you think we'd be
somewhat more selective?
America loves crime. TV presents it, constantly, in lurid detail.
People apparently find it quite entertaining. The John Gottis of the
world write "how-I-did-it" exposes that become best sellers. Any teenager
can go to Safeway and buy a copy, and no one bats an eye. Yet Mr. Liedtke
assumes that users who call my board can't possibly be looking for
"entertainment" - they must be seeking "criminal primers".
I suggest that next time Mr. Liedtke thoroughly familiarize himself
with his topic before he writes his article.
(Me)
Sysop, My Dog Bit Jesus BBS
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