============================================================================ THE SYNDICATE REPORT Information Transmittal No. 12 Released June 21, 1987 Featuring: Computer Fraud Threat Increasing (i.w. 6\18) FCC Information Tax Ahead (osuny 6\20) Metal Shop Private News (t.k 6\20) Breaking the Bootleg Bands (pc.w 6\21) Debut Big Smash (nwb.wk 6\21/2\20) Misc: Phrack/SummerCon/Osuny News (br.wlf 6\22) by The Sensei ============================================================================ Exposition: Once again, TSReport now excepts outside sources. Anyone can write/provide information to the Syndicate Report. The Syndicate Report is also altering format. Rather than concentrating mainly on BELL orientated information, the Syndicate Report now has a more broad interest. Thus, TSR now handles all types of news gatherings. All articles have been presented by me unless shown at the end of the article as the information provider(s). ============================================================================ Author's Note: Hello, and welcome to another issue of The Syndicate Report. This is the 12th transmittal of Report which makes it well over a year old. I'm extreamly pleased by the response and support you have given toward the Report. So far the Report has been going strong and will continue to. Although I do ask of your help on distributing the Syndicate Report. I want all Telecommunicationists to enjoy some of the recent NEWS -- some which Phrack Inc. hasn't broadcasted. Thanks, and enjoy. ============================================================================ COMPUTER FRAUD THREAT INCREASING: Corporations are increasingly vulnerable to computer fraud, pointing to three factors that make such fraud difficult to prevent: Computer--Savvy employees, the difficulty of detection, and lucrative payoff. According to the SR, the increasing number of knowledgeable corporate computer users, and their ability to access sensitive computer data through decentralized processing and networks, contributes to the growing potential for corporate computer fraud. Computer fraud is also difficult to detect, since the vast quantities of data stored in computers make concealing a theft relatively easy. Perpetrators seldom leave trails to follow; numbers can be easily changed, and managers, investors, and creditors easily deceived. Finally, computer fraud is often lucrative. In reported computer frauds the average loss is estimated by the FBI to be 600,000$ -- significantly more than the 23,000$ average of other types of fraud. And, stressed the report, this is only frauds that have been identified and reported. Statistics: Losses Due to Computer Fraud ---------------------------------------- *************************** ------------ 75% Manufacturing ######################## --------------- 72% Government - 92% Banking ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ --------- 78% Insurance \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------ 75% Services $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ----- 86% Communication &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& ----------------------- 50% Other ^^ % WHO SAY THEY SUFFERED LOSS ============================================================================ FCC INFORMATION TAX AHEAD: 87Jun14 5:53 am from Dalnefre' C-86 Test System From: hadeishihusc4.HARVARD.EDU (mitsuharu hadeishi) Subject: ATTENTION ALL MICRO USERS!!! FCC INFORMATION TAX AHEAD!! Date: 12 Jun 87 15:13:37 GMT Reply-To: hadeishihusc4.UUCP (mitsuharu hadeishi) Distribution: World Organization: Harvard Univ. Science Center Hi friends, A terrible piece of news I just read about in the New York Times this morning. The FCC just voted 4-0 to impose a $4.50 - $5.50 an HOUR tax on people who are using the phone system to transmit information across state lines. This INCLUDES anyone hooking up to a network, not just people dialing out of state!! I suppose people dialing into a system with access to Arpanet or even USENET might be charged this tax; the information services (Compuserve, etc.) are slated to be charged this tax as of January 1. This is an outrageous tax which would squelch the burgeoning telecommunications industry, and is totally unjustified. I would urge people to write letters to their Congressman to protest this unfair and exorbitant "information tax" which is based on superstition and lack of understanding of the telecommunications industry. :::::::::::::::::::::::Information Provided by Mitsu:::::::::::::::::::::::: ============================================================================ METAL SHOP PRIVATE NEWS: For those of you wondering what the hell happened to Metal Shop Private Recently (Either getting a steady ringing, or Taran King)...the system is temp. down due to legal problems TK is having. None of the details are clear at this point, but TK thinks the system will be back up shortly. He also added that the system may have a new number/location. He informed TSR that the legal problem has nothing to do with Phreaking or Hacking or anything online related. The system was taken down because it would have only brought TK more trouble. Stay Tuned for more information... ============================================================================ BREAKING THE BOOTLEG BANDS: Targeting bootleg software in raids reminiscent of Elliot Ness, Canadian authorities have effectively shut down three software rental firms and crippled a fourth. The software rental business is no stranger to controversy. Rental firms say the practice simply enables customers to test programs; the Software Publishers Association and IBM counter that such firms violate copyright laws by selling programs under the guise of providing preview copies. But the recent Canadian experience departed from traditional rental procedure: In those cases, the companies apparently fialed to ask for the rented software back. Instead, they advised customers to erase the disks after a 21-day preview costing 10$ per program. When a five member legal team tried to serve a court order of the Softsave Preview Club of Vancouver, the team was barred from entering the premises. Employees then taped paper over the windows to prevent the group from peering inside. "One employee threw a box of files and credit card charge slops out of the upper-floor windows," recalls Tate technical support supervisor Goepel, who participated in the raid. "He obviously had called someone on the phone because a guy was there ready to pick the stuff up." Softsave management kept the raiders out in the cold for two hours before deciding the search could not be legally prevented. Goepel's party then seized cartons of charge slips and hundreds of copies of top-selling programs. "No country is worse than Canada for not protecting software and for the quantity of illegal software sold.", maintains Chan, international counsel for Ashton-Tate. "The people of Hong Kong can't compare with the professionalism in Canada. Softsave had a 24-hour phone number with about 20 phones lines, and we estimated they sent out over 1000 disks a day." :::::::::::::::::Information Provided by Stall Eckhouse::::::::::::::::::::: ============================================================================ DEBUT BIG SMASH: A new National Bell "order-by-phone" service got off to a rousing start is most regional Bell areas. Rogers U.S. Cable Systems of National Bell recently became the first user in the nation of the new order-enter technology. And in May, the first full month the service was in use, the cable TV firm reported that sales of its pay-per-view programs more than doubled Bell action. Dialing the first five digits connects the subscriber's line with an order-entry processor that works in conjunction with the Automatic Number Identification feature of Bell's central offices. The last two digits are code number for the program and the time of day viewer wants to watch it. ============================================================================ This message is for members of Metal Shop Private. Many of you may have noticed that MSP has been down the past couple of days. Do not expect its return in the near future. Suffice to say that Taran King is in "trouble." Please do NOT call him as he will not answer any questions anyway and will not appreciate your call. If you have to get in touch with him for any other reason besides inquisitiveness leave email to me here, I'll pass it along in person when I see him. The events concerning MSP should have NO effect on SummerCon so don't worry about that. Thanks for your time. :Knight Lightning ---------------------------------------- Title: SummerCon Left by KNIGHT LIGHTNING Well first of all, Taran is now accepting calls on his bbs line. Don't expect him to tell you what happened and don't call unless you really need too (such as SummerCOn stuff). PS: As of PWN 16, Lucifer 666 will be writing PWN and starting with Phrack 15, Control C will be distributing Phrack. TeleComputist Information Line 314-921-7938 ---------------------------------------- Title: Probabilities on Phrack Left by MR. PEZ Oh, and supposedly, I'm supposed to have a Phrack Editor account on my board, and people will be able to upload articles there. This is after I've been talking with Control-C and Live Wire. Have any others heard about this? Live Wire has this whole plan of a "Phrack Team" in mind for tons of boards across the nation to support and distribute Phrack. Control C wants Phrack to have a bigger audience (like it's not big enough already), and wants better distributors. Hmm. Anyway, I guess you can call my board, the PUB, at 313-433-3164, and talk to these people about this. (After SummerCon's over, grr..) -pez ---------------------------------------- Title: OSUNY BBS BACK! Left by THE SYNDICATE REPORT The original critically aclaimed OSUNY BBS is Back Up! Osuny BBS is now ran on Citadel BBS software. There is a little of everything for everybody on this system. Some of the original users are already on...call now and give your support. Osuny* 914-725-4060 ============================================================================ If there is any question to the information in this file, contact the author. Now can be found on the following systems: Metal Shop Private in the 314. Major Havoc's BBS 301-668-7657 ============================================================================ This concludes this transmittal No. 12 provided by: The Sensei of The Syndicate Report Released June 21, 1987 ============================================================================