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From: Anonymous  (from Ripco BBS)
Subject: The Dictator: My thoughts
Date: 02/08/91

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***  CuD #3.05: File 4 of 8: The Dictator--My Thoughts           ***
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Well, since others have put up what they thought about the Dictator, I may
as well add mine.

I am not so mad at The Dictator (I'm not really mad at all 'cuz I don't
know him, I don't hack systems/phreak, and I haven't seen black-and-white
proof) as I am at the intrusion into the underground.

It was one thing to bust hacks, phreaks, carders, etc.  You play, you pay.
Every hack/phreak/'rate knows and accepts that.  The problem I have is that
we were violated.  Face it, we were raped.  An outsider came in, got into
some exclusive boards (and some non-exclusive ones, too, that were busted
for no reason), made people trust him, and fucked them.

We should be mad at ourselves.  The guy went to SummerCon unnoticed! They
videotaped shit, he called boards, etc.  How could people who can bring
networks down to their knees be duped by someone who probably thinks DTMF
is "Dumb Tight Mother Fucker"?

Social Engineering.

Sound familiar?  The guy hacked his way into the underground!  What irony!
This gives the story a little twist!  WE got socially engineered for once.
This is a "shoe is on the other foot" type scenario.  He made a quality
hack!  He probably thought he was doing the cool 007 James Bond deal when
he did whatever he did or didn't do.  You know, infiltrating the enemy,
behind the lines, all that stuff.

At any rate, instead of blowing the guy up (he still might be innocent, you
know), I think we should use hacker ethics to deal with this situation.

You ask, what are hacker ethics in this situation?  1) A quality hack
should not be punished.  2) A hack can show leaks in security, and is
therefore beneficial in some respects.

He did make a quality hack whether we want to admit it or not.  It was
immoral and everything, but it was a quality hack.  Like when someone
breaks into a system and grabs stuff, he doesn't feel he should be busted.
Well, fair is fair.  Let the courts bust him and whoever for illegal
procedure or whatever.  That's their place, not ours.  He has shown leaks
in security.  What security? you ask.  Exactly.  There is no security.
Security CAN be implemented.  It doesn't have to be elitist, either.

At any rate, IF (and it's a big if) The Dictator or anyone else did
infiltrate the underground, wouldn't it be better to fix the holes than
retaliate against some stooge?

I don't blame The Dictator, or even the guys who are giving their kids a
nice new Mac courtesy of Doc Ripco (tho he might).  Personally I only hold
the "brains" of the operation responsible like Gail (got a job yet?)
Thackeray.  Nice career move.  Too bad it blew up like the Hindenburg.

At was the people who instigated the investigation who should be blamed.
And us for being such idiots.  The Dictator was a mere cog in the machine.
Let the guy live with whatever conscience he has.  Some day he will
realize that the SS used him and threw him away like a soiled condom.  He
got used like he used us.  What is the SS doing for him now?  Probably
nothing.  He's probably sitting at home, sweating, and shitting in his
pants everytime he starts his car.  Isn't that punishment enough?

If the SS wants to play CIA, and it can get buffoons to play 007, then it
will be sorry in the end.  I think they should stick to counterfeiters
instead.  The FBI probably would have done a better job at busting the real
criminals and leaving the amatures alone.  The REAL feds, the FBI dudes,
are probably laughing at this whole thing.

The CIA probably knows more about us than anyone, but they're smart.  They
stick to their business rather than trying to get the glory.

That's my opinion.

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