Return-Path: <sentto-279987-2867-1002809719-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Thu, 11 Oct 2001 07:19:06 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 8501 invoked by uid 510); 11 Oct 2001 14:18:11 -0000 Received: from n21.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.71) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 11 Oct 2001 14:18:11 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-2867-1002809719-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.1.224] by n21.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 11 Oct 2001 14:18:19 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_4_1); 11 Oct 2001 14:15:18 -0000 Received: (qmail 58053 invoked from network); 11 Oct 2001 14:15:18 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by 10.1.1.224 with QMQP; 11 Oct 2001 14:15:18 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta1 with SMTP; 11 Oct 2001 14:18:17 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id HAA16801 for iwar@onelist.com; Thu, 11 Oct 2001 07:18:16 -0700 Message-Id: <200110111418.HAA16801@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 07:18:16 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Hacker's.war.on.terrorism.draws.tepid.response.from.experts] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hacker's war on terrorism draws tepid response from experts By Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse, 10/11/2001 <a href="http://www.securitynewsportal.com/article.php?sid=1900&mode=thread&order=0">http://www.securitynewsportal.com/article.php?sid=1900&mode=thread&order=0> WASHINGTON (October 10, 2001 3:02 p.m. EDT) - Hackers are waging a cyberwar against Osama bin Laden and his allies, despite warnings from government and security experts that this activity could be counterproductive. The latest effort came this week when Kim Schmitz, a German hacker-turned security consultant, launched a website to recruit hackers to track down funds and other evidence linking bin Laden to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Schmitz, who was convicted of hacking into NASA and Pentagon computers in the 1990s, has offered a 10 million dollar reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the exiled Saudi who is the prime suspect of US officials. "I am offering my creativity, name and money to fight terror," Schmitz says on his website. "I think the free world must unite NOW. We can only beat terrorism if everybody, everywhere is fighting against it ... In a few years terrorists will have nuclear and biological weapons and they won't kill 5,000 but 5 million people with one strike." Schmitz's efforts come in the wake of an organized effort by a US-based hacker group known as "the Dispatchers," which launched a campaign against sites deemed to be linked to bin Laden and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The Dispatchers claim to have shut down the website of the presidential palace of Afghanistan, as well as some Iranian and Palestinian sites. "We are a group of computer security enthusiasts, who are outraged at the acts of terrorism and such which are taking place in this day in age," the group said in a message replacing the official websites. "It is our cause to fight back in every way which we can ... Our current targets are those of nations who support terrorism and groups of terrorism." But the group also hit -- possibly by mistake -- a site operated by the financial services group Aon, which had the word "terrorism" in its Internet address. Aon was among the firms located in the World Trade Center. Endler said it is impossible to control the activities of a broad array of hackers -- ranging from adventurous to malicious -- and that some may violate laws or ethics and obtain or modify confidential data. He noted that YIHAT hackers "did break into a Sudanese bank and get some account information on bin Laden and supposedly gave that information to the FBI, but it's not clear what kind damage was done to that bank." The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center echoed that sentiment with a statement pointing out that such conduct "is illegal and punishable as a felony, with penalties extending to five years in prison." "Those individuals who believe they are doing a service to this nation by engaging in acts of vigilantism should know that they are actually doing a disservice to the country," the agency said. Indeed, some hacker groups, notably the German-based Chaos Computer Club, is eschewing the effort to hack the sites of enemies, saying, "Given the tense situation, we should not cut off means of communication and open up an even bigger gulf in understanding between peoples." But Schmitz said his goal is to assist law enforcement and urges YIHAT members to follow ethical guidelines. "We are generating leads for the FBI," he told AFP by e-mail. "Our goal is to work with the authorities and not against them. Our mission is to find terror money. Those who join YIHAT respect our rules, cracking (damaging data) is strictly prohibited just like defacing websites." ------------------------ Yahoo! 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:54 PST