[iwar] [fc:Device.detects.phone.hackers.-:-.Ex-phone.repairman.says.no.line.is.safe]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-19 07:31:51
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:Device.detects.phone.hackers.-:-.Ex-phone.repairman.says.no.line.is.safe]
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Device detects phone hackers -:- Ex-phone repairman says no line is safe 
By Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News, 10/19/2001
<a href="http://www.securitynewsportal.com/article.php?sid=2005&mode=thread&order=0">http://www.securitynewsportal.com/article.php?sid=2005&mode=thread&order=0>

Warning: Your phone calls can be hazardous to your privacy.  So says
Hector Vasquez, a former telephone repair technician and current
president of National Phone Check, who has seen phone lines compromised
in every fashion imaginable.  He's found tape recorders plugged into
lines, radio transmitters tucked into line splitters and clients' phone
lines mysteriously accessible within competitors' workplaces.  "I'm
telling you, anyone could be listening," he said.  "Anyone could be
recording your conversations or your data or faxes.  I'm saying no phone
line is safe."

The problem, he said, is that the maintenance of phone networks is
simply too sloppy.  He blames local carriers Ameritech Corp.  and
Verizon Communications for not properly culling outdated equipment or
investing in more secure technologies.  As a result, he said, your dial
tone may be redirected through other buildings, shoddy wires may be used
to connect your line and flimsy outdoor equipment boxes give easy access
to would-be hackers...continued.... 

In response, Vasquez invented the Line Detective, a tiny box that he
said instantly detects phone tampering by measuring the slightest of
fluctuations in the intensity of the dial tone pulsing through your
wire. 

Telecommunications experts said that while privacy is an issue, the real
value of Vasquez's gadget is its ability to untangle the overgrown phone
infrastructure in many offices and other businesses.  That way redundant
wiring, lines that cross through other companies' networks and other
potential security glitches can be deinstalled, leaving a clean and
organized phone system. 

"This can do in a few seconds what more expensive equipment could do in
an hour," said Ron Chura, supervisor in the service quality section at
the Michigan Public Service Commission. 

But beyond private security matters, Chura said, the device could help
Michigan's competing telecommunications companies more quickly settle
problems with larger phone providers Ameritech and Verizon. 

"There's no question it can help phone companies tell where problems
are," Chura said. 

Imagine, for example, a situation where a phone line isn't working
properly after an outside company installs high-speed wiring to a
business.  Many telecommunications companies complain that in this
situation, because of the complexity of the phone network, months would
need to be spent investigating to determine if the problem was with the
local phone company or the small competitor. 

Line Detective makes short work of those problems, said Ed Swanboro,
president of Line One Communications Inc., a telecommunications
interconnecting service in Sterling Heights. 

"You'll have cases where the equipment we're hooking up is new and we're
finding older equipment still hooked up, which causes problems.  But
it's hard to prove where the problems are," Swanboro said.  "We've
cleaned up some lines pretty quickly with this."

Ameritech officials couldn't comment specifically on the device, but
said they have been committed to helping other phone companies sort out
difficulties. 

"Our (technicians) have the equipment they need to find problems quickly
already," said Blair Klein, spokeswoman for Ameritech. 

But Chura said the new device could uncover many line problems Ameritech
and Verizon don't want to deal with in their phone networks. 

"Ameritech and Verizon are the companies that don't want this device in
the hands of others," Chura said.  "They don't want to have to make
those lines work right."

Klein disagreed, saying Ameritech actively works with competitors to
determine problems. 

"We feel the more information competitors have about problems, the
better," she said.  "We want our customers to be happy."

Either way, Vasquez will continue to market his product by offering
training seminars to telecommunications security firms and other
technicians.  Sessions will begin locally before year's end, Vasquez
said.  Training centers are also being set up in other states with
operations stretching into Mexico. 

"This will be a big issue for people," he said.  "They'll want someone
who can tell them if their phones are safe." Hector Vasquez says the
Line Detective instantly detects phone tampering by measuring
fluctuations in a dial tone's intensity.;


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