Return-Path: <sentto-279987-4529-1014700832-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Mon, 25 Feb 2002 21:22:08 -0800 (PST) Received: (qmail 8575 invoked by uid 510); 26 Feb 2002 05:20:29 -0000 Received: from n6.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.56) by all.net with SMTP; 26 Feb 2002 05:20:29 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-4529-1014700832-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [216.115.97.188] by n6.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 26 Feb 2002 05:20:32 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: unknown); 26 Feb 2002 05:20:31 -0000 Received: (qmail 50715 invoked from network); 26 Feb 2002 05:20:31 -0000 Received: from unknown (216.115.97.171) by m2.grp.snv.yahoo.com with QMQP; 26 Feb 2002 05:20:31 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (12.232.72.152) by mta3.grp.snv.yahoo.com with SMTP; 26 Feb 2002 05:20:31 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id g1Q5KbH00499 for iwar@onelist.com; Mon, 25 Feb 2002 21:20:37 -0800 Message-Id: <200202260520.g1Q5KbH00499@red.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 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet 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: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 21:20:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [iwar] [fc:An.Internet.outlaw.goes.on.record..Pleasant.Hill.student.tells.of.his.'hacktivism'] Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit An Internet outlaw goes on record Pleasant Hill student tells of his 'hacktivism' Sam McManis, S.F. Chronicle, 2/25/02 <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/02/24/MN182931.DTL">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/02/24/MN182931.DTL> Pleasant Hill -- His cyber-pseudonym was "Pimpshiz," and he was one of the hottest hackers on the Internet, notorious to authorities and something of a virtual legend to young, disaffected computer users and Napster nerds everywhere. This so-called hacktivist would worm his way into Web sites and replace home pages with his pro-Napster, anti-recording industry manifesto. Pimpshiz nailed NASA, silenced the Communications Workers of America, infiltrated the Army Material Command, even managed to mute musician Don Henley's site. He went global, too, attacking such venues as the Bibliotheque Nationale de France and the International Bank of Indonesia. All told, Pimpshiz hacked into 200 Web sites two years ago with his "Save Napster Hack Attack," considered harmless online graffiti to supporters but decried by authorities as damage to valuable property. Pimpshiz would make his Napster case in florid prose, and then kindly inform the site's system administrators that he'd be happy to show them how to "patch the vulnerability in this server." And, always, Pimpshiz would end the screed by adding the winking kicker, "Hi, Mom!" Who was this hacker with the curious nom de Net? Oh, just your typical 17-year-old high school student from Pleasant Hill. Earlier this month in Contra Costa Juvenile Court, Robert Lyttle, now 18, was sentenced to probation and ordered to make financial restitution to the sites he defaced. His career as Pimpshiz ended abruptly in December 2000, when federal and local investigators raided his home and seized his computers. His arrest made international news, particularly in the computer press. He pleaded guilty last November to two of the 11 counts against him. Lyttle's case was the first prosecuted by the year-old high-tech unit of Contra Costa district attorney's office. Dodie Katague, the assistant D.A. who prosecuted Lyttle, was barred by a judge's orders from talking about the case against Lyttle, but he said, "We're probably going to see a lot more" of this type of case. The erstwhile Pimpshiz, however, is talking. Or, rather, typing. Lyttle consented to his first postconviction e-mail interview about his career as a hacker, the motivation behind his pro-Napster attacks, his philosophy of Web security and the notoriety he's received in the online world. And -- get this -- Lyttle now has started a cyber-security company, SubSeven Software, from his Pleasant Hill home. He is barred from using the Internet as part of his probation, but is allowed to communicate via e-mail. "I don't regret one second of this experience," he writes. "(But) not being able to use the Web is extremely difficult. It's the stupidest and most irrelevant court restriction ever. . . . It's like taking away a person's TV." When not studying for the GED test or attending classes at Diablo Valley College, Lyttle spends most of his time programming software. He says his life really hasn't changed much, day to day, though it might be seriously affected if forced to pay more than $100,000 in restitution. "I've always used my knowledge for good instead of evil,' Lyttle writes in response to a question about his motives. "I was a programmer and entrepreneur before I began the hack attacks. I plan on providing the public with tools to help simplify their lives. My notoriety has definitely paved new paths in my life. However . . . false myths surround me at times. This is only normal because of the image of hackers the media feeds the public." Hackers as an oppressed group? That's his spin, anyway. "All hackers aren't outlaws," he writes. "The public widely likes to see them as this, but the truth is quite the opposite. Sometimes hackers have to be faceless, because that's the only way they can expand their knowledge without being hassled by unjust laws . . . " Rather than punishing hackers, Lyttle maintains, authorities should use them to solve gaping holes in seemingly secure sites. "An average special agent compares nowhere close to a hacker," Lyttle writes. "Whether the government realizes it or not, they have hackers working for them. . . . A hacker will strive to do what he wants to do, which is to learn. When new standards are made, new rules are broken and obstacles circumvented." Lyttle believes hacking attacks will proliferate, not abate, if authorities crack down. He writes that "it's extremely hard to live a legal life on the Internet." Hackers get a visceral thrill from breaking into secure sites, he says. It's the latest form of adolescent rebellion. "I got into computers at age 13," Lyttle writes. "I remember the first time I hacked into a computer. It was around 2 a.m. on a school night. The feeling of breaching intelligence was undeniable. It was the best I've ever felt, kind of like proving your teacher wrong in front of the entire class." Lyttle's contention that hackers do no harm -- and actually prod systems administrators to improve security -- is met with scorn by authorities. "That's very typical of juvenile hackers," Katague said. "I can't speak of this case, but they usually have that superior belief of themselves. They all think they are white-hat hackers out to expose flaws in the system. But they know the damage they can do." Lyttle, for sure, knows. And he's hardly remorseful. "Downloads (of his anti-hacker software) have skyrocketed beyond my expectations, sales gain daily," he writes, "so I guess my notoriety has helped me." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Tiny Wireless Camera under $80! Order Now! FREE VCR Commander! 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