From: iw@all.net
Subject: IW Mailing List iw/960305
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Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 13:41:32 +0100
From: jfloewen@dialup.FranceNet.fr (Jean-Fran\gois LOEWENTHAL)
Subject: Re: IW Mailing List iw/960304

...
> White House braces for a flood of electronic junk mail
> 
>Tracking an e-mail bomber, she said, is easy if the communication
>emanates from a site with a "responsible" mail administrator like RPI
>and most universities. 

IW mailing list is not the only list I am subscribed to ... So, this morning
(well I am French, and suchit is GMT+1) in one of my list I had message from
White House, and other official US mailers. At the time I saw this, I had
not read your posting, but it was not nonetheless easy to conclude in a
denial-of-service kind of attack.

Why ? How ? ... If you do a mailing bomb, it appears to be quite easy to
track you down. If you want to send a lot of trash mail to bypass the
filters just implemented (read IW960302) you have to 'write' a lot of mail
which must look 'relevant' to that filter.
So, the easiest way is to have the dirty job made by other guys : 
               
                send fake mail (method freely available on the Net) to
appear as some official E-mail site and                 subscribe this site
to all mailing lists available ;

                you stay anonymous, thousands of messages flow to the site,
you got your attack ...

[Moderator's Note: For the record, nobody tried to subscribe iw@all.net
to the whitehouse.  It's probably the only one they actually should be
reading!]
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Date: Tue, 5 Mar 96 10:23:30 EST
From: rebowes@tasc.com (Bob Bowes)
Subject: E-mail

In IW Mailing List iw/960304, the moderator said:

>[Moderator's Note: Perhaps John and Bob could help to achieve their goal
>by posting something to the list that they feel is more interesting.]

Very well,

The discussion of e-mail bombs and repetitive messages is very
interesting.  I was once having problems with a particular computer
vendor who was being less than responsive to my predicament.  If I
called the help line, I would have to wait over an hour to talk to
someone.  Finally, I decided to send a repetitive message to their help
line.  I initially started out sending it every 12 hours.  Then, I
started sending it every 6.  (I was trying to get service from them, not
bring down their mail server.) Anyway, they got the message that I was
frustrated and realized that the messages would only come more
frequently if I was not a satisfied customer. 

The question for the group is: Could someone effectively use this method
to "terrorize" a company, or government (or individual) into meeting the
"terrorist's" demands? I don't think so.  I believe it is a means of
communicating displeasure, but I do not believe it can "force" a change. 
If their is an "e-mail attack" against the White House, I don't believe
anything will happen.  The "attackers" will probably feel some better
after relieving some frustration.  And the White House may even take
notice if enough _different_ people participate.  Even if they succeed
in bringing down the White House's WWW and/or mail server, the
"attackers" will be the ones in the bad light and will only add fuel to
the fire that the Internet must be controled. 

[Moderator's Note: This has been explored in some depth in a paper
previously referenced in this forum: "Planning Considerations for
Defensive Information Warfare" - http://all.net/ browse -> books (IW)

In this study (done as part of a larger study) U.S. command and control
sites were listed in a confidential German hacker BBS since associated
with German government funded IW work.  In investigating how it might
be used against the US, email overflow was considered and tested (to a
limited extent).]
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Date: 5 Mar 1996 12:25:52 CST
From: sysop@emergency.com
Subject: Boston Paper Fears Hacker Attack

BOSTON, March 5 (UPI) -- The Boston Herald said Tuesday it is being
threatened by a computer hacker enraged over stories suggesting he
harrassed an Internet provider. 

   The newspaper said the hacker, known as "u4ea," also has threatened
"electronic terrorism" to cripple computer networks around Boston. 

   "All of Boston is going down," the Herald said the hacker told Jason
Hatch, the system administrator for the BerkshireNet, an Internet
provider in western Massachusetts. 

   The threat was made Monday during an Internet conversation between
Hatch and the hacker, the Herald said.  Hatch provided the Herald with a
printed copy of his conversation with the hacker. 

   BerkshireNet has been harassed by the hacker since November because
it tried to stop "u4rea" from sending out racist messages worldwide
under its name, the Herald said. 

   The hacker last week got into BerkshireNet's system and erased the
memory from two of its three computers.  He also put white supramacist
materials on BerkshireNet's system, Hatch said. 

   Because the Herald published several stories about his computer
assaults, the hacker told Hatch, "The Boston Herald goes down."

   The FBI has been investigating, but has declined to comment other
than to say "these are certainly serious threats."

   Hatch said the hacker is "very skilled" and "can pretty much go
anywhere he wants to go."

   He said the hacker warned him not to talk to the media or he would
"involve your family."

   The Herald said some system administrators believe the hacker is
operating out of Canada. 

   The paper said the hacker has also taunted the FBI, saying the FBI
"will have more luck finding Elvis than finding the mighty u4ea.  The
FBI cannot touch me."

   Hatch said the hacker signed off with this threat: "You have yet to
see true electronic terrorism.  This is a promise."

Presented for the information of law enforcement and computer security
professionals...not for redistibution. Copyright is by United Press
International
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