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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] FBI officials warn of romanticizing hackers
From:       jericho () dimensional ! com
Date:       1998-03-28 9:58:42
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From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>

http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/afternoon/0,1012,1842,00.html

The Netly News / Afternoon Line
March 24, 1998
Command Performance

   Technology is one of those issues where lawmakers vie to sound as dumb
   as possible. At a "cyber-theft" hearing this morning, Rep. Jim Saxton
   (R-N.J.) said that his only knowledge about computers dates back to
   when his printer had a cover "to shield our ears from the noise."
   Could the witnesses from the FBI please explain the problems they had
   with this newfangled Internet? Sure, replied Michael Vatis, the head
   of the National Infrastructure Protection Center: "There are hacker
   web sites" out there, he said, with software that lets you "click on a
   button to launch an attack." The fact that Carnegie Mellon
   University's CERT center reported a 20 percent reduction in attacks
   from 1996 to 1997 didn't faze him. The real problem, Vatis griped, is
   "people out there who still romanticize hackers as kids just having
   fun. [What about] the elderly person who can't get through to 911 in
   an emergency because of a hacker?" Joining Vatis in testifying before
   Congress' Joint Economic Committee were top FBI honchos Larry Torrence
   and Neil Gallagher. Nobody representing civil liberties groups,
   computer security organizations, or high tech companies was invited to
   speak. --By Declan McCullagh/Washington

[...]

Witness at the Persecution

   Then again, there's a job opportunity in Los Angeles for someone with
   top-notch skills in telecommunications, system and network
   administration, and computer security -- and you won't even have to
   turn on a computer. The lawyer for renown hacker Kevin Mitnick is
   looking for an expert witness to testify at his client's trial, and
   has issued a sort of want-ad press release. "Qualified candidates must
   have an advanced degree and be knowledgeable in DOS, Windows, SunOS,
   VAX/VMS and Internet operations," the job description reads. Oh well,
   they lost me after "qualified," but with Uncle Sam paying the tab it
   could be the perfect opportunity for someone with a taste for the
   spotlight and nothing on their agenda starting as early as March 30.


-o-
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