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Ashcroft tells Congress he'll take hard line on porn, piracy
by Declan McCullagh 09 Jun '01

09 Jun '01

----- Forwarded message from Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> -----

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CAL ISO *internal ops* machines cracked
by Timothy McVeigh 09 Jun '01

09 Jun '01

SACRAMENTO For at least 17 days at the height of the energy crisis, hackers mounted an attack on a computer system that is integral to the movement of electricity throughout California, a confidential report obtained by The Times shows. The hackers' success, though apparently limited, brought to light lapses in computer security at the target of the cyber-attack, the California Independent System Operator, which oversees most of the state's massive electricity transmission grid. Officials at Cal-ISO say that the lapses have been corrected and that there was no threat to the grid. But others familiar with the attack say hackers came close to gaining access to key parts of the system, and could have seriously disrupted the movement of electricity across the state. Democratic and Republican lawmakers were angered by the security breach at an entity that is such a basic part of California's power system, given its fragility during the state's continuing energy crisis. One called the attack "ominous." An internal agency report, stamped "restricted," shows that the attack began as early as April 25 and was not detected until May 11. The report says the main attack was routed through China Telecom from someone in Guangdong province in China. In addition to using China Telecom, hackers entered the system by using Internet servers based in Santa Clara in Northern California and Tulsa, Okla., the report says. James Sample, the computer security specialist at Cal-ISO who wrote the report, said he could not tell for certain where the attackers were located. "You don't know where people are really from," Sample said. "The only reason China stuck out is because of the recent political agenda China had with the U.S. . . . An ambitious U.S. hacker could have posed as a Chinese hacker." The breach occurred amid heightened Sino-American tensions after the collision between a Chinese military jet and a U.S. spy plane. In early May, there were hundreds of publicly reported computer attacks apparently originating from China. Most of those incidents involved mischief; anti-American slogans were scrawled on government Web sites. The attack on the Cal-ISO computer system apparently had the potential for more serious consequences, given that the hackers managed to worm their way into the computers at the agency's headquarters in Folsom, east of Sacramento, that were linked to a system that controls the flow of electricity across California. The state system is tied into the transmission grid for the Western United States. "This was very close to being a catastrophic breach," said a source familiar with the attack and Cal-ISO's internal investigation of the incident. On May 7 and 8, as the infiltration was occurring, California suffered widespread rolling blackouts, but Cal-ISO officials said Friday that there was no connection between the hacking and the outages, which affected more than 400,000 utility customers. "It did not affect markets or reliability," said Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for Cal-ISO. Officials of the agency made no public acknowledgment of the attack until Friday when contacted by The Times. The agency did, however, call the FBI, which is investigating. McCorkle said Cal-ISO did not make a public disclosure about the hacking "because it didn't impact the reliability of any of our internal networks." "It didn't have a negative consequence and would not have impacted the public or market participants," McCorkle said. After the attack was discovered, the report says, investigators found evidence that the hackers apparently were trying to "compile" or write software that might have allowed them to get past so-called firewalls protecting far more sensitive parts of the computer system. The attackers focused on parts of the grid agency's computer system that are under development. In what may have been the most significant lapse, the system being developed was not behind a firewall, a security element designed to keep out those who are not entitled to access. Additionally, so-called tripwires that might have alerted agency security personnel to the unauthorized entry were nonexistent. Nor were there logs within the system that might have identified users entering the system as the infiltration was occurring, the report notes. What's more, dozens of ports into the computer system were open, when only a handful should have been available. "All servers should be hardened regardless of their role or location in the network," the report says. "Only ports that are required to be open should be opened; all others should be disabled." Complicating the investigation, workers at Cal-ISO rebooted their computers when the machines balked, apparently in response to the infiltration. "This action limited our ability to discover all files and activity that may be related to this compromise," the report says. Sample, the security engineer who wrote the report, downplayed the potential threat and said the attack was "something that we've been anticipating." "It was a compromise, not really an attack," he said. State legislators were not comforted by such distinctions. "That's really amazing on two counts: that there were computers not behind a firewall and it took 17 days to discover," said state Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), who chairs her chamber's Energy Committee. Bowen, who was informed of the breach by The Times, called it a "serious matter" and said she was "very concerned to learn about this from the L.A. Times, rather than from the ISO itself." The lack of official notification, she said, adds to her skepticism about whether the agency has been forthcoming. "It is embarrassing, so I can understand they would not want to talk about it," Bowen said. "We're going to ask some questions." The Independent System Operator, established in 1998 when the state opened the newly deregulated electricity market to competition, is an essential component of the state's electricity system. The purpose of the nonprofit entity is to balance the flow of electricity across the state and make last-minute power purchases to match demand and avoid blackouts. The Legislature reconfigured the agency earlier this year, giving Gov. Gray Davis the power to appoint the five-member board that oversees it. "It is troubling that it happened," said Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). "It is disturbing that it took so long to be corrected. And it is galling that it was not reported to the Legislature." McClintock labeled as "ominous" the possibility that the attack came from China. He said he is preparing a request for all documents related to the breach and is considering requesting a formal legislative inquiry. ISO board member Mike Florio, who represents consumers, said he had a vague recollection that the board was informed of the attack. But he also was surprised to learn some of the details. "We hire people to deal with this stuff," he said, "and they said they dealt with it." http://www.latimes.com/news/front/20010609/t000047994.html

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Subject: Re: Ed Felten and researchers sue RIAA, DOJ over right to publish
by A. Melon 09 Jun '01

09 Jun '01

Check out "F*ck the Creationists" by MC Hawking: http://www.mchawking.com/music.html. You can lay the funky shit on them creationists. Alan Olsen wrote: >To: David Honig <honig(a)sprynet.com> >Cc: mmotyka(a)lsil.com, cypherpunks(a)cyberpass.net >Subject: Re: Ed Felten and researchers sue RIAA, DOJ over right to publish > >On Wed, 6 Jun 2001, David Honig wrote: > >> We are all scientists. >> >> And really, we are: even children apply the scientific method. Its not >> rocket science. > >You have not dealt with many Creationists I take it...

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Homeland Defense and the Prosecution of Jim Bell
by John Young 09 Jun '01

09 Jun '01

(Resent, LNE is down) http://cartome.org/homeland.htm (72KB) "So, say goodnight to Joshua ..." Homeland Defense and the Prosecution of Jim Bell Deborah Natsios Cartome 8 June 2001 A sparsely attended trial which unfolded in Tacoma�s US district courthouse the first week of April 2001 hardly seemed an event that might open a small but revealing view onto the shifting national security apparatus. But to outside observers following the criminal prosecution of Washington State resident Jim Bell, accused of stalking and intimidating local agents of the IRS, Treasury Department and BATF, the defendant was a symptomatic target, and the government�s stated case against him only a fragment of a more complex campaign linked to the evolving landscape of national and homeland defense. In the government�s estimation, Bell had placed its Pacific Northwest agents "in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury"1. But for some trial-watchers, the case against James Dalton Bell, 43, was underpinned by a constellation of factors that made him more than the disaffected neighbor projecting antigovernment bile. Bell had invited the government�s fullest prosecutorial zeal because his technical skills placed him in more ambiguous terrain, that of untested gray zones within emerging national defense landscapes, which, by calling into question the impregnability of the national border, have been taking national security tactics incountry in unprecedented ways, deploying new rules of engagement to challenge national security threats within the US domestic interior. Sections: Homeland WarCoast Cypherpunks PosterBoy Joshua Tacoma Doppleganger BattlespaceSuburbia Holdout

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lne.com
by Harmon Seaver 09 Jun '01

09 Jun '01

Looks like lne.com is down since this afternoon -- anyone know what's up with that? -- Harmon Seaver, MLIS CyberShamanix Work 920-203-9633 hseaver(a)cybershamanix.com Home 920-233-5820 hseaver(a)ameritech.net

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Prior Restraint
by Harmon Seaver 09 Jun '01

09 Jun '01

Looks like the city of Oshberg would like to shut down my website -- http://www.oshkoshbygosh.org. Notice when you read the city attorney's email to me that he's trying to enjoin me with a little prior restraint re publishing his email to me. Of course, I immediately put it up on the site. Note the email from the mayor to him that he included, wonderful stuff. -- Harmon Seaver, MLIS CyberShamanix Work 920-203-9633 hseaver(a)cybershamanix.com Home 920-233-5820 hseaver(a)ameritech.net

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Francis Marini, "republican", needs to read the constitution
by Francis Marini 08 Jun '01

08 Jun '01

This organ-incubator needs to read the constitution. Satan is an angel; angels are protected from govt interference as religious entities. This guy is supressing his urges. He drinks baby blood, when he's not plooking them. BILL BARS SEX SITES AT LIBRARY Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press writer South Coast Today (Massachusetts) http://www.s-t.com/daily/06-01/06-04-01/a04sr023.htm Surfing for smut at local libraries would be barred under a bill set to be heard by Beacon Hill lawmakers today. The measure, sponsored by Republican House leader Francis Marini, would also block Internet access to "satanic cults," "indecent depictions of bodily functions" and "illicit drugs, alcohol or tobacco products."

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[Fwd: FW: City Tree Rapers]
by Harmon Seaver 08 Jun '01

08 Jun '01

-- Harmon Seaver, MLIS CyberShamanix Work 920-203-9633 hseaver(a)cybershamanix.com Home 920-233-5820 hseaver(a)ameritech.net

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TaxB.com, TaxWebPages.com now for sale!
by Florin 08 Jun '01

08 Jun '01

Click on: www.afternic.com/~TAXB.com www.afternic.com/~TaxWebPages.com and see the prices!

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Errr..., uhhh...,Hey!!
by Not.JUST.Another....＠toad.com 08 Jun '01

08 Jun '01

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