These articles are reposted with permission from the ClariNet newsgroup clari.tw.computers. Copyright 1993 by UPI. For more info, send mail to info@clarinet.com. --begin repost From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI) Subject: Gang hits computer supply firm Keywords: legal investigations, legal, violent crime, computers, manufacturing, corporate products & services, corporate finance Message-ID: <chiptheftUR419_3S9@clarinet.com> Date: Thu, 9 Sep 93 20:06:54 EDT SANTA CLARA, Calif. (UPI) -- Authorities said a gang of armed men stormed into a Silicon Valley electronic supply company Thursday, stealing a large number of valuable computer microprocessors before fleeing in a van. Sgt. Mark Kirby, of the Santa Clara Police Department, said the business takeover was the second of its kind in a week and took just five minutes. ``It's was well planned, they knew exactly what they were looking for,'' he said. ``Unfortunately, this has become a trend in the Silicon Valley. We have about one a month.'' Kirby said the six men rolled up to a loading dock at Wyle Laboratory Inc. about 9:07 a.m. PDT as if they were going to make a legitimate pickup. Two armed men then jumped out of the van and ordered the employees to the floor while four others made their way to a storage room. The police spokesman said a 4-foot-long athletic bag was stuffed with Intel Corp.'s microprocessors -- the ``brains'' that power most personal computers -- and then the robbers fled. No shots were fired and no one was injured. The value of the stolen items was not released. The van was recovered empty a short time later. Kirby said it has since been traced to a Lynwood, Calif., U-Haul dealer and was signed out on Sept. 4. However, the thieves used a fraudulent driver's license to rent the vehicle. Kirby said the thieves likely were filling an order for the lucrative black market in computer components. From: clarinews@clarinet.com (WILLIAM D. MURRAY) Subject: Violent computer chip takeovers worry officials Keywords: lawyers, court proceedings, computers, manufacturing, corporate products & services, corporate finance Message-ID: <chipcrimeURa71_3SB@clarinet.com> Date: Fri, 10 Sep 93 19:33:57 PDT SAN JOSE, California (UPI) -- The lucrative trade in computer chips has captured the attention of the state's street gangs, luring them to California's Silicon Valley where the armed takeover of supply warehouses has become a common occurrence, authorities said Friday. Julius Finkelstein, deputy district attorney in charge of the Santa Clara, California, High Tech Crime unit, called the takeovers and the trade in stolen computer parts ``the gang crime of the 1990s. ``We see a trend developing here that concerns us,'' he said. ``These are very violent attacks. Generally, the gang is well armed. It's just a matter of time before someone get hurt. We consider ourselves lucky that it hasn't already happened.'' Finkelstein said gangs were turning their attention to dealing in the impossible to trace stolen chips. ``We are seeing a movement away from drugs and into computer chips by some gangs,'' Finkelstein said. ``This is the coke of the 90's. The chips have become as valuable pound for pound as cocaine and if you get caught, the punishment is much less severe.'' Once the chips are stolen, the district attorney said, they can change hands as many as 3 or 4 times in 24 hours. Finally, the computer parts make their way to what is called ``the gray market. ``It's not really a black market, it's a gray market,'' Finkelstein said. ``That's because it's really not illegal. It made up of suppliers who legitimately buy their chips and those that get them from the gangs. '' The whole system is powered by the marketplace itself. Computer chip manufacturers like Intel Corp. cannot keep pace with the demand for their microprocessors -- the ``brains'' that power most personal computers. So they place companies on an allotment system, forcing those computer manufacturers to turn to the gray market to fill their orders. The chips are also almost impossible to trace. There is no encoding on them to identify them individually. There is a system that shows who manufactured the chips and what day they were manufactured. ``The only way we can generally catch these thieves is to be tipped off,'' Finkelstein said. ``We do prosecute some of these cases, but they are extremely difficult. There is really no way to trace these products. '' The latest takeover robbery occurred Thursday when six masked gunmen stormed into Wyle Laboratory Inc. in Santa Clara and in a matter of five minutes had stolen thousands of dollars worth of Intel CPU microprocessors. Sgt. Mark Kirby, of the Santa Clara Police Department, said the robbery was the second of its kind in a week. He added that the area is averaging at least one of these armed takeovers a month. ``It was well planned, they knew exactly what they were looking for,'' he said. ``Unfortunately, this has become a trend in the Silicon Valley. '' However, Kirby said this one was different -- it was the first pulled off a gang of black gunmen. The robbers abandoned van was discovered later in the day Thursday and traced to Lynwood, California, a location frequented by the Los Angeles gangs. --end repost If people are willing to go to these measures to steal Intel microprocessors, which are generally available, imagine what people will do in order to steal unprogrammed Skipjack chips. In the volume the Government would like to see them made, the physical security which one might want to give to a classified production facility will be difficult or impossible. Marc