Mitnick Rings Bell
6 November 1997, Digital Cellular Report: U.S. government takes hard line on Mitnick. US Hacker Pleads for Help A US 'hacker'- Kevin David Mitnick - has issued a plea for financial help to fight his defence case through his lawyer, Donald C Randolph of Santa Monica, USA. Through Randolph, Mitnick is claiming that the US government is seeking to make an example of him for the possession of unauthorised cellular access codes. The issue is particularly important in the North American market where analogue, rather than digital cellular, is the norm. In one of the most amazing claims, Mitnick claims to have been kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, naked in a freezing air-conditioned cell for eight months and led to the showers in chains. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect to the whole case is the fact that while the US government has never sought to prove that Mitnick profited from his 'hacking' activities - although he could certainly have done so by 'selling' stolen airtime to third parties. Instead they claim he caused losses in excess of $80 million. Kevin certainly appears to be paying the price for his nefarious deeds having already spent nearly two years in custody during which time he has been prohibited from any access to wireless communications equipment, computer hardware or computer software. It's difficult to know exactly which side is the more paranoid since Mitnick is claiming that his fate is part of a deliberate US government plot to divert scrutiny away from its plans concerning the control and regulation of both telecommunications and the Internet. The case would seem to present a most powerful argument for the US to switch more swiftly over to digital cellular where 'hacking' is far more difficult.
On Thu, 6 Nov 1997, John Young wrote:
6 November 1997, Digital Cellular Report:
U.S. government takes hard line on Mitnick. US Hacker Pleads for Help [snip]
I think Kevin's time in custody shapes up to at least 31 months now. He was recently sentenced on a couple of charges, but his time served exceeds the sentence he was given. He has been held without bail for this incredible length of time, yet he has never committed a violent crime, AFAIK, and never profited financially from his hacking. In a hearing a few months back he finally established the fact that he was not a "fugitive" when he went underground, but had completed the release terms he was under shortly before. While I'm not sure I can follow this all to the conclusion that the gov is using his case to distract people from their attempts to regulate the Net, I think it is clear they are using him as a warning sign to potential hackers: Don't believe you have anything like civil liberties, because we can lock your ass up for years without even having to take you to trial. There is a pretty quiet majordomo list about Kevin's case at 2600 -- mitnick@2600.com. Some of us who are concerned about Kevin's case have been participating in an RC5 team that's meant to hopefully draw attention to his case. We're working on RC5-64 now, and people who are interested in joining can visit the URL below. The judge in Kevin's case recently set a tentative trail date, for April of '98, I believe. That means he'll have been in for over 3 years before his federal tial begins. He is facing a 25-count indictment. Rich --- Rich Burroughs rich@paranoid.org PGP Key Fingerprint = 22 BA C5 D7 2C 34 BF 8E B5 82 2E 13 46 38 AA 1D Cracking RC5-64 for Kevin Mitnick http://www.paranoid.org/mitnick/
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- the assholes missed the point... on or about 971106:0722, in
6 November 1997, Digital Cellular Report:
U.S. government takes hard line on Mitnick. US Hacker Pleads for Help
A US 'hacker'- Kevin David Mitnick - has issued a plea for financial help to fight his defence case through his lawyer, Donald C Randolph of Santa Monica,
USA. Through Randolph, Mitnick is claiming that the US government is seeking to make an example of him for the possession of unauthorised cellular access codes. The issue is particularly important in the North American market where analogue, rather than digital cellular, is the norm.
In one of the most amazing claims, Mitnick claims to have been kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, naked in a freezing air-conditioned cell for eight months and led to the showers in chains.
anybody who thinks that does not happen in Federal prisons has their eyes closed. the only light is through the observation port, and a 4 in. hole in the floor is provided for defecation, etc. the one hour per day is for exercise and the every other day shower. cell space requirement: 49 sq. ft. the feds will not permit the states this torture, but that does not stop the BOP...
Perhaps the most puzzling aspect to the whole case is the fact that while the US government has never sought to prove that Mitnick profited from his 'hacking' activities - although he could certainly have done so by 'selling' stolen airtime to third parties. Instead they claim he caused losses in excess of $80 million.
easier to charge losses for what he used and/or blocked
Kevin certainly appears to be paying the price for his nefarious deeds having already spent nearly two years in custody during which time he has been prohibited from any access to wireless communications equipment, computer hardware or computer software.
well, what do you expect? something of value?
It's difficult to know exactly which side is the more paranoid since Mitnick is claiming that his fate is part of a deliberate US government plot to divert scrutiny away from its plans concerning the control and regulation of both telecommunications and the Internet.
must be a cypherpunk candidate; we know they're trying to take over.
The case would seem to present a most powerful argument for the US to switch more swiftly over to digital cellular where 'hacking' is far more difficult.
sure... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQBVAwUBNGIRg7R8UA6T6u61AQHiOwH/YCXytl6HUt4yqOn+9xJhBSRB1wdygg85 FUTb2uG34SGzBxtLGClnv9PysmVcEYuJNYIXcdq+AuubW8qNG528zw== =4L+D -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
participants (3)
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Attila T. Hun -
John Young -
Rich Burroughs