The Electronic Identity
                                  by
                            Robert Parson


                           Grumble, grumble

     I've been involved in a discussion this month about hackers.  
It's not a discussion I asked to be in on.  But it was one I felt 
forced into.

     On one of my area BBSs, a teen had posted a manifesto from a 
hacker written several years ago.  This manifesto decried the poor 
image of innocent hackers who only wanted to use excess time and/or 
capacity to explore and to find out information otherwise unavailable.  
But the poor, innocent hackers are being mixed into the pot with those 
evil, vile hackers who break into systems to cause damage and destroy 
data.

     Sorry to say, I really don't see much of a difference.  Breaking 
and entering is breaking and entering.  As far as I'm concerned there 
is no difference between the burglar breaking into my home to steal my 
stereo and the vagrant breaking into my home to stay warm.  They are 
both unwanted and both cause security risks.

     I am sympathetic to those people who genuinely want to learn and 
feel as though they are being blocked.  That does not give a young 
hacker a valid reason to crack a system.  As a journalist I encounter 
the same problems on a daily basis.  But I don't break into City Hall 
to get the information I need.  There are other, legal workarounds to 
the problem.

     There is also information that needs to remain private.  Many 
companies make information that is important to sales reps in the 
field, for example, and makes it available using a corporate BBS.  But 
that information is proprietary and has no business being in the hands 
of someone who decided to use a Wardialer to find dialup lines (for 
the record, I have a Wardialer but don't use it.  I keep it around as 
a curio).  The fact that this "explorer" does not intend to use that 
information is inconsequential.  It is not his/hers to have.

     Purposely avoiding personal information is not a valid defense.  
Corporate information is essentially the same as personal information 
and should remain confidential if that is desired by the company.

     Hiring a person that broke into a system is an ill conceived idea 
at best.  This could encourage more hacking.  It's also similar to 
hiring a rapist to conduct seminars on sex crimes.  There might be 
some valuable information passed along, but the risks are enormous.  
It's a risk we can live without.

     At the same time, I am disturbed by the idea that hacking in 
pursuit of knowledge has been entwined with hacking with intent to 
damage.  However, once you get out of the confines of your own system 
or systems you have been permitted to use, there is no such thing as 
"innocent" hacking.  

     What can the hacker with a yearn to learn do when he/she is being 
blocked?  I really wish I had an answer.  But I don't.  All I can say 
is that if you aren't invited in, then stay out.

                                 ---
     A few things of note:

     Using the Internet, President Clinton has exchanged electronic 
mail with another government leader, in this case, Swedish Prime 
Minister Carl Bildt.  Essentially, Bildt sent Clinton a test message 
saying "howdy" and Clinton said "Howdy" back.  This is believed to be 
the first time E-mail was used between two heads of state.  Hopefully, 
they'll get beyond the "howdy" stage soon.

     I can see it now, message after message on the Internet from 
Presidents, Prime Ministers and Kings.  And all they say is "Is 
anybody getting this?"  

     Whoops!  The ATMs of New York's Chemical Bank burped and doubled 
each transaction in bank records.  The Bank says the problem has been 
fixed, as has company and client records.  With 15 million dollars at 
stake, it would probably be a good idea to check over your own records 
for any discrepancies.

     Ten years ago, Atari was zapped by an almost overnight 
disinterest in video games, and has never fully recovered.  Now, Sega 
is lowering sales and earnings estimates for this fiscal year.  They 
say the economic slump in Japan, Europe and elsewhere is cutting the 
appetite for video games.  

     A February poll by the Associated Press indicates that 46 percent 
of Americans believe they are being left behind in the computer age, 
even though most agree that computers and electronics have made life 
easier.   


                                                (c) 1994 Robert Parson