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Books, Loompanics, and other weird stuff
Branch Cypherians,
At the Saturday Cypherpunks meeting (60 people there for all or part
of the 6-hour meeting, not counting the remote sites), I displayed a
dozen or so books. I've had a number of requests that I post the
names, authors, ISBN numbers, and Department of Justice Permission
Numbers.
These are by no means the most important books to have. We have
mentioned the crypto books _many_ times, and also such seminal books
as Bamford's "The Puzzle Palace," Kahn's "The Codebreakers," Brunner's
"Shockwave Rider," Card's "Ender's Game," and of course Vinge's "True
Names." I shall not dwell on these further.
(Except to say I did look for used copies of Bamford, for possible
mailing to some in foreign countries, but couldn't find any. And I
couldn't find any copies at all of "When Harlie Was One," so can't
check out the issue of who first talked about worms.)
Several points:
* I'll list some basic info about these books.
* However, these were just a bunch of books I picked to show the
range of information about there, the stuff your local library is
unlikely to carry. (Things like "How to Create a New Identity," "The
Secret Money Market," "Getting Started in the Underground Economy."
etc.). Understand that I make no claims that these are the best books
available, or that their contents are up to date, useful, etc.
* This is why I strongly recommend you get yourself a copy of the
wonderfully wacky 280-page catalog from Loompanics Unlimited, Port
Townsend, Washington. Details are below. Most of these odd and
controversial books I ordered several years ago (1988) from
Loompanics...no doubt more current odd books are now available.
* Alternative books stores often carry some of these books. For
example, the "Anubis Warpus" bookstore in Santa Cruz (across from the
Taco Bell on Pacific Avenue) has many of these books, in addition to
offering tattoo and peircings (ugh!, but to each their own)...I
haven't had my public key tattooed on my arm yet, but I'm considering
having "Poor Impulse Control" put on my forehead.
* These books are not "crypto" books....I showed them at the
"politics" meeting as a change of pace from the usual number theory
and crypto-oriented books we pass around.
So, here are brief descriptions of the books. Best that you get the
Loompanics catalog, which has nice summaries of each of the books and,
of course, convenient ordering information.
- "How to Launder Money," John Gregg, 1982, ISBN 0-317-03306-9. A
small pamphlet, undoubtedly dated material. Useful to provoke ideas,
but don't rely on this.
- "How to Open a Swiss Bank Account," James Kelder, 1976, ISBN
0-690-01033-8. Also dated....Swiss accounts are passe these days. (I
have several of these sorts of books, picked up in various
places....your library may have some).
- "Getting Started in the Underground Economy," Adam Cash (right),
1987, ISBN 0-915179-46-4. More ideas, but don't rely on it for legal
or current advice. Loompanics has a dozen or more titles with themes
about black markets, tax avoidance, etc.
- "Low Profile: How to Avoid the Privacy Invaders," William Petrocelli,
1981, ISBN 0-07-049658-7. Similarly, Loompanics sells numerous books
with this theme.
- "How to Create a New Identity," Anonymous, 1983, ISBN 0-8065-1034-X.
(Warning: This book comes with the "Law Enforcement Access Field," so
that anyone reading the book can be electronically reported to the
Witness Security Program, which holds the monopoly on creating fake
identities, credit histories, and other legends.) Need I say more?
Things are changing especially quickly here, so the material is just a
starter. Fake passports and driver's license are now buyable on the
streets of major cities (especially in the colored sections) for as
little as $25.
- "The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State," Bruce Benson,
1990, ISBN 0-936488-30-1. This book I threw in to show folks that the
anarcho-capitalist system many of us favor does have some strong
underpinnings in legal theory. There are several dozen good books on
libertarian theory. Most are available by mail order from
Laissez-Faire Book in San Francisco. (Dial 800 Info, or SF Info.)
- I also showed a book on American Intelligence agencies (NSA, NRO,
DIA, State Dept., etc.) by Jeffrey Richelson, but Whit Diffie has
already borrowed it, so I can't provide the relevant info right now.
Richelson has written several books on foreign intelligence agencies
(BND, Mossad, MI5 and 6, etc.) and U.S. intelligence agencies, and is
a good "post-Bamford" source.
Enjoy finding and reading these. But your first priority should be to
get the Loompanics catalog...other books may spark your interest more.
I think the catalog is still $5 (well worth it), unless you order
another book first, as described below.
Good luck!
--Tim May
From: [email protected] (Stephen Schumacher)
Newsgroups: misc.books.technical,rec.arts.books,alt.books.reviews,soc.libraries.talk,comp.security.misc,alt.politics.libertarian,alt.zines,alt.wired
Subject: review: Secrets of a Super Hacker
Date: 7 Mar 1994 11:17:44 -0800
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
SECRETS OF A SUPER HACKER by The Knightmare, introduction by Gareth Branwyn,
205 pp., 8 1/2" x 11", ISBN 1-55950-106-5, March, 1994, Loompanics Unlimited,
Box 1197, Port Townsend WA, 98368. Price: $19.95 plus $4.00 for shipping
(includes a copy of their must-have 280 page catalog of unusual books).
Credit card orders to 206-385-2230 (phone) or 206-385-7785 (fax).
This is a very good practical book on breaking into computer systems.
It's readable, interesting, informative, balanced, and accurate, with a
nice spirit of fun and swashbuckling!
Here's the contents:
Introduction: Hackers: Heroes or Villains?
I: The Basics
II: The History of Hacking
III: Researching the Hack
IV: Passwords and Access Control
V: Social Engineering
VI: Reverse Social Engineering
VII: Public Access Computers and Terminals
VIII: On-Site Hacking: The Tresspasser-Hacker
IX: Hacking at Hope: Dialing Up Computers With Your Modem
X: Electronic Bulletin Board Systems
XI: Borderline Hacking
XII: What To Do When Inside
XIII: This Lawful Land
XIV: Hacker Security: How To Keep From Getting Caught
XV: Conclusion
Further Reading
Glossary
8 Appendices
The Knightmare covers lots of clever technical tricks for gaining
access, but he shows most glee with scores of hilarious "Social
Engineering" scams for seducing legitimate users into revealing their
passwords. The striking thing about these spoofs is, just reading them,
you realize through the laughter how often these simple Social Engineering
techniques will produce results and how the credulity of non-security-
minded naive users is the weak point of any security system.
Sometimes while reading, I wished the book provided more specific info
about phone numbers, brand names, specific techniques that work on
specific bulletin board systems, etc. But I recognize that such
information would go quickly out-of-date, or would be fixed in response to
the book's publication, or could implicate the author.
The Knightmare is presenting concepts that won't go out-of-date soon,
giving the interested non-hacker a comprehensive and comprehensible survey
of the field, and tipping off the potential hacker with just enough
details to get him/her started and steered in the right direction and
minimize the chance of getting caught.
On this final point... a few times during the early chapters I thought
The Knightmare was being cavalier about personal safety, favorably
reporting (for example) Social Engineering advertizing scams that would
likely bring the cops to one's doorstep.
But The Knightmare was saving his warnings for 2 chapters towards the
end, 22 sobering pages that make very clear the risks involved and what
definitely NOT to do. A very balanced presentation.
As usual with Loompanics books, this one can be read backwards, and
pages 167-168 are directed specifically to System Administrators
interested in beefing up security.
I also appreciated all the hacker philosophy and pragmatic do-no-damage
hacker ethics. The Knightmare disdains and derides "crackers" who break
into a system in order to wreak havok; for him, "hackers" are peaceable,
non- destructive puzzle-solvers and liberators of information. In a world
where the govco is ever working to extend and centralize its control over
financial data, encryption techniques, cyberspace, and every aspect of
people's lives, the hacker may emerge as a modern-day Robin Hood.
--
Steve ([email protected])