For Blanc's Eye's Only (WAS: "I got there just in time...")

[Janet Reamhole <jr@dev.null>]

[A very revealing series of articles at:]
http://cnet.com/Content/Features/Dlife/Finest/

The next day the San Diego ISP was contacted by someone "who knew
the hacker had been in their system," says George Vinson, assistant
special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the FBI. "He told
the ISP the hacker's handle, and said Smak had a lot of credit card
numbers for sale." 

That third party became the FBI's cooperating witness.

  Any bets that the 'cooperating witness' who showed up 'out of
the blue' was already a government instigator/snitch?

Sources close to the investigation say the hacker used PGP, or
Pretty Good Privacy, a powerful encryption tool available as freeware on
the Internet and in commercial retail versions, to encrypt his
communications. Although encryption often makes the FBI's job even
tougher, in this case, Smak's use of encryption created an opportunity
for
the FBI to gain greater control over the sting. 

  Bullshit. Any government agency who is able to access a user's
computer via search warrant/surrepticious entry/cooperating 
accomplice, can compromise the target's encryption 99.9% of the
time.
  Has the government ever provided a *single*instance* where
inability to access encrypted files impeded a prosecution?
The ratfuckers just want to 'Go Fish' through our private lives
at will, and then go get legal authorization to pretend to
newly discover their illegally acquired information.

Unlike hackers whose main goal is to brag about their technological
prowess, Smak was selling a huge volume of credit card numbers to
criminals. 

  Right...
  It this was the Truth (TM) as opposed to horseshit, the public
would be privy to all the details of the horrendous range of his
crimes, in order to bolster the government's agenda.
  "The encryption-using hacker also murdered fifty world leaders,
but we have no information available on the details at this time.
and never will."

>From May 2, 1997, until the dramatic meeting at the airport three weeks
later, Smak and the confidential witness exchanged more than 50 email
messages.

  Let's see. The government allowed Smak to sell "a huge volume 
of credit card numbers to criminals" for three weeks--for what
purpose?
  To build a case for conviction? When they already had a 
"confidential witness" who had knowledge of Smak's crimes?
  Bullshit. The government agents needed three weeks to 
encourage and abet Smak in becoming a criminal and committing
crimes as a result of government influence.

Unbeknownst to Smak, his messages to the witness were
received at a computer controlled by the FBI, and recorded and
maintained as evidence. "Only the FBI could access the email encrypted
by Smak," says Agent Dalrymple. The cooperating witness "didn't have
the password or the ability to access the information." 

  Barf City! Give a retarded kid access to someone's computer
and they can bust it wide open in a matter of hours.

Controlling the encryption key and the password gave the FBI
confidence that it was building an airtight case. "That way we had clean
messages," says Dalrymple. "They couldn't be adulterated in any way. By
law we can prove they were his messages." 

  If the law *required* the FBI to prove that the messages *could*
have been adulterated, and that they *weren't* Smak's messages, in
order to convict him, they would have called cypherpunks, hackers
and phreaks to 'prove' it to be so.

Visa USA's fraud control team, which worked with the FBI on the
investigation, said Salgado had compromised 86,326 credit card
accounts affecting 1,214 different financial institutions. 
The potential loss: as much as $1 billion.

  Right. Bigger than the S&L crisis.
  "In addition, he was in possession of a single joint of
marihuana, which has a street-value of $2 billion on the
planet Venus."

The case also sends an important message to companies that get 
hacked: they can cooperate in an investigation without revealing 
their vulnerability.
"These guys pulled off a major case without compromising the names of
the victim companies," Vinson notes proudly. 

  Uuhhhh. These ratfuckers allowed and encouraged Smak, for a
period of at least three weeks, to "compromise" the credit cards
of more and more people, so that they could build a major bust.
Yet, since they protected the financial institutions from having
the truth exposed about their inability to protect the privacy
and security of their customers, the FBI ratfuckers are busting
their buttons with pride.

  I once saw a news interview with the boyfriend of a woman 
who had been stabbed in the face with a screwdriver in an
attempted rape:
  "When I arrived, he had already stabbed her in the face
several times with the screwdriver, but he hadn't raped her,
yet. I got there just in time..."
  NEWS FLASH!!! - You got there a little bit late, pal.
You got there a little late...


  I could catch those guys flying planeloads containing tons
of drugs into the country, if only I was allowed to invade
the privacy of everyone in the world and hold lighted cigarettes
against the skin of their newborn children.

  I strangled Vincent Foster, but he didn't exhale...

TruthMonger