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Hacker group battles child porn [c|net News, 2/2/98]
Hacker group battles child porn
C|NET News.Com
News Story:
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,18717,00.html?st.cn.fd.tkr.news
CNET Radio Interview:
http://www.news.com/Radio/Index/0,55,,00.html?st.cn.fd.tb.ne
By Courtney Macavinta
February 2, 1998, 1:10 p.m. PT
A secret society that hunts the Net to reveal the identities of alleged
pedophiles and child pornographers has a message for those who think
there's too much media hype about the problem: Believe what you hear.
Members of a group called Ethical Hackers Against Pedophilia (EHAP -
http://www.hackers.com/ehap/index2.htm) are using their high-tech cracking
talents to find out the identity and physical location of people they say
post child pornography within newsgroups, chat rooms, and Websites. The
17-member nonprofit group also says it tries to determine the sources of
video streaming sites that feature children being sexually assaulted in
real time.
"The pedophiles that are distributing child pornography online are
skirting the law by remaining anonymous. We decided to use the skills that
we possess as hackers, engineers, and teachers to educate the public that
hackers aren't all bad guys, and to help law enforcement in apprehending
the child pornographers," said EHAP's secretary, "Oracle," who asked that
his real name not be published.
"As long as the people are arrested and the kids aren't hurt anymore,
every one of us is willing to accept responsibility for our actions as
long as one kid is helped," he added.
EHAP may go so far as to dig up the Social Security numbers of people it
suspects are producing and distributing child porn on the Net. Under the
guise of a confidential informant, EHAP then passes on these details to
various law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI.
It's virtually impossible to know if EHAP's tips have led to any
investigations or arrests, though the group says its information has been
put to work. Still, its vigilante tactics raise privacy concerns, as well
as serious questions about law enforcement's possible use of information
that could have been obtained illegally.
According to the FBI, the Net increasingly is being used to lure children
to physical meetings, which could lead to abduction or abuse, and there
has been a boom in child pornography being trafficked online. These acts
violate federal law.
During two congressional hearings last year, FBI officials told lawmakers
they are working to stop the rise in these illegal acts through the
bureau's Crimes Against Children initiative.
"The FBI has investigated more than 70 cases involving pedophiles
traveling to meet undercover agents or officers posing
as juveniles for the purpose of engaging in an illicit sexual
relationship," Stephen Wiley, chief of the FBI's violent crime and major
offenders section, testified in November before the House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime.
The FBI has launched other special programs, such as Innocent Images, in
which agents go online and portray themselves as children and crack down
on those who solicit encounters with them. The program, which is run by
the Baltimore, Maryland, FBI field office, also serves as a clearinghouse
for tips and information regarding suspected online crimes against
children. The program was started in 1994 after local agents uncovered an
online child porn ring while searching for an abducted boy.
The 13-year-old boy, George Burdynski of Prince Georges County, Maryland,
has never been found. But the program has lead to more than 90 arrests as
well as the development of online crime fighting techniques. For instance,
in October, three Californians were collectively sentenced to 60 years in
prison for running the so-called Orchid Club, an international service
that used the Net to distribute child pornography to its members.
Despite growing efforts by the FBI and organizations such as the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children, EHAP says its private campaign
is vital, as these agencies don't have the full-time resources to combat
online child pornography. EHAP also readily admits that it would be
unconstitutional for law enforcement to use some of its methods.
"We're extremely careful about who we hack. There are so many people
trading child porn out there, but we go after the people who are producing
the material. That's who we hunt," Oracle said. "Law enforcement are
restricted in ways we're not--but I'm not saying that we break the
law."
EHAP is not the first group to use its own devices in an effort to assist
law enforcement in tracking down people who they suspect use the Net to
perpetrate crimes.
For example, a worldwide network of Internet users known as the
CyberAngels provide online safety tips and work with law enforcement to
stop the trading of online pornography. Other Net users have been known to
shut down chat rooms or flame those who they deem pedophiles or sexual
predators. CyberAngels doesn't support the electronic harassment of
others. EHAP keeps its methods confidential.
"Although we would appreciate any information these individuals may have,
to violate the law to get the information is not acceptable," said George
Grotz, a spokesman for the FBI's San Francisco office. "But how many
pedophiles would come to us and say their site had been broken into?"
Still, the FBI and other child protection agencies say they need all the
help they can get.
"Here in the San Francisco office, we have neither the time or resources
to surf the Net looking for child pornography," Grotz added. "That said,
we do respond aggressively when information is brought to our attention
from outside sources, or if we develop information during the process of
another investigation."
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is supported
by the Justice Department, also expanded its efforts to encompass online
activity. As announced in December at the White House-endorsed Children's
Internet Summit in Washington, the center will launch a Web site on March
1 to collect tips regarding online child porn and suspected crimes against
children.
"It's a huge problem that is as new as the Internet. For law enforcement,
it's not easy to handle," Todd Mitchell, program advocate for the
exploited child unit, said today.
"Parents can't leave their child in front of a computer for hours and
hours where they can stumble upon pornography or be solicited in a chat
room. They have to teach their kids some safety guidelines," he said.
Regarding private citizens' groups such as EHAP and CyberAngels, he said
there are legitimate concerns, but that community activism is needed.
"If they work in conjunction with law enforcement, it can be something
that is a nice partnership between law enforcement and the community. If
they take the law into their own hands, it could do more harm that good,"
Mitchell said.
[EOF]
--
For more information about EHAP, go to
http://www.hackers.com/ehap/index2.htm
or send email to [email protected]
Regards,
TATTOOMAN
Vice President of Ethical Hackers Against Pedophilia
http://www.hackers.com/ehap/
[email protected]
http://152.7.11.38/~tattooman/