402 DEAR HACKER
402 DEAR HACKER
It was a year after he and I parted that I got my first copy of 2600 — which you sent me for free. In a word, I felt empowered. In the prison information void, I encountered the summum bonum of information. Much of my education in the tech sector was reverse engineered around topics and leads in 2600.
Fast forward to this July — my 25th birthday. I got a copy of 2600:
A Hacker Odyssey. I read all 871 pages before 50,000 volts of macro- cosmic lightning struck my brain.
Hacking is more a philosophy and approach to life than a means to an end. It is reason by default in an age now rampant with Orwellian nightmare. Sure, we could happily spend our days dissecting some new technology, but how often are we pulled into pointing out, and oft times defending the conscious from ludicrous invasions of rights and privacy? Or how about poking holes in all the faux security that never cease popping up?
Simply put, thanks. You carved a niche for our culture, spearheaded op- pression with an illuminated voice, and always remained a lighthouse for stragglers trying to navigate a sometimes foggy hackerdom.
Joseph
Dear 2600: I’m presently serving time in the federal prison system, but, seeing the
news on TV regarding wiretapping and the carte-blanche freedom to do so provided by the U.S. government to their new allies the telecoms, there is no freedom left. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, a law I believe that was created in reaction to Mr. Mitnick’s research, is now void. No warrant is needed, no fines are given to the telecoms for any breach into what was once considered private: our emails and phone conversations.
To quote loosely the elderly Biff Tannen from Back to the Future, “Get
a safe system!” Encrypt your whole system, keep your passwords secret when asked for by the “authorities” (Fifth Amendment privilege), whether it’s in their Waco-like raids or at the airports and borders.
BEHIND THE WALLS
Even do Freedom of Information Act requests if you feel the need to know what the Injustice Department is up to.
My mail is checked, my phone calls are monitored, but I’m in prison,
a so-called “security risk.” Ask yourself then: if you are so free, why are your communications, your downloads, your uploads, your snail mail, and your movements (through the Real ID chip) kept track of?
To quote Michael Chertoff, in response to a reporter’s question about the constitutional right of citizens in regard to Homeland Security and the Patriot Act, “Homeland Security’s and the Patriot Act’s only purpose is to fight terrorists and terrorism. It does not have any harm- ful effect on citizens’ rights.”
Then why, on the warrant used with me did it have above the Treasury Department letterhead “Homeland Security?” Counterfeiting and com- puter crimes are not the same as striking fear into innocent victims.
David L. Williamson #22678-057 Loretto, PA
Dear 2600: I’m not sure where to start. I’ve read your magazine for a long time
but never had an urge to write until now. Maybe because I am cur- rently incarcerated in a state prison facility in East Texas and have a lot of free time. I recently requested your magazine from my family to test my limits to see if I could get it in. I would say I was surprised it made it to me, but that would be a lie. What was slightly surprising was that the package it came in was never opened and inspected. They wonder why we have contraband issues in Texas prisons, especially pay-as-you-go cell phones. I’d say the security issues and loopholes are amazing, things you never would imagine in such a so-called secured facility. The door that’s supposed to keep me locked in this room can easily be talked open through the intercom. Press the button, the of- ficer says “ID?”, you say something like “Chaplain.” Click — voila!