This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text, while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools. Send mail to mimeat_private for more info. --------------4645B742933 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=us-ascii Content-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.96.990210161957.21849Xat_private> http://www2.thestar.com/thestar/back_issues/ED19990207/money/990207BUS01_NA-HACKER7.html February 7, 1999 Former hacker regrets past deeds Wants to get message out that businesses can be hit hard MONTREAL (CP) - A former hacker who once probed Soviet Union research computers before being found out by the RCMP has a message for young hackers today: cut it out. ``What I did was definitely wrong,'' said Robert Masse, 24. ``I caused a lot of problems. In the end I came out okay. There are a lot of people who don't.'' Masse, who today protects an international computer network based in Montreal against hackers, says he wants to get the message to young people who think hacking is a victimless crime. He was 15 when two RCMP officers shoved a search warrant in his face. To make matters worse, his father was a civilian employee of the RCMP and was put under suspicion because of his son's hacking. Until then, the teen thought what he was doing was harmless. ``You don't see what you're doing,'' he said. ``You're not going into someone's house and kicking his head in and taking all his stuff. There's no face to associate with the problems you're causing. ``I was costing companies money. You're racking up large long-distance bills. Back then I was a kid, and you think a big company has a lot of money. You don't realize a lot of the companies are smaller and their whole telecommunications budget could get eaten up.'' Masse was able to look at government sites, including that of the federal auditor-general, as well as those of private companies. He also tapped into USSR research computers at a time when the Cold War was still on. Telecommunications were being monitored and Masse's hacking was traced by security intelligence agencies. His activities were going on under the nose of his father, who had security clearances with the RCMP. ``Communications going to Russia set off flags,'' he said. ``Eventually they got my phone number and looked up who it belonged to. It was my father's name, and they thought, `Oh my God, what's this guy doing contacting Russia?' It started a big investigation.'' Masse remembers his life changed. Everything related to computers was seized from the family home, and the RCMP made maps of his bedroom. ``My mom and sister were crying. My dad had a look on his face that I had never seen before. It was a look of disappointment. That's what hit me hard. Any excitement I had, or feelings that this was cool, were erased.'' Masse co-operated with the RCMP , primarily to clear his father's name. --------------4645B742933-- -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Internet Security Institute [www.isi-sec.com]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 13:18:37 PDT