The Summer Games of '87 (August, 1987) -------------------------------------- We've seen this so many times before. Nationwide raids of computer equipment at teenagers houses. Newspaper headlines about electronic gangsters. Long periods of silence from the investigators and the investigated. First the facts: At least six homes across the country were raided by the Secret Service in mid-July. They were in Rockville, Maryland; Burlingame, California; Kentfield, California; two in Brooklyn, New York; and one in Bronxville, New York. (At the same time, a number of houses in Pittsburgh were being searched, supposedly for simple credit card fraud and reportedly unrelated to the action that we are concerned with.) What were these people allegedly up to? Everyone seems to want a piece of this one. Los Alamos National Laboratories, Stanford University, TRW, US Sprint, AT&T, MCI, and local phone companies are the ones we've heard from so far. Unfortunately, when something like this occurs and very little additional information is given out, imaginations tend to roam wild. Given the overall technological illiteracy of the media and law enforcement coupled with the almost hysterical paranoia of the phone phreaks and computer hackers, it soon becomes abundantly clear that nobody knows what the hell is going on. That's what's most disturbing here. It's one thing to break into people's homes and go on a confiscating binge if you've got something to say when others ask why. To do otherwise is not too far from arresting someone and holding them without naming a specific crime. Having most of your possessions taken away from you is unsettling enough without having to wait to find out why. We also have many questions concerning the methods used. A teenager was almost shot by the Secret Service when he reached for a shirt after having been woken up in his room. Naturally, they assumed he was reaching for a gun - that's what hardened criminals are supposed to do, after all. A member of AT&T security found this out - from the Secret Service themselves. Apparently they thought it was funny. The Secret Service knocked down at least two front doors with battering rams in their haste to get into these homes. In each case that we heard of, there was substantial damage, much more than what was necessary to get in. That was according to neighbors and eyewitnesses. And in at least one other instance, the Secret Service disguised themselves as United Parcel Service employees. They had a truck, packages, even the standard UPS clipboard. We've had other reports of agents who refused to identify themselves, didn't produce search warrants, or acted in a rude fashion. What in the world is going on here? Are these atrocities to be tolerated? Is the Secret Service attempting to live up to their initials or are they just incredibly unaware of what they re really doing? These were all teenagers who were involved in the raids. And while they may have been quite intelligent, they most certainly were not about to shoot at police or pose any kind of a threat. There was no need to "trick" them into opening the door. That kind of gimmick is appropriate for mobsters, perhaps, but not for adolescents. We object to the methods used by the Secret Service. In fact, we question the very use of the Secret Service themselves. Why was a group such as this called in to deal with a matter that virtually any law enforcement entity could have handled? Regardless of what comes out of this case (if one is ever even presented), the events that transpired are quite inexcusable. Unfortunately, most of those involved have been scared into silence. Scared by the strongarm tactics of the law, scared by the sensationalist media, scared by not knowing what the hell is going on. This is a very scary situation. If such an occurrence should happen to you or anyone you know, this is what we suggest: Keep an eye on everything that is going on. Remember what is taken, what is handled, what is said. Write it all down when they leave. Do not, under any circumstance, give them an excuse to play rough. Law enforcement types can take lives and they can often get away with it. You don't have to answer any questions without a lawyer present. Get the names of everyone who comes into your house you are most certainly entitled to know this. And if you do decide to talk to the media, avoid the sensationalist types like the New York Post. Go for the newspapers that put a little time into their stories and have been known to uncover things in the past. Make sure they understand what you re saying so there's no misunderstanding. Avoid local TV news - they're mostly after ratings. Naturally, you should try not to let yourself get into a situation where such unpleasant things can happen to you. But sometimes that isn't enough. In 1985, the Private Sector, a bulletin board run by 2600, was seized merely because its phone number had been mentioned on another bulletin board system that was being investigated. Clearly, these are precarious times. On the subject of bulletin boards, we've made some important decisions in the last month. We are going to try and start up some boards as quickly as possible. Each of our boards will have public levels that are open to anyone who calls in. Verification of callers will not be required. Being anonymous is your right. Each caller will also be given a private mailbox, through which he can communicate with other individual callers. What goes on in the private mailboxes will only be seen by the sender and the receiver. The system operator won't even be able to access this information, at least not without resetting the account so the password no longer works. Passwords will also not be accessible by anyone other than the caller. We feel this will uncloud the issue of what is legal and what is not. On the public levels, illegal information, such as credit card numbers and long-distance codes, won't be permitted and will be removed if spotted. Public levels will be accessible to everyone who calls. Private mail will remain private. It will be analogous to the mail we get from the post office. By making these distinctions, we think it will become much harder for bulletin boards to be "raided" because of supposedly illegal activities. We've received some calls from folks interested in running bulletin boards. We now need software that can perform the above functions. If you have access to this, please contact us. If you belong to a company or organization that agrees with what we're saying, you might want to donate or loan computer equipment for this purpose. We'll also be happy to run boards for anyone who wants to sponsor one, but has misgivings about doing it from their home. We have the means to save a little bit of freedom here. We cannot do this alone.