From: devans@hclb.demon.co.uk (Dave Evans)
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 94 07:05:56 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: UK Hacker sends ex-directory numbers via remailer ?
Message-ID: <785714237snx@hclb.demon.co.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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It looks like the remailer network is going to come under scrutiny
from the British government.

There is a story breaking on BBC TV news at the moment  (24Nov1994,
1300hr) about a hacker who has obtained the ex-directory numbers of various
dignitaries, including the Prime Minister and royal family, from the
British Telecom Customer Service System computer network.

It appears that the hacker sent  pages of secret numbers  to a reporter
on the Independent newspaper via the Internet.   The story did not
mention  'anonymous remailer' by name, but I  presume that a remailer
was used.

The story also did not mention that the numbers could have been printed
out on a second hand, untraceable, dot-matrix printer and sent via
anonymous postal mail.

How did the hacker obtain the top-secret numbers ? Simply by working as
a temporary employee for BT, and reading the top-secret CSS passwords
conveniently written on Post-it notes next to the terminals. 

It has not been a good week for BT.  On the Monday BBC TV Watchdog
program, they were slammed for invading privacy via the newly
introduced CLID system.