Date: 10 Jul 92 18:33:32 EDT
From: Moderators <
[email protected]>
Subject: File 1--MOD Busts in New York
Federal Agents indicted five members of MOD, a group of computer
crackers, last week on 11 counts that included conspiracy, wire fraud,
unauthorized access to computers, unauthorized possession of access
devices, and interception of electronic communications. Julio
Fernandez (Outlaw), John Lee (Corrupt), Mark Abene (Phiber Optik),
Elias Ladopoulos (Acid Phreak), and Paul Stira (Scorpion) were
indicted under various provisions of Title 18, including 18 USC S.
1029(a)(3); 18 USC S. 371; 18 USC S. 2511(1)(a) and 2); and 18 USC S.
1343. The charges allege that the defendants broke into
telephone switching computers of several Bell systems, engaged in
"phreaking," and computer tampering.
Phiber Optik, perhaps the best-known of the group, Scorpion, and Acid
Phreak were raided by federal agents in January, 1990. Felony charges
against Phiber Optik were dropped in January, 1991, when he pled
guilty to misdemeanor offenses. The bulk of the allegations listed
in last week's indictment occured in November, 1991.
Members of MOD received national attention in 1990 as the result of an
article on "hackers" in the Village Voice (Dibbell, Julian. 1990.
"On Line and Out of Bounds," Voice, 35(July 24): 27-32.) Phiber Optik,
an occasional active participant in The Well's "Hacker's conference,"
demonstrated his abilities to other members by obtaining credit and
and similar private information, and by defending "hacking" and
computer intrusion (see Harper's Forum. 1990. "Is Computer Hacking a
Crime? A Debate from the Electronic Underground." Harper's,
280(March): 45-57).
Among some "hackers," MOD was considered the "bad boys" of the
computer underground because of alleged disruptiveness and harassment
that was perceived to be their trademark. According to some, MOD had a
reputation for arrogance and for vindictive retaliation against those
who "crossed" them that ran counter to the "hacker ethic." A few,
however, saw MOD as skilled teenagers whose apparent eccentricities
should be tolerated because of their skill.
Prosecution of malicious behavior is appropriate, but as the articles
below suggest, much of the evidence against the group derives from
wiretap information. As the NEWSBYTES article suggests, the case may
be raised as an example of the importance of passing proposed
legislation to expand the wire-tapping capability of law enforcement
agents. One need not support alleged destructive behavior to be
suspicious of law enforcement methods and attempts to expand intrusive
powers that have been demonstrably abused in the past.
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