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	006.txt - gopherhole - My gopherhole source code.
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	1 [jay.scot]
	2 [006]
	3
	4
	5 --[ Association of really cruel viruses (arcv)
	6
	7
	8 I have saved and collected a huge amount of data from the 80s, 90s
	9 and early 00s from the UK Hacking and Phreaking scene. Many of it has
	10 been lost over the years, so I will be dumping it here over the next
	11 while in the hopes someone finds it interesting!
	12
	13
	14 First up though we have ARCV, a virus writing group from the early
	15 1990s!
	16
	17
	18 ARCV
	19 ----
	20
	21 Around late 1992 a group emerged calling themselves the Association of
	22 Really Cruel Viruses (ARCV). The group was initially small, and by all
	23 accounts relatively unskilled, and was made up of two people, Apache
	24 Warrior who was the leader of the group, and ICE-9. They soon recruited
	25 two more, Toxic Crusader and Slartibartfast, and became one of the first
	26 virus writing groups in the UK.
	27
	28
	29 Over the next year, they would write around 100 viruses, the first few
	30 were created using a virus generator called Virus Creation Laboratory
	31 (VCL) but they would soon end up writing their own virii, apparently,
	32 they were also very well written! Apache Warrior would also end up
	33 creating the group's engine, Cybertech Mutation Engine (CME).
	34
	35
	36 ARCV didn't last too long before Scotland Yard caught up with them in an
	37 unsuspecting way. A year after they entered the scene around
	38 December/January 1993 Apache Warrior and ICE-9 were arrested in the
	39 Salford area in the UK. The group had been distributing their viruses
	40 and newsletters to a BBS in Cornwall as well as others via beige boxing.
	41 In their great wisdom, they decided that the best target of the beige
	42 boxing would be their neighbours' line. Scotland Yard did not even
	43 realise these two phone phreakers they just caught were also the
	44 founding members on ARCV until the confiscation of their computer
	45 equipment.
	46
	47
	48 Apache Warrior cooperated with the police, and further examination of
	49 the confiscated equipment confirmed that not only had the police caught
	50 some phone phreakers, but they also caught the leader of ARCV. On
	51 Wednesday, January 27 1993, four other ARCV members in Manchester,
	52 Cumbria, Staffordshire and Cornwall were raided by Scotland Yard and
	53 their computer equipment confiscated. This was ICE-9, Toxic Crusader,
	54 Slartibartfast and the arrest in Cornwall was the SYSOP of the BBS where
	55 ARCV transferred files too so not officially a member of ARCV. In total
	56 there were six arrests and all were released on police bail pending
	57 further investigations.
	58
	59
	60 DC Noel Bonczoszek of the Computer Crimes Unit failed to identify anyone
	61 affected by any ARCV created viruses. Due to this Apache Warrior, ICE-9
	62 and the two other members were let off with cautions. One was cautioned
	63 relating to another matter, the BBS SYSOP, and the last one was released
	64 with no further actions.
	65
	66
	67 You can download all the files I have on ARCV from the following gopher
	68 site.
	69
	70
	71 * ARCV Newsletter 1, txt format
	72 * ARCV Newsletter 1, exe format
	73 * ARCV Newsletter 1, exe screenshot
	74 * ARCV virus collection, 93 in total, be careful you windows users!
	75 * November 1992 article
	76 * April 1993 article
	77 * July 1993 article
	78
	79
	80 >> gopher://jay.scot/files/groups/arcv/
	81
	82
	83 Got any of these files? Let me know!
	84
	85 * ARCV Newsletter Issue 2, may not exist.
	86 * ARCV Virus Library Disk 1 and 2, may not of been released.
	87 * EICAR'94 conference talk/slides (ICE-9)
	88 * CME 1.0 and CME 2.0
	89 * Access All Areas II (96) and III (97) talks/slides (Apache Warrior & I…
	90
	91
	92 --- Feb, 1993 : Spreading Viruses
	93 --- Personal Computer World Magazine
	94
	95 We are a bunch of programmers who, depressed with the lack of viruses th…
	96 have originated in England, have sought to change matters. We presently
	97 write viruses for the PC, Archimedes and Atari ST. We have increased th…
	98 viruses written in England by about 25, though this number is increasing…
	99 the time as our programmers churn out more quality computer viruses.
	100 Although there are many viruses about we hope to dominate the UK 'market…
	101 Won't it be nice, though, for England to have at least one export? Fina…
	102 we as an organisation like to stress that, contrary to public opinion, w…
	103 not boring people who wear anoraks, nor are we depraved people who were
	104 beaten as children and so grew up with a hatred of humanity. We are hig…
	105 intelligent and good at programming and are just ordinary people. But w…
	106 gonna get you soon!
	107
	108 - ARCV (Association of Really Cruel Viruses)
	109
	110
	111 --- 4 Feb, 1993 : Apache scalps virus cowboys
	112
	113 Police raided the homes of suspected computer virus authors across the
	114 country last week, arresting five people and seizing equipment. "The ra…
	115 were carried out last Wednesday by police in Manchester, Cumbria,
	116 Staffordshire and Devon and Cornwall." Scotland Yard's computer crimes u…
	117 co-ordinated the raids under the codename Operation Apache. A spokeswoma…
	118 the Greater Manchester Police said: 'The investigation began in the
	119 Manchester area following the arrest of the self-styled president of the
	120 virus writing group in Salford last December.' Police would not reveal t…
	121 man's name, but said he had been released on bail. "Last week's raids l…
	122 the arrest of a further two people in Manchester. Three other suspects …
	123 also arrested in Staffordshire, Cumbria and Cornwall." PCs and floppy di…
	124 were seized in all the raids. "All those arrested have been released on
	125 police bail pending further investigations."
	126
	127
	128 --- 4 Feb, 1993 : UK Virus Writers Group Foiled by Scotland Yard
	129
	130 British police have arrested four members of a virus-writing group that …
	131 itself the Association of Really Cruel Viruses (ARCV).
	132
	133 The Scotland Yard Computer Crime Unit coordinated the raids carried out …
	134 suspects in Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, Devon, and Cornwall. The
	135 arrests last Wednesday, January 27, bring to six the number of ARCV memb…
	136 found by police, after they initially arrested one caught "phreaking" in
	137 Manchester in December. ("Phone phreaking" is the illegal practice of
	138 obtaining free use of telephone lines.) The arrests were made under Sect…
	139 of the Computer Misuse Act, which prohibits unauthorized modification of
	140 computer material, said Detective Sergeant Stephen Littler. The suspects…
	141 cannot be identified at this stage under British law, have been released…
	142 bail pending inquiries and may face further charges.
	143
	144 The members of ARCV used PCs to write viruses, which they shared via a
	145 bulletin board operated by one suspect in Cornwall. The police confiscat…
	146 hardware and software, which is being studied by virus experts to determ…
	147 how many viruses were written and what the viruses were intended to do,
	148 Littler said. The British anti-virus community became aware of ARCV thro…
	149 the group's own publicity efforts, such as a newsletter that it had uplo…
	150 to various bulletin boards in the U.S., according to Richard Ford, edito…
	151 the monthly "Virus Bulletin", which is published in Abingdon, Oxon, Engl…
	152 The newsletter was described in detail in the November, 1992, issue of "…
	153 Bulletin".
	154
	155 To the best of my knowledge, none of their viruses are in the wild, out
	156 there spreading" said Ford. But they have been found on virus exchange
	157 bulletin board services, and we've had reports of them being uploaded ra…
	158 widely in the UK. ARCV claims, in its newsletter, to have links with
	159 PHALCON/SKISM in the U.S. and other virus writers in Eastern Europe. "The
	160 world is a very small place when you've got a modem, or are on the Inter…
	161 Ford said. The newsletter invites new members to join even if they are n…
	162 virus writers but prefer other "underground" activities such as hacking …
	163 phreaking. It also betrays ARCV's fears of being perceived as nerds (a t…
	164 not used in Britain) saying, "Now the picture put out by the Anti- Virus
	165 Authors is that Virus writers are Sad individuals who wear Anoraks and go
	166 Train Spotting but well they are sadly mistaken, we are very intelligent,
	167 sound minded, highly trained, and we wouldn't be seen in an Anorak or ne…
	168 Anorak even if dead."
	169
	170 ARCV has already failed at one of the objectives mentioned in its premier
	171 newsletter issue, which said, "We will be dodging Special Branch and New
	172 Scotland Yard as we go."
	173
	174
	175 --- From: [email protected] (Mike C Holderness)
	176 --- Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
	177 --- Subject: This just in from London...
	178 --- Date: 3 Feb 1993 13:57:06 -0000
	179 --- Department of Computing, Imperial College, University of London, UK.
	180
	181 Police have arrested Britain's first computer virus-writing group in an
	182 operation they hope will dampen the aspirations of any potential high-te…
	183 criminals. Four members of the Association of Really Cruel Viruses (ARCV)
	184 were raided last Wednesday in a joint operation in four cities co-ordina…
	185 by Scotland Yard's computer crimes unit. The arrests in Greater Manchest…
	186 Cumbria, Staffordshire and Devon and Cornwall, bring to six the members …
	187 the group that have been tracked down by police. Two others, also writin…
	188 ARCV, were arrested a month ago in Manchester. This six are thought to h…
	189 written between 30 and 50 relatively harmless viruses....
	190
	191 [continues. By Susan Watts. (C) 1993 Newspaper Publishing plc.]
	192
	193 Comments, especially from survivors and even more from people in the UK …
	194 are into a little light looking around but nothing Really Cruel, very
	195 welcome. Yes, I am a journalist.
	196
	197
	198 --- 16 May, 1994 : Urnst Couch / Crypt Newsletter
	199
	200 About the same time, a hacker was arrested for stealing phone service fr…
	201 his neighbor's line and his equipment confiscated, too. The hacker turne…
	202 to be Apache Warrior, a member of the small United Kingdom virus-writing
	203 group called ARCV (for Association of Really Cruel Viruses).
	204
	205 Some background information not included in the book: Alan Solomon was
	206 apparently able to convince New Scotland Yard's computer crime unit that…
	207 should also try to prosecute Apache Warrior as a virus-writer and that t…
	208 rest of the group should be rounded up, too. In conversation, Solomon has
	209 said Apache Warrior turned over the names of other group members.
	210 Subsequently, New Scotland Yard and local constabularies conducted raids…
	211 multiple sites in England, arresting another man. Paradoxically, prior t…
	212 arrests, Solomon joked that ARCV was better at cyber-publicity than virus
	213 programming and its creations were little more than petty menaces. The b…
	214 offers no reported incidences of ARCV viruses on the computers of others,
	215 although Virus News International, by extension S&S International, solic…
	216 readers for such evidence in 1993.
	217
	218
	219 --- Date: Fri, 16 Apr 93 09:17:21
	220 --- From: [email protected] (McAfee Associates)
	221 --- Subject: Forwarded message from Scotland Yard
	222
	223 Hello All,
	224
	225 I was recently contacted by DC Noel Bonczoszek of the Computer Crimes Un…
	226 New Scotland Yard in London. As some of you may be aware, Noel is one o…
	227 folks responsible for arresting the members of ARCV, a UK-based group of
	228 virus-writers. He would like to speak with anyone who suffered an infec…
	229 from any of their viruses. If you have been infected by one of their
	230 viruses, or know of someone who has, then please give him a call at +44 …
	231 230-1177 during office hours (GMT), or send him a fax at +44 (71) 230-12…
	232
	233 Please bear in mind that I'm only forwarding this message for DC Bonczos…
	234 If you have any questions, please contact him directly.
	235
	236 .EOF