[2404] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
bogus telecommunications identifying information
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rick Smith)
Mon Mar 30 18:12:44 1998
In-Reply-To: <19980330172642.13488@die.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 17:05:02 -0600
To: die@die.com, cryptography@c2.net
From: Rick Smith <rsmith@securecomputing.com>
At 5:26 PM -0500 3/30/98, Dave Emery wrote:
> S493 does make it illegal to merely possess "hardware or
>software, knowing it has been configured to insert or modify
>telecommunications identifying information associated with or contained
>in a telecommunications instrument so that such instrument may be used
>to obtain telecommunications service without authorization". No
>requirement of intent to defraud need be demonstrated here, but there is
>an affirmative defense "(which the defendant must establish by a
>preponderance of the evidence) that the conduct charged was engaged in
>for research or development in connection with a lawful purpose."
Hmmm. I have a copy of Telnet, which can be used to generate bogus SMTP
e-mail that claims to have been authored by the President ("Dear
Monica..."). Or perhaps I can use it to generate spam that will pass
through anti-spam filtering gateways (now *there's* a truly criminal
activity, eh?). I suppose Telnet is illegal now. I don't have it installed
for "research and development" purposes, I have it because I haven't gotten
around to deleting it. Oops. A public admission.
This reminds me of the "if you use crypto, your local felony becomes a
federal crime" statutes. If I use my cell phone to con some little old lady
out of her fortune and the phone's transparent crypto feature happened to
be enabled, I've unintentionally become a federal offender.
Rick.
smith@securecomputing.com
