Adrian Lamo charged with computer crimes

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: Marjorie Simmons <lawyer () carpereslegalis com>

http://www.securityfocus.com/news/6888

By Kevin Poulsen
SecurityFocus 
Sept 5, 2003 

FBI agents armed with a federal arrest warrant out of New York were
searching for Adrian Lamo Thursday, SecurityFocus has confirmed.

Lamo has been charged in New York under Title 18 U.S.C. 1030 and 1029,
according to deputy federal public defender Mary French, who says
she's spoken with one of the FBI agents that were searching for Lamo.
The federal laws prohibit unauthorized access to a protected computer,
and illegal possession of stolen "access devices" -- a term that
encompasses passwords, credit card numbers, and the like. French did
not know what the specific allegations were, because the charging
document is sealed.

Two agents visited the home of Lamo's parents, Mario and Mary Lamo,
near Sacramento, California, Thursday afternoon, Mary Lamo said
Thursday. "They wouldn't tell us anything but that they had an arrest
warrant and they wanted to come in," she adds.

When she demurred, the agents vowed to return with a search warrant,
then began overtly watching the house from parked cars, she said.
"They followed me when I went out, so they're not hiding it."

Friday morning, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in New
York confirmed that the office had an open case file on Lamo, but
otherwise declined to comment.

Lamo frequently stays at his parents' home, but he was not there at
the time of the FBI's visit, and has not returned since. His mother
contacted the Federal Public Defender's office in Sacramento, which
has agreed to handle his surrender. 'I have always said that actions
have consequences, and this is something that I was always aware might
happen.' -- Adrian Lamo "If he's arrested or turns himself in in this
district, we will represent him for the initial proceedings," French
said Friday morning. "I haven't had any direct contact with him yet."

In a telephone interview Thursday, Lamo said he was in California, but
did not plan to turn himself in until after conferring with the
attorney. The hacker was quick-witted and seemingly in good humor,
with only a trace of nervousness in his voice. He quipped about the
proper etiquette of being arrested by the FBI, and suggested jokingly
that SecurityFocus should purchase the publication rights to a
favorite photo. He said he was in the company of a camera crew
producing a television documentary on hackers.

"I have always said that actions have consequences, and this is
something that I was always aware might happen," said Lamo. "I don't
intend to deny anything that I have done, but I do intend to defend
myself vigorously."

The 22-year-old Lamo has become famous for publicly exposing gaping
security holes at large corporations, then voluntarily helping the
companies fix the vulnerabilities he exploited -- sometimes visiting
their offices or signing non-disclosure agreements in the process.

Until now, his cooperation and transparency have kept him from being
prosecuted. Lamo's hacked Excite@Home, Yahoo, Blogger, and other
companies, usually using nothing more than an ordinary Web browser.
Some companies have even professed gratitude for his efforts: In
December, 2001, Lamo was praised by communications giant WorldCom
after he discovered, then helped close, security holes in their
intranet that threatened to expose the private networks of Bank of
America, CitiCorp, JP Morgan, and others.

Lamo believes the arrest warrant is for his most high-profile hack.
Early last year he penetrated the New York Times, after a two-minute
scan turned up seven misconfigured proxy servers acting as doorways
between the public Internet and the Times private intranet, making the
latter accessible to anyone capable of properly configuring their Web
browser.

Once inside, Lamo exploited weaknesses in the Times password policies
to broaden his access, eventually browsing such disparate information
as the names and Social Security numbers of the paper's employees,
logs of home delivery customers' stop and start orders, instructions
and computer dial-ups for stringers to file stories, lists of contacts
used by the Metro and Business desks, and the "WireWatch" keywords
particular reporters had selected for monitoring wire services.

He also accessed a database of 3,000 contributors to the Times op-ed
page, containing such information as the social security numbers for
former U.N.  weapons inspector Richard Butler, Democratic operative
James Carville, ex-NSA chief Bobby Inman, Nannygate veteran Zoe Baird,
former secretary of state James Baker, Internet policy thinker Larry
Lessig, and thespian activist Robert Redford. Entries with home
telephone numbers include Lawrence Walsh, William F. Buckley Jr.,
Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Rush Limbaugh, Vint Cerf, Warren Beatty and former
president Jimmy Carter.

In February, 2002, Lamo told the Times of their vulnerability through
a SecurityFocus reporter. But this time, no one was grateful, and by
May federal prosecutors in New York had begun an investigation.

"I think this is unsporting of the New York Times," Lamo said
Thursday.

Lamo's mother said she has no opinion on her son's exploits. She's
just worried about him.

"I don't really know much of anything about computers," says Mary
Lamo.  "He's my son. Right now, all I can worry about is how I can
help him."

"I hope there will be a time when Adrian can do positive things that
everyone agrees are positive," she adds.



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