Hacking Takes a Holiday

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://web.lexis-nexis.com/more/cahners-chicago/11407/6432341/2

Asiaweek Limited Corp.
Asiaweek

October 13, 2000

Onel de Guzman is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. The
24-year-old college dropout is suspected to be the author of the
infamous "Love Bug," the most insidious computer virus in history that
caused an estimated $ 10 billion in damage when it was loosed on the
Internet last May. Given the demand for software programmers with
initiative, de Guzman might land a plush job if he came right out and
said he was the Love Bug mastermind. On the other hand, the
Philippines government in August was forced to drop theft and
credit-card charges brought against de Guzman for the virus attack due
to lack of evidence. Confessing would be tantamount to tossing himself
in jail.

So de Guzman, an unprepossessing Filipino who speaks little English,
extends his fading 15 minutes of fame by walking a razor's edge,
granting occasional interviews (accompanied always by his lawyer)
while carefully offering up little insight into his cloistered world.
In terse, juvenile Tagalog argot, he talks the amoral hacker talk,
rationalizing that computer vandalism is done for greater social good.
He averts his eyes.

Authorities zeroed in on de Guzman when the computer college where he
was studying revealed he had submitted a thesis proposal on a
password-stealing program similar to the code in ILOVEYOU (the e-mail
header for the destructive virus, spread by unsuspecting users who
opened an attachment). At the infestation's peak, a Manila Internet
service provider traced an unusually heavy volume of data traffic to
an address that matched that of de Guzman's sister. Not all think de
Guzman acted alone, and a few experts say the bug's data trail
suggests he didn't act at all -- that the virus originated in
Australia or in Germany.

Is de Guzman Asia's Kevin Mitnick, the notorious hacker released
earlier this year from a U.S. prison after serving nearly five years
for computer break-ins? He's not saying. De Guzman dropped out of
computer school after the Love Bug uproar. He says several job offers
from foreign companies followed. His mother told him not to accept
them. He didn't. Instead, he spends his days watching TV and hardly
touching a computer. "I seem to have lost my concentration," he
explains. Tick-tock goes the fame clock. Asiaweek correspondent Alan
C. Robles interviewed de Guzman on two occasions in Manila:

Did you write the Love Bug?

I do write viruses, but I can't tell if it's mine -- I haven't seen
the source code.

Is it possible it's yours?

If I were to see it I could tell.

What other viruses have you written?

DOS viruses which just propagate and sit there [programs that contain
no destructive commands, or "payloads"].

What does celebrity feel like?

It's cool. When I do a search on the Internet my whole life is
there. It's funny.

What do your buddies think about what's happened?

They're proud.

How would you describe yourself?

I'm a coder.

The media say you are a hacker.

I've done hacking.

Is a hacker a mischief-maker?

No, just someone who's studying computer security.

What's a programmer, then?

A programmer is above a hacker. A programmer has no limits. He can
control the computer. He's like a god.

Why did you submit a college thesis proposal on a password-stealing
program?

I was exposing the security flaws of Windows.

What do you feel about programmers who write viruses?

They're just using their talents. You have to pass through that stage
on the way to becoming a developer.

Do you think the person who wrote ILOVEYOU should confess?

Those who should confess are the software companies. There should be a
law against those who sell defective software.

Do you think those who write viruses don't see the consequences?

They do. But they still do it. If you don't put [in] a payload you
won't be famous.

What do you see in your future?

I see myself becoming a simple family man -- a programmer -- in my own
house, living a quiet life.


*==============================================================*
"Communications without intelligence is noise;  Intelligence
without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
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