home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- TO PAUSE S TO STOP ---(==
-
- $+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$
- $ Electronic Switching System $
- $ From 2600 mag. Feb '84 $
- $+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$
- (Courtesy of Black Knight)
- THERE WAS OF COURSE NO WAY OF KNOWING
- WETHER YOU WERE BEING WATCHED AT ANY
- OMENT. HOW OFTEN, OR ON WHAT
- SYSTEM, THE THOUGHT POLICE PLUGGED IN ON
- ANY INDIVIDUAL WIRE WAS GUESSWORK. IT
- WAS EVEN CONCEIVABLE THAT THEY WATCHED
- EVERYBODY ALL THE TIME. BUT AT ANY RAT
- E THEY COULD PLUG IN YOUR WIRE WHENEVER
- THEY WANTED TO. YOU HAD TO LIVE--DID L
- IVE, FROM HABIT THAT BECAME INSTICT--IN
- THE ASSUMPTION THAT EVERY SOUND YOU MAD
- E WAS OVERHEARD, AND, EXCEPT IN
- DARKNESS, EVERY MOVEMENT SCRUTINIZED.
-
- 'FROM NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR'
-
- ESS IS THE BIG BROTHER OF THE BELL
- FAMILY. ITS VERY NAME STRIKES FEAR AND
- APPREHENSION INTO THE HEARTS OF MOST
- PHREAKERS, AND FOR A VERY GOOD REASON.
- ESS (ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM) KNOWS
- THE FULL STORY ON EVERY TELEPHONE
- HOOKED INTO IT. WHILE IT MAY BE PARANO
- ID TO SAY THAT ALL PHREAKING WILL COME
- TO A SCREECHING HALT UNDER ESS, IT'S
- CERTAINLY REALISTIC TO ADMIT THAT ANY
- PHREAK WHOSE CENTRAL OFFICE TURNS TO
- ESS WILL HAVE TO BA A LOT MORE CAREFUL.
- HERE'S WHY.
-
- WITH ELECTRONIC SWITCHING, EVERY
- SINGLE DIGIT DIALED IS RECORDED. THIS
- IS USEFUL NOT ONLY FOR NAILING PHREAKS
- BUT FOR SETTLING BILLING DISPUTES. IN
- THE PAST, THERE HAS BEEN NO EASY WAY
- FOR THE PHONE COMPANY TO SHOW YOU WHAT
- NUMBERS YOU DIALED LOCALLY. IF YOU
- PROTESTED LONG ENOUGH AND LOUD ENOUGH,
- THEY MIGHT HAVE PUT A PEN REGISTER ON
- YOUR LINE TO RECORD EVERYTHING AND
- PROVE IT TO YOU. UNDER ESS, THE ACTUAL
- PRINTOUT (WHICH WILL BE DUG OUT OF A
- VAULT SOMEWHERE IF NEEDED) SHOWS EVERY
- LAST DIGIT DIALED.
- EVERY 800 CALL, EVERY CALL TO DIRECTORY
- ASSISTANCE, REPAIR SERVICE, THE
- OPERATOR, EVERY RENDITION OF THE 1812
- OVERTURE, EVERYTHING! HERE IS AN
- EXAMPLE OF A TYPICAL PRINTOUT, WHICH
- SHOWS TIME OF CONNECT, LENGTH OF
- CONNECT, AND NUMBER CALLED.
-
- DATE TIME LENGTH UNITS NUMBER
-
- 0603 1518 3 1 456-7890
- 0603 1525 5 3 345-6789
- 0603 1602 1 0 000-4011
- 0603 1603 1 0 800-555-1212
- 0603 1603 10 2.35* 212-345-6789
- 0603 1624 1 0 000-000-0000
- (TSPS)
-
- A THOUSAND CALLS TO "800" WILL SHOW
- UP AS JUST THAT--A THOUSAND CALLS TO
- "800"! EVERY TOUCH TONE OR PULSE IS
- KEPT TRACK OF AND FOR MOST PHREAKS,
- THIS IN ITSELF WON'T BE VERY PRETTY.
-
- SOMEWHERE IN THE HALLOWED HALLS OF 19
- 5 BROADWAY, A TRAFFIC ENGINEER DID AN
- EXHAUSTIVE STUDY OF ALL 800 CALLS OVER
- THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND REACHED THE
- FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS: (1) LEGITIMATE
- CALLS TO 800 NUMBERS LAST AN AVERAGE OF
- 3 MINUTES OR LESS. OF THE ILLEGAL (I.E
- PHREAKERS) CALLS MADE VIA 800 LINES,
- MORE THAN 80% LASTED 5 MINUTES/LONGER;
- (2) THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL TELEPHONE
- SUBSCRIBER MAKES FIVE SUCH CALLS TO AN
- 800 NUMBER PER MONTH. WHENEVER
- PHREAKERS ARE BEING WATCHED, THAT
- NUMBER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER. AS A
- RESULT OF THIS STUDY, ONE FEATURE OF
- ESS IS A DAILY LOG CALLED THE "800
- EXCEPTIONAL CALLING REPORT."
-
- UNDER ESS, ONE SIMPLY DOES NOT PLACE
- A 2600 HZ TONE ON THE LINE, UNLESS OF
- COURSE, THEY WANT A TELCO SECURITY
- REPRESENTATIVE AND A POLICEMAN AT THEIR
- DOORWITHIN AN HOUR! THE NEW GENERICS
- OF ESS (THE #5) NOW IN PRODUCTION, WITH
- AN OPERATING PROTOTYPE IN GENEVA, ILL,
- ALLOW THE SYSTEM TO SILENTLY DETECT ALL
- "FOREIGN" TONES NOT AVAILABLE ON THE
- CUSTOMER'S PHONE. YOU HAVE EXACTLY 12
- BUTTONS ON YOUR TOUCH-TONE (R) PHONE.
- ESS KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE, AND YOU HAD
- BEST NOT SOUND ANY OTHER TONES ON THE
- LINE, SINCE THE NEW #5 IS PROGRAMMED
- TO SILENTLY NOTIFY A HUMAN BEING IN THE
- CENTRAL OFFICE, WHILE CONTINUING WITH
- YOUR CALL AS THOUGH NOTHING WERE WRONG!
- SOMEONE WILL JUST PUNCH A FEW KEYS ON
- THEIR TERMINAL, AND THE WHOLE SORDID
- STORY WILL BE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, &
- PRINTED OUT FOR ACTION BY THE SECURITY
- REPRESENTATIVES AS NEEDED.
-
- TRACING OF CALLS FOR WHATEVER REASON
- (ABUSIVE CALLS, FRAUD CALLS, ETC.) IS
- DONE BY MERELY ASKING THE COMPUTER
- RIGHT FROM A TERMINAL IN THE SECURITY
- DEPARTMENT. WITH ESS, EVERYTHING IS RI
- GHT UP FRONT, NOTHING HIDDEN OR
- CONCEALED IN ELECTROMECHANICAL FRAMES,
- ETC. IT'S MERELY A SOFTWARE PROGRAM!
- AND A PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR EASE IN
- OPERATION BY THE PHONE COMPANY. CALL
- TRACING HAS BECOME VERY SOPHISTICATED A
- ND IMMEDIATE. THERE'S NO MORE RUNNING
- IN THE FRAMES AND LOOKING FOR LONG PERI
- ODS OF TIME. ROM CHIPS IN COMPUTERS
- WORK FAST, AND THAT IS WHAT ESS IS ALL
- ABOUT.
-
- PHONE PHREAKS ARE NOT THE ONLY REASON
- FOR ESS, BUT IT WAS ONE VERY IMPORTANT
- ONE. THE FIRST AND FOREMOST REASON FOR
- ESS IS TO PROVIDE THE PHONE COMPANY
- WITH BETTER CONTROL ON BILLING AND
- EQUIPMENT RECORDS, FASTER HANDLING OF
- CALLS (I.E. LESS EQUIPMENT TIED UP IN
- THE OFF ICE AT ANY ONE TIME), & TO HELP
- AGENCIES SUCH AS THE FBI KEEP BETTER
- ACCOUNT OF WHO WAS CALLING WHO FROM
- WHERE,ETC. WHEN THE FBI FINDS OUT THAT
- SOMEONE WHOSE CALLS THEY WANT TO TRACE
- IS ON A ESS EXCHANGE, THEY ARE THRILLED
- BECAUSE IT'S SO MUCH EASIER FOR THEM
- THEN.
-
- THE UNITED STATES WON'T BE 100% ESS
- UNTIL SOMETIME IN THE MID 1990'S. BUT
- IN REAL PRACTICE, ALL PHONE OFFICES IN
- ALMOST EVERY CITY ARE GETTING SOME OF
- THE MOST BASIC MODIFICATIONS BROUGHT
- ABOUT BY ESS. "911" SERVICE IS AN ESS
- FUNCTION. SO IS ANI (AUTOMATIC NUMBER
- IDENTIFICATION) ON LONG DISTANCE CALLS.
- "DIAL TONE FIRST" PAY PHONES ARE ALSO
- AN ESS FUNCTION. NONE OF THESE THINGS
- WERE AVAILABLE PRIOR TO ESS. THE AMOUNT
- OF PURE FRAUD CALLING VIA BOGUS CREDIT
- CARD, THIRD NUMBER BILLING, ETC. ON
- BELL'S LINES LED TO THE DECISION TO
- RAPIDLY INSTALL THE ANI, FOR EXAMPLE,
- EVEN IF THE REST OF THE ESS WAS SEVERAL
- YEARS AWAY IN SOME CASES.
-
- DEPENDING ON HOW YOU CHOOSE TO LOOK
- AT THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF ESS, IT CAN BE
- EITHER ONE OF THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS
- INNOVATIONS OF ALL TIME OR ONE OF THE
- SCARIEST. THE SYSTEM IS GOOD FOR
- CONSUMERS IN THAT IT CAN TAKE A LOT OF
- ACTIVITY AND DO LOTS OF THINGS THAT OLD
- ER SYSTEMS COULD NEVER DO. FEATURES
- SUCH AS DIRECT DIALING OVERSEAS, CALL
- FORWARDING (BOTH OF WHICH OPEN UP NEW
- WORLDS OF PHREAKING WHICH WE'LL EXPLORE
- IN LATER ISSUES), AND CALL HOLDING ARE
- STEPS FORWARD, WITHOUT QUESTION. BUT
- AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT DO ALL OF THE
- NASTY IMPLICATIONS MENTIONED FURTHER
- BACK MEAN TO THE AVERAGE PERSON ON THE
- SIDEWALK? THE SYSTEM IS PERFECTLY
- CAPABLE OF MONITORING ANYONE, NOT JUST
- PHONE PHREAKS! WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF
- THE NICE FRIENDLY GOVERNMENT WE HAVE
- SOMEHOW GOT OVERTHROWN AND A MEAN NASTY
- ONE TOOK ITS PLACE? WITH ESS, THEY
- WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO TOO MUCH WORK, JUST
- COME UP WITH SOME NEW SOFTWARE. IMAGINE
- A PHONE SYSTEM THAT COULD TELL
- AUTHORITIES HOW MANY CALLS YOU PLACED
- TO CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE, I.E. BLACKS
- COMMUNISTS, LAUNDROMAT SERVICE
- EMPLOYEES... ESS COULD DO IT, IF SO
- PROGRAMMED.
-
- *** BIOC
- *** AGENT 003
-
-
- Downloaded From P-80 Systems.....
-