Underground carders market. Translation of the book "KingPIN". Chapter 2. Deadly Weapons

Kevin Poulsen, editor of the magazine WIRED, and in his childhood blackhat, the hacker Dark Dante, wrote a book about " one of his acquaintances ."

The book shows the path from a teenager-geek (but at the same time pitching), to a seasoned cyberpahan, as well as some methods of the work of special services to catch hackers and carders.

The beginning and the translation plan are here: “ Shkvoren: schoolchildren translate a book about hackers ”.
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The logic of choosing a book for working with schoolchildren is as follows:

• there are few books about hackers in Russian (one and a half)
• There are no books about carding in Russian at all (there was one UPD )
• Kevin Poulsen - WIRED Editor, No Stupid Comrade, Authoritative
• to introduce young people to the translation and creativity on Habré and get feedback from elders
• schoolchildren-students-specialists work in spike very effectively for training and shows the significance of the work
• The text is not very hardcore and is accessible to a wide range, but it touches on issues of information security, vulnerabilities of payment systems, the structure of the carding underground, basic concepts of the Internet infrastructure
• the book illustrates that "feeding" in underground forums - ends badly

Who wants to help with the translation of other chapters write in a personal magisterludi .

(Regarding the order, they ask me many questions and advise me to publish the chapters one by one. I would also like that, but alas, since I work with a lot of people who, for example, have already translated 80% of the chapter, and then they have a force majeure on 2 On the one hand, I don’t want to put pressure on them, on the other hand, postponing the publication of those people who have already translated the next chapter is not entirely fair to them. Therefore, I’m publishing it.)

Chapter 2. "Lethal Weapon"

(For the translation, thanks to the guys from the project “Young Programmers of the FSB of the Russian Federation” from the Cadet School in 1770 Moscow and thanks to the manager Sergey Epifantsev for the coordination work)

“This is an entertainment room !!!
The entertainment room is a large darkened room without a clear exit. The public can relax on the cushions in front of the giant TV screen. A fridge and a bar filled to the top are also available. ”

This inscription welcomes visitors to TinyMud , a gaming virtual world that was inside a mini-fridge-sized computer on the floor in the Pittsburgh postgraduate office. In 1990, hundreds of students around the globe "went out to the people" or socialized through the Internet. Max, a freshman at the University of Idaho at Boise, was one of them.

The Internet at that time existed for 7 years, and about 3 million people had access to the miserable three hundred thousand hosts of defense enterprises, secret military facilities and a small number of devices installed in colleges and universities. In academic circles, the Internet seemed difficult to use directly by students. But something happened that allowed any self-respecting American college or institute to actively use the Internet. Mud's - multiplayer worlds - have become the favorite Internet crowd of the then young people.

Mud was a purely text-based “experience,” like everything else in the world of the pre-Blade Internet. The scale of the game was completely determined by the written text, and it was possible to navigate in it using simple commands, such as north and south. There was also a more modern version of the usual Mudʻa - TinyMud, radically different from the rest. It was the first multiplayer game, from where the developers threw the files "Dungeons and Dragons". On the work of these notorious files based gameplay previous Mud `s. In TinyMud, active users created and changed their own game world, without resorting to the services of administrators and "wise men." Anyone could create a whole Universe around his character with his own attributes, boundaries, and also invite guests there. TinyMud residents quickly turned the “entertainment room” into a global social cyber center. The entrance and exit were synchronized with such locations as the Magic Palace of Distortion, the apartment of Goundarhl and hundreds of others.

Also a legacy from TinyMud was the reward system in the style of D & D. Special importance was attached to treasure hunts, final quests and kachu. Therefore, instead of wasting time on banal battles with orcs and accumulating points, users talked, flirted, fought, and even engaged in virtual sex. But it was enough to release the game from the restrictions of the Tolkien role-talker, as it turned into a "second life" for many users. The power of dependence on the game has increased exponentially. At that time, a common joke was deciphering the acronym Mud as a Multi Undergraduate destroyer (Comprehensive Student Degradant). For Max, it was more than just a joke.

At the insistence of Max, his girlfriend Amy was added to one of the TinyMuds. The original version of this TinyMud was at Carnegie Mellon University, but by that time the same software contained other Mady scattered throughout the Internet. Max became “Lord Max”, and Amy took the name of the heroine from the book “Elric from Melnibone” and Michael Murcoc's short stories, - Kimoril.

Kimoril was Elric's beloved, weak alboman. Subsequently, Elric became the awe-inspiring emperor, who used the magic power of the sword Stormbringer. For Max, the magic sword was a metaphor, which meant that a computer in capable hands could make an ordinary person a king. But for Elric, Stormbinger was also a curse. The sword was mystically connected with its owner. Attempting to get rid of the sword did not lead to anything. Elric carried the "damned" sword through his life.

According to the book, the novel by Elric and Kimoril was doomed. The girl died during the storming of Elric Imrirr’s hometown by pirates. The head of the pirates was Yirkun, the enemy of Elric and his cousin in combination. But, nevertheless, for Max this story became the ideal of romantic love, especially after the divorce of his parents. Kimoril pleaded with Elric to sheathe Stormbringer and stop the battle, but Elric, in anger, struck Yirkun with a mortal blow, yielding to the charms of his sword. Dying, Yirkun pushed his beloved Elric on the tip of Buryanos, depriving the Emperor of happiness. Thus, Yirkun was avenged.

The terrible truth was revealed to Elric, and he let out an animal cry of despair. Favorite girl died because of his fault. The sword, painted with runes and stained with Kimoril's blood, fell from his hand and flew down like a stone. Weeping, the emperor fell near the body of his beloved and took her hands. “Kimoril,” he moaned, trembling all over — Kimoril, I killed you!

When Amy first met Max, she decided that he was a cool rebel and a little punk. There was not a drop from the office plankton and, oddly enough, from the crowd in the city of Boise. But, spending more and more free time with Max, she saw the darker obsessive side of his character, especially after Max introduced her to the Internet and TinyMud.

At first, Max was delighted with the fact that the girl shared with him his passion for online worlds. But as soon as Amy started making new friends on her account in Mud (including male), Max became jealous and aggressive. For him, there was no difference whether Amy betrayed him in real life or in virtual: the betrayal was evident. And now he was trying to force her not to enter TinyMud. Amy refused, and the couple began to quarrel both online and in life.

In the end, Amy "got enough" of the fact that they were cursing because of some computer game. In the early October evening of 1990, on Wednesday, when Max and Amy were in different game rooms on TinyMud, Kimoril finally told her Lord Max that she was not sure about the continuation of their further relationship.

This was the first serious connection of Max, so the response was strong. They swore to be together all their lives, and “it would be better to die than to live without each other,” wrote Max in TinyMud. Then he “explained” Amy to the colors, how he would destroy her. Other users watched with concern as Max’s frenzy took on the character of a real threat. What should they do?

One of the “wise men” TinyMud punched Max’s IP address and found out that he belongs to the University of Idaho at Boise. The Mudarians found the telephone number of the Sheriff's Department of Hell County in Boise and called there with a warning about a possible suicide killing.

The year began for Max successfully ... His father, the owner of the computer store HiTech Systems, always gave him some work. Max was doing well, fulfilling office duties, delivering company wagons and collecting PC-compatible computers in the store. He did not violate the probation regime (probation) and even stopped taking medications for bipolar disorder, as he did not agree with the diagnosis. In addition, Max’s father did not want his son to become a drug addict or get a drug addiction.

He began dating Amy in February 1990, 4 months after meeting her at the Zoo, a dance club in Boise that was targeted at a teenage audience. Amy was a charming blonde with blue eyes and a year younger than Max. He met her with the filing of his friend Luke Scheenemann, one of the watchmen (the student who is responsible for the keys, Key-bearer) of the Meridian school. As soon as Max finished school, the relationship with Amy became more serious.

Max usually brought everything to a logical end and was completely devoted to Amy. She planned to enroll at Idaho State University in Boise, and this circumstance forced Max to postpone her own admission to such cool educational institutions as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Carnegie Mellon University. He brought Amy home so she could see his cool comp and play with him on a pair of Tetris. Their relationship was different from what their parents once had. The guys thought that this romance would never end.

Max barely met friends during the summer holidays. In late August, classes began at the University of Idaho. Upon admission, Max immediately chose the faculty and specialty. And, you guessed it, it was Informatics. He was enrolled in the following courses: mathematical analysis, chemistry and classes related to the structuring of various data on the computer. Like all students, he was allocated his own account in the UNIX system. Max was the few who decided to immediately test the strength of this computer system. Along with Max, another student, David, was already hacking into the faculty accounts. They spent hours in the university's server room, staring at the hanging green text of the terminals and knocking on the ringed keyboard. They literally “flew” through the mailboxes of teachers, sending messages on their behalf or responding to them. At the same time, Max and David were so absorbed in the process that they rarely were interrupted by talking to each other. David was annoyed at Max by the inability to bring any case to a logical conclusion, as well as a very slow typing speed. Max felt it and constantly snapped. “What are you waiting for?” Said Max, when David was silent for no reason. "The response," - he grinned.

The university administration in general could transfer one small hack, but when Max began to break into other Internet systems, he was officially denied access to all university computers. But access was soon restored, but Max returned to TinyMud and the conflict with Amy again ...

It was then that the sheriff called the university system administrator at 2 am to warn of the threat of double murder. Police needed copies of Max’s computer files as evidence. This kind of request meant a lot of problems for the reputation of the university. After consulting with a lawyer, the administration decided not to voluntarily transfer anything to the police. They preferred to save the Max files on a punched tape and remove the “hero” from the computer.

As for Amy, she was still worried about Max, although she was already beginning to think about the process of breaking up with him. In her soul, feelings for Max were still smoldering, and she was afraid that he might do it without thoughtlessly to himself.

Max continued to call after the TinyMudʻow incident. Their conversation always followed the same scenario. At the beginning, Max’s tone was friendly. Starting a conversation in a friendly tone, Max seemed to show his bright side, so familiar to his friends and relatives. Then he turned to self-pity for his beloved and threats, becoming frantic at the end of the conversation.

On October 30, Max told Amy that he wanted to talk to her alone. Not expecting anything bad and still hoping to end the relationship with Max peacefully, Amy agreed to the meeting (especially since she had seen Max on campus more than once). Max returned to his mother’s house in a ranch style, which was located on a quiet street in Meridian, a block from his old school.

He met Amy at the door and invited her to the bedroom at the back of the house, saying that he would not do anything wrong. Mother was not at home, and his 14-year-old sister was watching TV.

They settled on a mattress, which was lying on the floor, and began to discuss their feelings. Amy admitted that she had already met another guy in TinyMud. He lived in North Carolina and his name was Chad. Their relationship has already gone beyond the keyboard, and the young people sent each other photos by e-mail, and also actively communicated by phone.

Max tried to control himself, barely holding back tears. He felt betrayed, and could not believe what he had just heard. Max took Chad's number from Amy and called his online rival using a long-distance telephone card.

Then three people participated in the conversation: Max introduced himself to Chad and then allowed Amy to pick up the phone. She told Chad about her feelings. Then Chad phoned Max and started chatting with Amy.

Max finally got mad - grabbed the phone and hung it up.
Amy watched closely for Max’s breathing and shifting eyes.
“I will kill you,” he shouted. “You will die right now.”
She replied that she did not feel like a traitor and would not apologize. He threw her on the mattress and tried to strangle her.
“OK,” she said. “Why don't you kill me?”

Fortunately, Max began to control himself and demanded that Amy get out of his house. He threw her out the door with the words: “Get out of here! I do not want to kill myself. ... But bear in mind that I can still change my mind. "
Amy jumped into her car and disappeared in seconds.

On the way back, she scrolled through the latest events in her head. Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the other cars until she crashed into one of them. The confrontation of two metal structures ended in an ominous crunch. Both cars were damaged, but not seriously. When the parents of Amy's parents found out about the incident in the house of Max, she began to worry about the life of her girl. A week after the accident, Amy wrote went to the police, and Max was arrested.

Later, Max told his friends that Amy had a little exaggerated assessment of the situation. In her version, Max kept the girl hostage in the bedroom for a long time and repeatedly choked. According to Max, he kept his hands on her throat. But not choked.
And Amy could come out at any time. Amy said that Max continued to obsessively call her after the accident and threaten her. Max replied that he had never seen or heard this crazy after throwing her out of the apartment. Unlike Max, who really suffered because of this situation, Amy used this case to get out of the troubles associated with the accident.

The district attorney offered Max a deal with justice according to his wrongdoing. But a month ago, he was announced that he could receive only 45 days or be released on bail. And Max, being free, accidentally met Amy, who was walking by the hand with her new boyfriend on the university alley. And again, Max's emotions blocked his mind. In the fever, he parked his father's truck on the lawn and walked towards a couple. His whole body was shaking.
“Hi,” he said.
“You have no right to see me,” Amy replied.
- Do you remember what happened between us before? - retorted Max.
Amy's companion tried to intervene, but Max warned him: “Better take care of yourself, friend!” Then he retired to the side of the car. Soon the truck engine roared, and the car quickly began to approach the love couple on the sidewalk. Amy was nearly knocked down by a powerful stream of air from a moving colossus. Another second, and lovers would not be alive.

The deal with justice was broken. The district attorney, according to the law, took Max to jail, accusing him of “assault with a deadly weapon - hands.” This accusation was dubious. Max’s hands were no more dangerous than any other’s.

The prosecution offered him nine months in prison in exchange for a confession that he had strangled Amy. Naturally, Max refused. After a three-day trial and a half-hour meeting, the judge found him guilty against Amy. On May 13, 1991, Tim Spencer and a couple of graduates from Meridian High School were in court and watched as Judge Deborah Bale sentenced their friend to 5 years in prison without the slightest pity.

Note: "Amy" is not the real name of ex-girlfriend Max.

To be continued