| ==Phrack Inc.== |
| Volume Three, Issue Thirty-one, Phile #2 of 10 |
| -*[ P H R A C K # 3 1 P R O P H I L E ]*- |
| -*[ June 1, 1990 ]*- |
| -*[Phz]*- |
| ---[ Markus Hess ]--- |
| Recently the Phrack editors had the opportunity to talk to Markus Hess in |
| his tiny Hannover flat. This special edition of the Phrack Prophile details |
| our conversation, as well as general background information about the German |
| Hacker. |
| This Phrack Prophile is not in the same format as previous ones because of |
| the nature of the profile. In the next issue, we will reform back to the |
| orginal creator's format. |
| AGE: 26 |
| HEIGHT: 5' 10" |
| HAIR COLOR: BROWN |
| EYES: BROWN |
| FROM: Hannover, West Germany |
| PAST EMPLOYMENT: Software developer in Hannover. |
| PEOPLE: Stephen Winero, Walu Holland (Other CCC members) |
| STRENGTHS: AT&T Unix, VAX, SunOs and BSD os's |
|
|
| Hess, most well known as the hacker who's exploits are detailed in |
| Clifford Stoll's _The_Cuckoo's_Egg_, "is as paranoid on the telephone as he |
| is on the computer." Although he was very reluctant to talk to us, we did |
| manage to talk to him about hacking and _The_Cuckoo's_Egg_. |
| Ringing Hanover.. |
| RING |
| RING |
| RING |
| ANSWERED |
| HESS: Hallo? |
| PHRACK: Is this Markus Hess? |
| HESS: Yes. |
| PHRACK: Do you smoke Benson & Hedges? |
| (At this point we weren't sure it was actually him) |
| HESS: Yes, who is this? |
| PHRACK: We are calling from the USA, we want to ask you some questions. |
| We talk to hackers in the USA. |
| HESS: I won't have anything to do with hackers anymore. I have talked in |
| court earlier this year. |
| PHRACK: Did you know you were in a novel about a hacker in the US? |
| HESS: Novel? Yes, I know of a novel. |
| PHRACK: Have you read the book? |
| HESS: Yes I have read the book. |
| PHRACK: Is it all true? Is it all true? Do you think Cliff lied or tried |
| to exaggerate in the book? |
| HESS: Yes, I think so. |
| HESS: Yes, He lied. |
| PHRACK: Have you ever talked to Stoll? |
| HESS: I have talked to him, but not privately. I don't want to talk about |
| this. |
| PHRACK: Have you ever seen Cliff Stoll? |
| HESS: Yes I have seen him. |
| (We might think this from the back of the book) |
| PHRACK: He's goofy looking isn't he? |
| HESS: goofy? I don't understand. |
| PHRACK: Anyway, so you think he lied in the book? |
| HESS: Yes, he lied. |
| PHRACK: What did he lie about? |
| HESS: I don't want to talk about this. |
| PHRACK: Okay, are you in the Chaos Computer Club? |
| HESS: No, I won't have anything to do with hackers any more. |
| PHRACK: Were you ever involved with them? |
| HESS: No. I was not in it. |
| PHRACK: Do you know anyone in it [the CCC]? |
| HESS: Yes. I really must go now. |
| PHRACK: Who do you know in it [the CCC]? |
| HESS: Stephen Winero. |
| PHRACK: Is that it? |
| HESS: I know Walu. |
| PHRACK: Hmm. Are you being watched? |
| HESS: I think so. I can not talk about this. |
| PHRACK: Were you scared of going to jail? |
| HESS: jail? |
| PHRACK: Prison, were you scared of going to prison? |
| HESS: I don't know. |
| PHRACK: What happened in your words at court? |
| HESS: In your words? I don't understand. |
| PHRACK: What happened in court? |
| HESS: I don't understand. |
| PHRACK: Forget it. |
| PHRACK: Do you still have your computer? |
| HESS: No. I don't have any computer here. |
| PHRACK: Did you think they were going to catch you? |
| HESS: No. I knew nothing of it. |
| PHRACK: Has any other hackers tried to contact you in the U.S.? |
| HESS: No. You are the first to call. |
| PHRACK: So is it my understanding that Stoll lied in parts of the book? |
| HESS: Lied? Yes he lied. |
| PHRACK: Why do you think he would lie? |
| HESS: I don't know. |
| PHRACK: Do you think he made you look destructive? |
| HESS: Yes. He made me look mean. |
| PHRACK: Are you? Mean that is? |
| (Chuckle) |
| HESS: No. He made me look like I was a criminal. |
| PHRACK: Why did you do it Markus? |
| HESS: Do what? |
| PHRACK: Hack all over the network like that? |
| HESS: I cannot answer. |
| PHRACK: Do they call you a liar in court? |
| HESS: Yes. They call me a liar. |
| PHRACK: What are you going to do now? |
| HESS: I don't understand. |
| PHRACK: Are you finished with hacking? |
| HESS: Yes, I have nothing to do with hackers. |
| PHRACK: Was someone helping you hack? |
| HESS: I cannot answer. |
| PHRACK: How come you cannot answer that question? |
| HESS: I cannot. |
| PHRACK: Yes, well, Many in the U.S. [hackers] don't like the Novel. |
| PHRACK: What do you think of it? |
| HESS: It is not true. |
| HESS: I don't know. |
| PHRACK: Who taught you the EMACS hole? |
| HESS: I cannot say. |
| PHRACK: Then you must have been working with someone, correct? |
| HESS: No, I cannot answer. |
| PHRACK: Is the police comming down on you hard? |
| HESS: police? I don't und... |
| PHRACK: Yeah, yeah. The law? Are they being hard on you. |
| HESS: Yes. |
| <SILENCE> |
| HESS: I must go now. |
| PHRACK: Can we call you later? |
| HESS: Umm, I don't know. No. |
| PHRACK: Why not? |
| HESS: I cannot answer. |
| PHRACK: What about in a couple of months? |
| HESS: Yes, in a couple of months you can call. |
| PHRACK: Your not moving are you? |
| (Knowing that Germans rarely ever move and their phone |
| numbers never change this was a silly Q.) |
| HESS: No. I no move. |
| PHRACK: Okay, then we'll call you in a couple of months. |
| HESS: Okay. I must go. |
| PHRACK: Wait a second. |
| HESS: Yes? |
| PHRACK: Do you have anything to say to American Hackers? |
| HESS: No. |
| HESS: I have nothing to do with hackers. |
| PHRACK: Well, good luck. |
| HESS: Yes, you too. |
| <CLICK> |
|
|
| Unfortunately, our lack of German and Hess' weak English made |
| communication difficult. He is a very paranoid person who was obviously |
| uncomfortable talking to us. |
| Those of you that have read Stoll's book know that Hess was involved |
| with hacks on American Military Computers, and indirectly involved with |
| Computer Espionage and the KGB. Phrack strongly discourages trying to |
| hack Military computers and particularly takes offense to computer |
| espionage. |
| From the information we have gathered from him and by talking to him, |
| we feel that Markus Hess wasn't as smart as Clifford Stoll portrayed him to be. |
| We also feel that Markus was not working alone and that others were involved. |
| This however we cannot be 100% sure because of our communication faults. |
|
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