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Phone Phreaking by Mitch D. Meredith April, 2003 Before there were hackers, phone phreaks existed. Before modems and complex operating systems were developed, phone phreaks had invented the notorious “blue box.” Actually, phone phreaking can actually be traced back all the way back to Alexander Graham Bells invention of the telephone back in 1876 (Judson, 2000, p. 66). Since then, the crime of phone phreaking has grown monumentally. The reported losses by phone companies attached to phreaking is not cheap and normally results in long distance rates increasing, which, in effect, results in honest citizens paying higher phone bills. Estimates of losses caused by phone fraud in 1998 were between $4 and $8 billion annually (Judson, 2000, p. 67). As one can clearly see, this has become a serious crime and continues to grow each year. In order to fully understand phone phreaking it is important to accurately define it. The easiest way to understand phreaking is by defining it as accessing the services of phone companies without paying for the access. As one might notice, the term phreak with the first two letters spelled as “ph” is unique to this area of crime. This alternate spelling came as a result of an October 1971 news article published in Esquire magazine that elevated telephone system trespassers to phame; notice the misspelling of fame (Parker, 1983, p.130). The stereotypical phreaker is a high school or college student who has never been arrested. Most aren’t concerned with sabotaging or destroying telephone companies. However, many have reasons for phreaking. Many phreakers claim they do it for fun or because they hold antibusiness feelings. Whatever the case, our legal system has taken numerous steps to help defer the crime of phone phreaking. Is Phreaking Illegal? So, is phone phreaking actually illegal? Absolutely! Title 18 of the United States Code section 1029 states that standard phreaking devices, such as blue or red boxes, are unquestionably counterfeit access devices (www.phonelosers.org, 2003). Not only is it illegal to use phone phreaking boxes, it is also illegal to build or posses them. Producing, designing, duplicating or assembling phreaking boxes are all federal crimes and if you’re caught the Secret Service has been charged by congress to find you (www.phonelosers.org, 2003). Many phreakers are sly though and the actual capture and conviction of one are pretty rare. Phreaking Boxes As with any crime, certain tools make the job easier. For a murderer, it might be a gun. For an arsonist, it might be gasoline. Phreakers use color coded phreaking boxes. The number of boxes available for phreakers to use has been estimated at around 100 (www.elfqrin.com/hack/., 2001). Boxing can be described as the use of personally designed boxes that emit or cancel electronical impulses that allow simpler acting while phreaking (www.onlinesecurity.com, 2003). The most notorious of these boxes is the blue box. This box simply recreates the 2,600 megahertz tone that is used to release circuits and open up phone lines to make free calls possible. One of these boxes can be easily constructed by obtaining instructions from the internet and purchasing parts at your local radio shack. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer, built these boxes while they were in college and sold them for the price of eighty dollars each (Judson, 2000, p. 67). At one time, pay telephones used specific tones to signal the deposit of a nickel, dime or quarter into the coin slot. A red box imitates these chirping tones and bypasses the coin authorization device which results in free phone calls. The actual frequencies that a pay phone produces when you deposit money is as follows: a nickel produces 66ms (1 beep), a dime produces 66ms on, 66ms off, 66 ms off (2 beeps), and a quarter produces 33ms on, 33ms off repeated five times (www.phonelosers.org, 2003). Presently, the actual effectiveness of these red boxes, as well as many other boxes varies depending on who you are talking to. While many phones have been upgraded to prevent the use of various boxes, some phreakers argue this point and state that phreakers who can not get their boxes to work need to try harder. They need to fix their boxing equipment, find a different phone or take up a new hobby. Soon after blue and red boxes were invented a wide variety of boxes came along. Some of these various colors included crimson, green, black, yellow, and beige. Each box serves its own specialized purpose. When these boxes were first invented, they were described with wiring diagrams in an underground newsletter called TAP that is published in New York City (Parker, 1983, p. 173). Black boxes trick phone companies by keeping the phone line at a steady 36v. This voltage fools the phone company into thinking the phone is hung up and the line is never billed. Crimson boxes are used primarily for pranks. It allows phreaks to put other phone customers on hold and listen to their conversations, but the customer can not hear the phreak. A beige box gives a phreaker an unprecedented amount of access. It’s said to be similar to a lineman’s handset and can allow the phreaker to listen in on other peoples conversations and make free long distance phone calls at the expense of others (www.elfqrin.com/hack/., 2001). The wide variety of these boxes makes it impossible to discuss each one, but it is hoped that the reader gains an understanding of how these boxes greatly differ and operate. Famous Phreakers Perhaps the most famous phreaker is John Draper, a.k.a. “Captain Crunch.” In the 1960’s, he found a free whistle enclosed in each box of Captain Crunch cereal which, when held and whistled into a telephone handset, made the exact same sound as the telephone switching equipment (Boni & Kovacich, 1999, p.81). This whistle, with years of practice and one hole glued shut, could open telephone lines by blowing a precise tone into a pay telephone and make it possible to conduct free long-distance calls. He used his talents to call home for free when he was stationed in England with the US Air Force. Draper is also credited with inventing the blue box. Captain Crunch soon became famous and even stated that he eavesdropped on telephone conversations by the President of the US and the FBI (Parker, 1983, p.171). Eventually, his techniques became obvious to the various phone companies and he was caught and faced three separate convictions. The most severe sentence he received was a one year sentence to be served in a county jail. Another infamous phreak is Kevin Mitnick, a.k.a “Condor.” He obtained this nickname after watching the 1975 movie Three Days of the Condor starring Robert Redford in which Redford played the role of a hunted CIA agent who uses his experience as an Army signal corpsman to manipulate the phone system and avoid capture (www.takedown.com, 2003). Mitnick’s parents were divorced and he was somewhat of a loner and underachiever. He was seduced by the power he could gain over the telephone network. At the age of 17, Mitnick was convicted and served a three month sentence in a juvenile detention center for stealing computer manuals and passwords from a Pacific Bell switching station. This was just the start to his long crime spree. Numerous arrests, ranging from breaking into the North American Air Defense Command Computer to monitoring the e-mail of MCI and Digital Equipment security officials, resulted in many different sentences. Not only had Mitnick gained notoriety as a phreaker, he was also known as a very accomplished hacker. In the late 90’s, Mitnick pleaded guilty to several charges ranging from cell phone fraud, parole violations, and wiretapping calls from the FBI and the California Department of Motor Vehicles. His incarceration was the subject of widespread controversy. Mitnick claimed to have an “addiction” to computers (www.takedown.com, 2003). Finally, in January of 2000, Mitnick was released from prison after serving 1,792 days in a federal prison (Power, 2000, p. 58). In a two year crime spree before his final arrest, prosecutors claim Mitnick caused a whopping $291 million in damages (Power, 2000, p. 58). Wireless Fraud With the increase in wireless technology, wireless fraud has become more prevalent. Perhaps the most common wireless crime is the act of cloning. This act is accomplished when thieves produce exact duplicates, or clones, of actual cell phones by obtaining mail order scanners which steal the transmitter codes for analog cellular phones (Judson, 2000, p. 67). Once the thief has the codes, he or she can reprogram another cellular phone to emit the stolen frequency. Once a phone is reprogrammed, the owner of the tones from which they were stolen will be charged for any calls that are made. This can result in huge losses. This crime is becoming more and more common and is also referred to as “burning” a cell phone. Wireless fraud is a growing crime and the methods phreakers use continue to outsmart cellular phone encryption methods. Old Phreaking Methods Old methods, such as dumpster diving and social engineering are still incredibly effective. Social engineering is simply using facts one has already obtained to convince a person on the other end of the telephone that they are employees and are entitled to the information requested (Judson, 2000, p.71). The only thing required for this crime to be successful is good acting skills. Dumpster diving is perhaps the easiest way to obtain company information. To accomplish this, all a person has to do is search company wastebaskets or dumpsters. To carry out this crime, one has to act in stealth being careful not to be noticed. Materials, such as company documents, credit card and telephone charge numbers and other restricted information can be easily obtained by using these methods. The Robin Hood Syndrome Not all phreaking is seen as bad. Some phreakers have ethics do care about the harm they cause to their victims. This has created what is known in the phreaker and hacker world as “The Robin Hood Syndrome.” Followers of this syndrome differentiate strongly between doing harm to individual people, which is seen as highly immoral to them, and doing harm to large corporations and organizations which is more easily rationalized (Parker, 1983, p. 181). Cap’n Crunch stated early in his criminal career that phone companies can do great harm to society, and, therefore, must be watched closely and be brought to task for their misdeeds (Parker, 1983, p. 181). Supporters of this syndrome see individuals as their victims and sympathize with them. Phone companies are seen as communistic in nature and rob hard working people of their money. Supporters also believe their so called crimes against the phone companies cause minimal losses. In closing, phone phreakers pose no serious threat to your physical well-being. They are seen more as an economic nuisance than anything else. The only people phreaks presently pose a threat to are security and law enforcement professionals. Some phreaks poses skills that rival those of engineers at large telecommunication corporations (Boni & Kovacich, 1999, p. 81). Most phreakers see themselves as folk heroes who have vanquished the enemy through great electronic feats and expect the beaten enemy to join in or at least admit defeat. While most do achieve some kind some kind of hero status among selective groups, their fame is mostly short lived. To keep up with this crime, phone companies and law enforcement agencies throughout the US have established specialized crime squads. Critics continue to argue on the effectiveness of phreaking boxes. As telephone companies invent new encryption techniques, phreakers are steadily finding loopholes and breaking through. While phreaking is a relatively unknown crime to the general public, it will no doubt be around in the future and continue to cost you, the consumer, money. References Boni, W.C., & Kovacich, G. L. (1999). I -way robbery: Crime on the internet. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. Judson, K. (2000). Computer crime: Phreaks, spies, and salami slicers. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers. Parker, D. B. (1983). Fighting Computer Crime. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. Power, R. (2000). Tangled Web: Tales of Digital Crime from the Shadows of Cyberspace. Indianapolis: Que Qrin, Elf (2001). The definitive guide to phreak boxes. Retrieved May 25, 2002 from http://www.elfqrin.com/hack/ Red Boxing for Dummies. Retrieved April 7, 2003 from http://www.phonelosers.org/red_box.html Kevin Mitnick. Retrieved April 9, 2003 from http://www.takedown.com/bio/mitnick1.html Phreaking. Retrieved April 9, 2003 from http://onlinesecurity.virtualave.net/hacking/phreaking.htm
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