Hackers duplicate BT's CD-Rom phone book [ big surprise djf]

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Date: Sun, 18 Sep 1994 23:50:14 +0100
To: farber () central cis upenn edu
From: Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk (Brian Randell)


Dave:


I saw this on a Fidonet echo here - but had previously seen a similar story
in The Independent.


Cheers




Brian


PS "PS" = "pounds sterling" :-)


-------


Headline: Hackers duplicate BT's CD-Rom phone book


  Source: Computer Weekly (September 15, 1994)


  Hackers have cracked British Telecom's "unhackable" CD-Rom phone book,
  giving instant access to 17 million numbers.  Ironically BT's Phone
  Disk, introduced two years ago, had its price slashed this week with
  the annual update now offered at PS 299 (compared to PS 950 previously).
  It has proved a boon to regular phone users since charges for
  directory charges were introduced, with corporates paying up to PS 4,000
  for quarterly updates and networked versions.


  Until now BT has also prided itself that the software at the heart of
  the CD-Rom disks was unhackable, safeguarding a lucrative copyright on
  the bulk of British phone numbers.  But according to John Loader,
  chief investigative officer of the European Leisure Software
  Publishers Association, that monopoly is over.  Instead pirates are
  peddling their own CD-Rom versions of the phone book at car boot sales
  and other haunts for a bargain price of just PS 35.


  Said Loader, "When I told the chap at BT that their disk had been
  hacked he didn't believe me, so I sent him a copy.  He wasn't a happy
  man."


  The BT disk is just one of many now being cloned by pirates using
  machines that can cost as little as PS 3,000.  In one recent case, a
  Midlands man was found to have PS 20m of stolen software held on CD-Roms
  when police arrested him.


  But cracking the Phone Disk also arouses concerns over Data
  Protection. British Telecom is currently in litigation against an
  American company trying to duplicate its phone database, claiming it
  is protecting not only its copyright but customers from aggressive -
  if not illicit - marketing tactics.


  Said BT spokesman Eric Barr, "Obviously we're being as vigilant as
  possible to stop people copying our disks.  But if there has been a
  breach we will not waste time in bringing a prosecution where we can."