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Nov-04-2009Man Charged for Running Modem-Hacking Biz(topic overview)
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According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Ryan Harris, 26, ran a San Diego company called TCNISO that sold customizable cable modems and software that could be used to get free Internet service or a speed boost for paying subscribers. Harris, also known as DerEngel, was charged on Aug. 16, but the grand jury indictment was not unsealed until Monday, several days after his Oct. 23 arrest. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine, the DOJ said. The six-count indictment charges him with conspiracy, computer intrusion and wire fraud. Hackers have known for years that certain models of cable modem, such as the Motorola Surfboard 5100, can be hacked to run faster on a network, a process known as uncapping. [1] Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego, California, and Redmond, Oregon, was charged in a six-count Indictment with conspiracy, computer intrusion, and wire fraud. According to the Indictment, from 2003 through 2009, TCNISO, under HARRIS's direction, developed and distributed hardware and software tools that allowed its customers to modify their cable modems so that they could disguise themselves as legitimate, paying subscribers in order to access internet service providers' networks without authorization and get premium high-speed access without paying for it. The Indictment also charges that TCNISO and HARRIS offered ongoing customer support, primarily through forums that it hosted on the TCNISO website, to assist customers in their cable modem hacking activities.[2]
According to authorities, one of the customers who used Harris and TCNISO's products and assistance to steal Internet access was a male juvenile from Massachusetts known by the online alias "DShocker." In November 2008, the juvenile ' whose name is being withheld to protect his identity ' was charged in federal court with computer intrusion, interstate threats and wire fraud. The indictment also charges that TCNISO offered ongoing customer support to assist customers as they hacked their cable modems.[3] Federal authorities said that they had charged a 26-year-old who helped others modify cable modems to steal Internet access. According to authorities, 26-year old Ryan Harris and his company, TCNISO, distributed hardware and software from 2003 until 2009 that helped consumers modify their cable boxes and electronically pose as subscribers. This allowed them access to high-speed Internet connections. Harris was apparently ratted out by one of his customers, "DShocker," who was charged in federal court in 2008 with computer intrusion, interstate threats and wire fraud.[4]
Federal law-enforcement officials have accused a 26-year-old Oregon man -- known by the alias "DerEngel" in hacking circles -- of selling products designed to let users modify Motorola cable modems and tap into broadband networks without paying. Officials unsealed the charges of conspiracy, computer intrusion, and wire fraud against Ryan Harris, of Redmond, Ore., and the company he founded, TCNISO, in a Massachusetts federal court Monday. Harris called the charges "complete bullshit" and asserted that he would "never sell to anyone who had the intent to break the law" in an interview with Wired.com published Monday.[5] Ryan Harris, known by his pen name DerEngel, was charged in Boston with a conspiracy count, and charges of aiding and abetting computer intrusion and wire fraud. "I read the indictment it's complete bullshit," says 26-year-old Harris, author of the 2006 book Hacking the Cable Modem. "They're filling in their own blanks.[6] An Oregon hardware hacker and author has been charged by coppers after they discovered that he was selling unlocked cable modems that can be used to get extra speed from a broadband provider, or obtain free service. Ryan Harris, who is better known by his pen name DerEngel, was charged in Boston with a conspiracy count, and charges of aiding and abetting computer intrusion and wire fraud.[7]
Ryan Harris aka DerEngel, a hardware hacker/modder and author of a book on hacking cable modems has been charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting computer intrusion and wire fraud.[8]
Harris - who is being charged in a six-count indictment - faces a maximum 20 year prison sentence, 3 years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution on each count. It should be noted that a former TCNISO customer known as "DShocker" was recently apprehended and charged in federal court with computer intrusion, interstate threats and wire fraud.[9] According to the indictment, one of the customers who used the company's products and assistance to steal Internet access, was a male juvenile from Massachusetts, known online as "Dshocker." In November 2008, "Dshocker," whose name is being withheld to protect his identity, was charged in federal court with computer intrusion, interstate threats and wire fraud.[10]
Harris, who went by the name DerEngel, is charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting computer fraud and aiding and abetting wire fraud, according to the indictment, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Federal prosecutors allege Harris and TCNISO took in more than US$1 million in revenue between 2003 and this year.[11] Harris was charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy, computer intrusion and wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine and restitution on each count.[3] The company sold the software as standalone products and preloaded onto cable modems, according to the indictment. Harris also marketed a book titled " Hacking the Cable Modem," written under his alias, DerEngel. Harris was released without bail on condition that he surrenders his passport and that he promises to appear in court as directed, Christina Sterling, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice in Boston, told SCMagazineUS.com Tuesday. He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 18, though prosecutors are seeking a continuance into December, she said. If convicted, Harris faces up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution on each of the six counts with which he is charged.[12] If convicted, Harris faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution on each count, according to the FBI. According to the indictment, from 2003 through 2009, Harris and TCNISO "developed and distributed hardware and software tools that allowed its customers to modify their cable modems so that they could disguise themselves as legitimate, paying subscribers in order to access Internet service providers' networks without authorization and get premium high-speed access without paying for it."[5] During the past six years, Harris was able to glean $1 million from the business before the feds caught up with him, documents showed. The TCNISO products enabled users to disguise their cable modem by mimicking the MAC address of the modem of a paying internet subscriber. They also allowed users to obtain faster, or "uncapped," internet service without paying the premiums charged by the ISP, using '''configuration files that the ISP would otherwise only provide to a legitimate subscriber paying for premium access,''' according to the indictment.[12] The defendant, Ryan Harris, 26, ran TCNISO, a San Diego company that sold products designed to modify cable modems so that users could access ISP networks without authorization '''to obtain internet service without making the required payment,''' according to the indictment.[12] The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston said yesterday that an Oregon man was arrested on charges of developing and distributing cable network hacking tools. Twenty-six-year-old Ryan Harris of Redmond, Oregon, along with his company TCNISO, is accused of developing and distributing products that allow users to modify their cable modems to receive Internet connection without paying for the service.[13] Charges against 26-year-old Ryan Harris, who has residences in Redmond, Ore., and San Diego, were unveiled Nov. 2. According to authorities, Ryan and the company he founded, TCNISO, developed and distributed hardware and software tools that enabled customers to modify their cable modems and mask themselves as paying Internet subscribers. This in turn allowed them to access ISPs' networks without authorization for premium high-speed access.[3] The FBI unsealed charges recently against Ryan Harris, 26, who they say developed hardware and software tools to enable people to configure their cable modems to give them free Internet access. Federal authorities unsealed charges in Boston Nov. 2 against a man they allege developed tools to help people steal free Internet access by modifying cable modems.[3]
TCNiSO flogs pre-modded modems for $100 which are already loaded with the group's custom firmware, which lets the user control the modem's functionality. The gear is used as a tool by cable modem "uncappers," who use the customized modems to crank up the speed of their internet access by downloading special configuration files from an ISP's server. They can also be used to get free service by spoofing another customer's MAC address. Harris has publicly distanced himself from the criminal applications of his work and never taught people how to do it.[7] What prompted these charges? Well, Harris has an online business (TCNiSO.net - currently down) that sells unlocked cable modems. The problem with this is that these appliances can be put to illegal use - stealing speed or obtaining free service from broadband providers. They also sold these modified modems for $100. Their problems started when they sold a couple to an FBI agent. Harris is the only one that has been charged so far, presumably because he is the project organizer of the site. He maintains that he would never sell an appliance to anyone who had criminal intentions. He says that there are many legitimate uses that unlocked modems can be used for, and that charging him for the criminal actions of other people that have been using the modems would be like charging a firearms dealer for murders that other people committed with the guns he sold them. The authorities say that there was one instance in which Harris made it know that he did, in fact, engage in illegal actions - he left an incriminating message on TCNiSO's public forums, in which he's asking for a verified MAC address and/or configuration files. It remains to be seen if it will be enough for a conviction.[8]
The modem hacking products went by the names "Sigma," "Blackcat" and "DreamOS," the indictment said. A more sophisticated product, "SigmaX," was capable of blocking ISPs from "probing" a modem on its network to see if it had been modified. In the indictment, prosecutors wrote they found that Harris was allegedly seeking MAC addresses and configuration files used in a major metropolitan area in a posting on TCNISO's forum in March 2007. From 2006 to 2008, prosecutors also wrote they observed others trying to trade or sell stolen MAC addresses with others on TCNISO's forum. About a year ago, TCNISO sold through its Web site two Motorola SB5100 BlackcatUSB cable modems, three Motorola SB4200 Sigma cable modems and one copy of Harris' book to an undercover FBI agent in Boston.[11] Harris and three unindicted co-conspirators created software that modified a cable modem so that it could adopt the MAC (Media Access Control) address used by the ISP (Internet service provider) to identify a paying Internet subscriber's modem. Those MAC addresses, however, were stolen from paying users using software Harris and his company created, the indictment alleges.[11] Harris's run in with Uncle Sam comes on the heels of a case that brought charges against Pennsylvania resident Thomas Swingler for selling hacked modems. In Swingler's case, trouble came because his website proudly crowed about the modems' intended use while offering service theft tutorials. In most cases, cable modem modders fly under the radar -- provided they don't run their mouths about what they're doing. As Wired's Threat Level explores, Harris made the mistake of posting personally to his website, asking users for verified MAC addresses and configuration files. "I read the indictment - it's complete bullshit." 26-year-old Harris tells Wired. "They're filling in their own blanks. From my website I never would never sell to anyone who had the intent to break the law," he claims. Harris maintains that the unlocked hardware has legitimate uses, and likens his prosecution to arresting an arms dealer for murder.[14]
The Massachusetts youth was sentenced to 11 months detention. According to a 14-page indictment unsealed Monday, Harris took few pains to keep his illegal business secret. In addition to hosting online forums and selling a book online titled "Hacking the Cable Modem," he also authored a posting on his website asking for any "verified MAC addresses and/or config files" for users major metropolitan areas. The post promised "rewards will follow" for those who replied.[15]
TCNISO's customers received premium high-speed Internet access without paying the monthly fee. "The Indictment also charges that TCNISO and HARRIS offered ongoing customer support, primarily through forums that it hosted on the TCNISO website, to assist customers in their cable modem hacking activities," the FBI reports.[13] BOSTON, MA--Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it.[2] The U.S. Department of Justice has charged an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and get free Internet access.[10]
A U.S. man is facing federal criminal charges for allegedly selling modified cable modems and software that enabled free Internet access at super-fast broadband speeds.[11] Harris sold two unlocked Motorola Surfboard modems to an FBI agent through TCNiSO.net. The group's work has been a boon to cable modem "uncappers," who use the customized modems to crank up the speed of their internet access by downloading special configuration files from an ISP's server.[6] The modem enabled free Internet access. Harris was open about his modding, even writing a book called "Hacking the Cable Modem" that has a cover photo of a modem meshed with an unlocked padlock. He is scheduled for an arraignment in Boston on Dec. 17.[11]
By replacing the unique address with one known to belong to a paying subscriber, Harris's customers were able to obtain internet service for free. Over time, his company offered additional services. One allowed users to increase their bandwidth while another made it possible to detect the MAC addresses of legitimate paying ISP subscribers. From 2003 to earlier this year, TCNISO, as Harris's company was called, generated revenue of more than $1m, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Boston. [15] The TCNISO products let users "sniff" the unique MAC addresses of legitimate paying customers and then hijack them, according to the indictment, and also allowed users to access higher-speed tiers of service for free.[5]
The products enabled "users to obtain faster, upgraded internet service without paying the premiums charged by the ISP," according to the indictment, which is dated Aug. 19 but was unsealed just last week.[11] Federal prosecutors have charged a California man with earning $1m over a six-year period by illegally selling products that allowed customers to get high-speed internet service for free.[15]
In January, Thomas Swingler was charged with selling cable modems that could be customized to get free Internet service.[1]
Users have also wielded the hacked modems to get free service by spoofing another customer's MAC address an attack that only works from a home that's wired to the cable network but hasn't had service officially activated. Harris has long publicly distanced himself from the criminal applications of his work. "I never had instructions on my website to teach people how to do this," he says. "I never condoned this type of behavior."[6] The community offers tips and tools on how to clone the Mac address of paying cable customers to get free service, or how to uncap the modem to get faster speeds.[14] Cable modems can also be configured to use a paying customer's MAC (Media Access Control) address to steal service.[1]
The modified cable modems appeared on ISP networks without authorization as legitimate, paying customers.[13]
Sure, people DO go to prison for modifying hardware to "enable" it to do things it's not intended to do. That doesn't always mean justice was served. It usually just means the person arrested didn't have the money or desire to fight it in court. (There are also a lot of technicalities to consider. EG. When modifying a cable box, did someone embed a unique subscriber identifier in the box, to "spoof" the network into thinking the box was operating under someone else's paid subscription? Perhaps that action could be considered fraud, since it's not unlike copying down someone's credit card number and making purchases with it? That's a lot different than soldering a bridge across a couple pins in some cable modem to allow it to use higher connection speeds.)[6] Diagnostic cable modems have tons of legitimate uses and there are no laws against modifying electronics that an end user owns. The feds already made fools of themselves once this year - now it looks like they are going for round 2.[6]
Ryan Harris, owner of TCNISO, ran a mail-order Web site and retail store in San Diego that sold software and modded cable modems.[11] Ryan Harris, 26, of San Diego sold software and hardware that were designed to fool Charter Communications and other internet service providers into believing the gear belonged to paying customers, the prosecutors allege. Harris and his employees also offered technical support in publicly available chat forums at tcniso.net, the website belonging to their modem-hacking business.[15]
According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), Ryan Harris and his company TCNISO developed hardware and software tools that provided unauthorized access to high-speed ISPs by utilizing stolen MAC addresses.[9]
According to the indictment, Harris helped develop tools that could be used to sniff MAC addresses in order to get on the network free. Harris isn't the first person to be charged with this type of activity.[1] Harris was charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy, computer intrusion, and wire fraud.[13] Harris finds himself on the receiving end of criminal charges in Boston, including a conspiracy count, and charges of aiding and abetting computer intrusion and wire fraud.[14] In all, Harris was indicted on six felony counts, including conspiracy, computer intrusion and wire fraud.[15]
An expert on cable modem hacking has been arrested by federal authorities on computer intrusion charges. [1] A cable modem hacking expert has been indicted and faces criminal charges for selling unlocked modems.[16]
Harris has published a book (which we sort of reviewed ) on hacking cable modems, and is the head of a cable mod organization known as the TCNiSO modding community.[14] Harris is the project organizer of TCNiSO, a band of tinkerers specializing in cable modem hacking.[7]
Harris allegedly sent an undercover FBI agent several hacked cable modems and his book, "Hacking the Cable Modem: What Cable Companies Don't Want You to Know," in December 2008.[5]
Since Dshock was one of the thousands of people to use the TCNiSO site, Harris has been charged. Harris said he is not going to plead guilty and his unlocked modems have legitimate uses. [7] "I'll tell you right now I'm not going to plead guilty." He's making a list of the legitimate uses of unlocked modems he says he's sold some to cable-modem companies as diagnostic gear and is trying to raise funds for a private attorney. "The only evidence they have is the business I've been running for the last five years," says Harris. "It's like arresting every firearms dealer, because handguns can be used to commit murder."[6] The distinction here is that purchasers could actually use the hacked modems for legitimate purposes whereas the hacked utility meters can only be used to steal. He would have to be an idiot to not realize that many purchasers are going to use his modems to steal service (whether by accessing an unpaid-for bandwidth or just plain scamming service with no account). Whether he deserves prosecution for facilitating others''' crimes is a close call. You can argue that he is just an honest businessman but you can also argue that he is a criminal facilitator who hides behind a technicality. I'''d want to see evidence that he actively knew he was enabling crime (and yes, theft of service is a crime) before deciding how I feel about this prosecution. It'''s just not reasonable to argue that this arrest is a travesty.[6]
I'm charged a flat fee of $50/month for my internet (thank you Comcast) regardless of how much I use or how fast my connection is. What's wrong with buying my own modem and then modifying it to allow a faster connection on Comcast's same line? You can't argue that the network can't support it, nor can you argue that it's illegal since I'm modifying hardware that I purchased.[6]
According to the freshly unsealed indictment (pdf) against Harris, DerEngel earned over $1 million during the last six years by selling modified hardware.[14] An FBI press release says Harris faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution on each count.[14]
The government says that TCNiSO has generated revenues of more than $1 million since 2003. Harris is free on his own recognizance and scheduled to appear in court in Boston later this month. He vows to fight the case.[6] Dshock pleaded guilty in Boston last year to computer intrusion and interstate threats in connection with DDoS and swatting attacks, and has since been sentenced to 11 months in custody. The feds don't allege that he knew or worked with Harris; just that he was one of the thousands of people to use the TCNiSO site.[6]
In addition to allowing customers to obtain internet service without paying for it, TCNISO allowed users to surf anonymously. Among those taking advantage of that benefit was a juvenile hacker who went by the moniker Dshocker. Last year, he admitted to carrying out crippling denial-of-service attacks on online rivals and placing hoax emergency phone calls that prompted them to receive visits by heavily armed police teams.[15] DShocker used the TCNISO software to access Charter Communications' broadband service at 10 times standard access speeds without paying, the FBI said.[5]
Harris allegedly also modified a configuration file in modems that would then enable broadband speeds up to 10 times faster without paying the ISP more.[11] Harris reportedly designed a product known as "SigmaX" that blocked ISPs from identifiying and probing modified modems.[9]
One or two users doing this in a neighborhood won't make a big impact with an uncapped modem. Now if twenty or thirty users on a node did this, yes it would make a difference and you can bet the cable company would report them and shut off their service. [13] The story headlined "Alleged cable modem hacker indicted in US" and posted Tuesday has been removed from the wire. It was a duplication of the story "Cable modem hacker busted by feds," posted Monday.[17]
A federal indictment was unsealed Monday in Boston charging a hacker with selling hardware and software designed to steal internet bandwidth. [12] According to the report, the illegal activity endured from 2003 to 2009. TCNISO, under Harris's direction, developed and distributed hardware and software tools to its customers.[13]
The charges mostly focus on the antics of a juvenile computer hacker known as "Dshock" downloaded TCNiSO's firmware and used it to steal broadband.[7] Four wire-fraud charges are based entirely on the fact that a juvenile computer hacker known as "Dshock" downloaded TCNiSO's firmware and used it to steal broadband.[6]
SOURCES
1. Cable Modem Hacker Busted by Feds - PC World
2. Federal Bureau of Investigation - The Boston Division: Department of Justice Press Release
3. Man Indicted in Cable Modem Hacking Scheme
4. Man Charged for Running Modem-Hacking Biz - Reviews by PC Magazine
5. Feds Indict Cable-Modem Hacker - 2009-11-03 16:16:32 EST | Multichannel News
6. Feds Charge Cable Modem Modder With 'Aiding Computer Intrusion' | Threat Level | Wired.com
7. Fudzilla - Modder charged with 'crime' of selling unlocked cable modems
8. Hardware hacker charged with aiding computer intrusion and wire fraud
9. Feds indict alleged cable modem hacker
10. Feds Charge Cable Modem Hacker | WebProNews
11. Alleged Cable Modem Hacker Indicted in US - PC World
12. Hacker charged for marketing systems to steal bandwidth - SC Magazine US
13. Feds Bust Cable Modem Hacker - Tom's Guide
14. Cable Uncapper Faces Criminal Charges - Ryan Harris (DerEngel) and TCNiSO face Federal heat - dslreports.com
15. Hacker charged in $1m cable ISP customer cloning scheme ''' The Register
16. Cable modem hacking expert indicted on fraud charges - Ars Technica
17. Alleged cable modem hacker indicted in US - CIO.de
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