From jericho@dimensional.com Fri Sep 18 08:18:31 1998
From: mea culpa 
To: MSNBC Feedback , NYT Feedback ,
    Wired Feedback 
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 08:16:36 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: Poor Journalism


This is in regards to articles each of your companies released regarding
the NY Times web site hack. Below I quote one piece of each story to point
out that at least two of you have been lied to. Considering these pieces
didn't come out at the same second, it seems that you could have at least
checked other news sources and avoided this embarassment.

What does Carolyn Meinel say about HFG?

"never heven heard of HFG before 7 August" - Wired
"has been going on for about two years" - MSNBC
"have been wreaking havoc for more than a year" - Washington Post


Wired
All the News That's Fit to Hack
by Arik Hesseldahl
4:00am  14.Sep.98.PDT

She said she had never even heard of HFG before 7 August, when the group
allegedly hacked Route 66, a New Mexico ISP where Meinel holds an account.
Whoever hacked the ISP also downloaded a file containing 1,800 credit card
numbers, which got the attention of the FBI, Meinel said.


MSNBC
N.Y. Times site hacked
By Mark Stevenson

The group's animosity toward Meinel "has been going on for
about two years," said Meinel, an industrial engineer and writer whose
article "How Hackers Break In ... and How They Are Caught" is
published in the October issue of Scientific American.

Two years ago, Meinel said, the group hacked into the computers
of the New Mexico ISP Rt66.COM, which is the ISP she uses. She said
she detected the hack and alerted the ISP, which was able to shut out
the hackers before they were able to post their hacked page.


Washington Post
N.Y. Times Web Site Invaded
By Leslie Walker
Monday, September 14, 1998; Page B11

The corrupted Web page taunted Carolyn P. Meinel,
author of the book "The Happy Hacker," which promotes
"good-guy" hacking rather the Internet vandalism
displayed in the attack. Meinel, who has no association
with the Times, said hackers also have been wreaking
havoc for more than a year at her Internet service
provider.


[Thanks to Modify (modify@sekurity.org) for pointers to this material.]