🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <313@csustan.UUCP> elric@csustan.UUCP (Elric of Imrryr) writes:

>I think in some states there are laws against the transmission of plans
>to illegally recieve a satellite service. I think Mass. might be one
>of the states that has such a law. I remember such a thing coming up
>once in net.video. Anyone in misc.legal know?
>	brad

	There is a new federal law that goes into effect Jan 2 that
provides 5 years in jail and a $250,000 fine for anyone who intercepts
and recovers the contents of a radio transmission which is "scrambled
or encrypted".  It seems clear that the VC II scrambled cable feeds
are clearly radio transmissions protected under this new law.  This law
also makes manufacture, sale and possession of "serreptitious communications
intercepting devices" illegal, something that the congressional staff
has said was meant to apply to devices for descrambling enciphered radio
signals such as cable TV feeds.

	In addition to that law (the Electronic Communications Privacy
Act of 1986), there is already a federal law (part 705 of the Communications
Act of 1934) that governs interception and use of cable TV feeds.
This law forbids interception and use of scrambled satellite TV signals.
I think the penalty for this is 2 years and $50,000 dollars but I am not sure.
 
	It may be obvious that to date these laws (and section 705 proper
which governs interception and use of private radio communications in
general) have not been vigorously applied.  There have been very, very
few prosecutions.  Nobody knows, however, whether some future administration
(the current one has announced it doesn't intent to seriously enforce
the new law) might set up a "radio police" and start to go after the legions
of hams, swls, satellite dish owners, scanner buffs, and technically
sophisticated hackers (like those who broke VideoCipher II) who routinely
intercept radio communications forbidden by the new and old laws. 

	I am sure that like so many other amusing and technically challenging
projects for the clever and knowlagable hacker, the art of breaking
security on scrambled communications will rapidly change in the minds of
the authorities from a harmless game played by the bright and knowlageable
to a potentially serious threat to major economic interests and even
the security of society itself.  And inevitably this will change the
response of law enforcement from non-involvement to throw-the-book
make-an-example this-is-a-very-serious-offense-indeed.  I am afraid
that the passage of the ECPA is a bellweather telling of tough times
ahead for those who want to use their minds to break society's locks
and solve the riddles left for them by other bright minds.

	I always thought that the modern generation of hackers and
hangers-on had missed the point - you discreetly solve the riddle, celebrate
a bit and move on rather than publicizing the whole thing and making
a circus out of it.  Obviously there is no such a thing as a free lunch,
and those whose locks have been penetrated will inevitably respond -
they have no choice.  And the response is often mean.  Tis better to
leave the hole for future explorers to discover for themselves or
discreetly remind the keeper of the lock of the error than to try
to make a business out of exploiting the weakness for profit.

-- 
          David I. Emery   Charles River Data Systems
983 Concord St., Framingham, MA 01701 (617) 626-1102 uucp: decvax!frog!die