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Message no. 1
From: Tzeentch tzeentch666@*********.net
Subject: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 11:27:22 -0800
From: Asymmetric <all@******.net>
> >actually, when I go to work (for an ISP), I just plug my laptop's
ethernet
> >adapter into thier switch and that puts me live on the internet. No
account
> >or validation. I always assumed that deckers would go to a phone company
> >switch (which by 2060 would be all matrix stuff), break open the casing
and
> >plug themselves in. effectivly putting their system live on the matrix.
Yo
> >u might need to do a little research (or bribery) to determine what sorta
> >addressing you need to use...
>
> Two points I was striving to make. ;)
>
> From someone who's had his share of cracking open telco boxes... ;)

Bad boy! Phreakin' is for kids dontchaknow.

Well that does bring up some very good points, not all of which I could see
a GM liking. Smart players could use this to be pretty much untracable. So
their jackpoint is traced? Big deal.

In the Barrens and other combat zones/abandoned areas you might not be able
to be assured that the links are Matrix-aware any more then you can expect
all phone switches and and connections to be digitial in poor and rural
areas today. They may even be using 1990 era copper lines to route Matrix
traffic! Plus in seedier neighborhoods those little green boxes of love may
be targets for demolition by your local gangers. So they might be placed
underground, accessable through a locked manhole.

Either the decker can sit at the PAD and jack in like a beige box, run a
fiberline to a point away from the terminal, or for the really savvy attach
a receiver to the open line so he can communicate through it via a
cell-link.

Even if the trace is successful guess what? They will trace it to whatever
poor chummer was using the port the decker stole. So the decker could still
be hacking while Lone Star breaks into the house of Stuart J. Citizen
looking for nefarious hacking activities (hilarity ensues). If he was using
a cellink then he's even safer then using a satlink, and it does not even
require hacking any satellite transponders!

Other uses of this nefarious method are listening in to matrix traffic to
that port, switching the cables around so that the connections are different
(essentially switching phone numbers) and making prank phone calls to the
local SK office asking if they Lofwyr in a can.

Countermeasures would be moving the boxes underground, locking them with
alarms (done now), checking the boxes periodically (done anyways for routine
maintenance), and possibly an alarm if someone removes cables without
authorization. Another one is that successful traces notify the telco
company and they lock out that port from their central offices (takes X
additional turns unless you were hacking a telco system).

Of course an argument could be made that PADS are not necessary
anymore/something else is used etc. But the idea has worked for almost 100
years now and it would work just fine in the future. Especially since not
everyone will have fiber right to the home (the infamous "last mile") and
the PADS will connect to fiber trunks. It's a cost thing chummers.

Ken
PS: If you start going off-topic for the thread title PLEASE CHANGE THE
SUBJECT TITLE. It's really annoying to be following this Matrix thread and
then see posts on book bindings.
Message no. 2
From: Asymmetric all@******.net
Subject: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)
Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 14:37:40 -0500
At 11:27 12/4/99 -0800, you wrote:


>Bad boy! Phreakin' is for kids dontchaknow.

I thought it was for fun... ;)


>Well that does bring up some very good points, not all of which I could see
>a GM liking. Smart players could use this to be pretty much untracable. So
>their jackpoint is traced? Big deal.
>
>In the Barrens and other combat zones/abandoned areas you might not be able
>to be assured that the links are Matrix-aware any more then you can expect
>all phone switches and and connections to be digitial in poor and rural
>areas today. They may even be using 1990 era copper lines to route Matrix
>traffic! Plus in seedier neighborhoods those little green boxes of love may
>be targets for demolition by your local gangers. So they might be placed
>underground, accessable through a locked manhole.
>
>Either the decker can sit at the PAD and jack in like a beige box, run a
>fiberline to a point away from the terminal, or for the really savvy attach
>a receiver to the open line so he can communicate through it via a
>cell-link.
>
>Even if the trace is successful guess what? They will trace it to whatever
>poor chummer was using the port the decker stole. So the decker could still
>be hacking while Lone Star breaks into the house of Stuart J. Citizen
>looking for nefarious hacking activities (hilarity ensues). If he was using
>a cellink then he's even safer then using a satlink, and it does not even
>require hacking any satellite transponders!
>
>Other uses of this nefarious method are listening in to matrix traffic to
>that port, switching the cables around so that the connections are different
>(essentially switching phone numbers) and making prank phone calls to the
>local SK office asking if they Lofwyr in a can.
>
>Countermeasures would be moving the boxes underground, locking them with
>alarms (done now), checking the boxes periodically (done anyways for routine
>maintenance), and possibly an alarm if someone removes cables without
>authorization. Another one is that successful traces notify the telco
>company and they lock out that port from their central offices (takes X
>additional turns unless you were hacking a telco system).

Even with this stuff, if you wanted to, you could just break into someones
house in suburbia, take them hostage, and then use their connection to your
hearts content.. to go to extremes. ;)

For that matter.. I'm sure there is as big a market for cloned decks as
there is for cloned cellphones/cable descramblers/etc today.


>Of course an argument could be made that PADS are not necessary
>anymore/something else is used etc. But the idea has worked for almost 100
>years now and it would work just fine in the future. Especially since not
>everyone will have fiber right to the home (the infamous "last mile") and
>the PADS will connect to fiber trunks. It's a cost thing chummers.
>
>Ken
>PS: If you start going off-topic for the thread title PLEASE CHANGE THE
>SUBJECT TITLE. It's really annoying to be following this Matrix thread and
>then see posts on book bindings.

woo woo!
Message no. 3
From: paul collins paulcollins@*******.com
Subject: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 21:23:47 +1100
----- Original Message -----
From: Tzeentch <tzeentch666@*********.net>
To: <shadowrn@*********.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 1999 6:27 AM
Subject: Re: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)


> From: Asymmetric <all@******.net>
> > >actually, when I go to work (for an ISP), I just plug my laptop's
> ethernet
> > >adapter into thier switch and that puts me live on the internet. No
> account
> > >or validation. I always assumed that deckers would go to a phone
company
> > >switch (which by 2060 would be all matrix stuff), break open the casing
> and

Probably by 2010 or so. The modern telephone exchange as we know it is on
it's last legs. Packet switched networks
will replace them within 10 yrs or so

<huge clip>


> Countermeasures would be moving the boxes underground, locking them with
> alarms (done now), checking the boxes periodically (done anyways for
routine
> maintenance), and possibly an alarm if someone removes cables without
> authorization.

Actually, this will probably raise an alarm anyway, as the CP looses contact
with the peripheral just unplugged.

And don't forget that the Telco will have a contract with a sec firm to
respond to entry alarms. And considering how big the corporate clients will
be in 2060 or so, You can imagine the response. (At least for the corp type
area's.)

Oh, there was a thing on tracing cell phone calls before. My record is to
within 10 feet or so. In a CBD the more you move around, the easier and
more accurate it is. (Changing cells places you on a well defined line at a
defined time.. Get a couple of cell changes and you're pinpointed)
Message no. 4
From: Asymmetric all@******.net
Subject: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)
Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 12:10:55 -0500
At 21:23 12/5/99 +1100, paul collins wrote:


>Actually, this will probably raise an alarm anyway, as the CP looses contact
>with the peripheral just unplugged.
>
>And don't forget that the Telco will have a contract with a sec firm to
>respond to entry alarms. And considering how big the corporate clients will
>be in 2060 or so, You can imagine the response. (At least for the corp type
>area's.)

This was why I suggested a little B&E to get things going.. that way you
don't have to disconnect anything that the telco may be monitoring.. just
jack in like a legit user, inside.


>Oh, there was a thing on tracing cell phone calls before. My record is to
>within 10 feet or so. In a CBD the more you move around, the easier and
>more accurate it is. (Changing cells places you on a well defined line at a
>defined time.. Get a couple of cell changes and you're pinpointed)

Not bad, but still not always accurate.. in an area like where I am (NYC
Metro) there are so many callers using the system most of the time, that
the cell tower will shunt you to an adjacent tower if it's getting to
full.. It's not uncommon to be on a cell one or two cells away from the one
you're actually physically closest too.
-A

"There comes a time when the operation of a machine becomes so odious,
makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; not even tacitly take
part, and you have to throw yourself on all the gears and all the levers
and you have to make it stop."

-Mario Savio, founder of the free speech movement.

Commandment XI: Thou shalt not inflict upon me thy useless prattlings, for
I thy God am a busy God.
-Joe Thompsonn
Message no. 5
From: Tzeentch tzeentch666@*********.net
Subject: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 12:48:13 -0800
From: paul collins <paulcollins@*******.com>
> Probably by 2010 or so. The modern telephone exchange as we know it is on
> it's last legs. Packet switched networks
> will replace them within 10 yrs or so

Ok, then the green box of love we know now will probably look a lot like a
hub. The connections will be controlled from the central office. Why keep it
around at all? Because it saves a lot of money for the telcos. With the
switches you don't need to run fiber backbones anywhere near as far, and it
makes expanding and upgrading the network a LOT easier. Hell you could still
have users on copper lines (in the Barrens).

> > Countermeasures would be moving the boxes underground, locking them with
> > alarms (done now), checking the boxes periodically (done anyways for
> routine
> > maintenance), and possibly an alarm if someone removes cables without
> > authorization.
>
> Actually, this will probably raise an alarm anyway, as the CP looses
contact
> with the peripheral just unplugged.

You don't necessarily need to unplug the cables per se. You could always
splice the fiberline. There could be some sort of line diagnostic that would
register you cutting the line as a possible hardware problem that
maintenance should look at (someone with a backhoe could have cut the fiber
line or trunk). But in the barrens you probably would not have to worry very
much.

If they treated every potential breach as a security problem and called out
the cops then play a little game of cutting lines and then leaving. The cops
will get tired of this long before you do.

A better bet would be to break into the location the line terminated at and
either jacking in there (not recommended) or remoting yourself via radio
link or a long fiber cable connecting to another commnode and then to the
matrix (via a router of your own). Then you could be anywhere in the world
and jack in through the hapless slugs own jackpoint.

> And don't forget that the Telco will have a contract with a sec firm to
> respond to entry alarms. And considering how big the corporate clients
will
> be in 2060 or so, You can imagine the response. (At least for the corp
type
> area's.)

Even better, rig the box with a claymore so when they inspect it BOOM! Even
nastier (but more expensive) is to take and old van, load that puppy full of
as much explosive material as you can get your grubby decker hands on and
park it by the terminal with a fiber lead snaking out to the terminal. When
the coppers show up and try to arrest you wait until they get close enough
and BOOM! For added fun try a remote fired ATGM as well, just to take out
the paramedics when they arrive.

If they check for thermal signatures then pick up some homeless guy and
strap him in. Or do us ALL a favor and strap Harlequin in, after
Cyberpirates we should all be spared the lame commentary that character and
his friends generate.

Ken

"If some unemployed punk in New Jersey can get a casette to make love to
Elle McPherson for $19.95, this virtual reality stuff is going to make crack
look like Sanka."
-Dennis Miller
Message no. 6
From: Christopher Pratt valen@*******.com
Subject: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 21:40:51 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: Tzeentch <tzeentch666@*********.net>
To: shadowrn@*********.org <shadowrn@*********.org>
Date: Sunday, December 05, 1999 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)



>Ok, then the green box of love we know now will probably look a lot like a
>hub. The connections will be controlled from the central office. Why keep
it
>around at all? Because it saves a lot of money for the telcos. With the
>switches you don't need to run fiber backbones anywhere near as far, and it
>makes expanding and upgrading the network a LOT easier. Hell you could
still
>have users on copper lines (in the Barrens).


Actually, with all the technology i keep hearing about to expand the data
handling capabilities of plain old telephone wires, I wouldn't be suprised
if copper lines were still used in many areas...

>>
>> Actually, this will probably raise an alarm anyway, as the CP looses
>contact
>> with the peripheral just unplugged.
>
>You don't necessarily need to unplug the cables per se. You could always
>splice the fiberline. There could be some sort of line diagnostic that
would
>register you cutting the line as a possible hardware problem that
>maintenance should look at (someone with a backhoe could have cut the fiber
>line or trunk). But in the barrens you probably would not have to worry
very
>much.
>
>If they treated every potential breach as a security problem and called out
>the cops then play a little game of cutting lines and then leaving. The
cops
>will get tired of this long before you do.
>
>A better bet would be to break into the location the line terminated at and
>either jacking in there (not recommended) or remoting yourself via radio
>link or a long fiber cable connecting to another commnode and then to the
>matrix (via a router of your own). Then you could be anywhere in the world
>and jack in through the hapless slugs own jackpoint.
>
>> And don't forget that the Telco will have a contract with a sec firm to
>> respond to entry alarms. And considering how big the corporate clients
>will
>> be in 2060 or so, You can imagine the response. (At least for the corp
>type
>> area's.)


Actually I think that it might me more likely to deploy some sorta
monitoring device, like a camera or a drone to check things out.
Considering the likely hood of those alarms going off in bad neighborhoods,
i think drones might be very likely.

>
>Even better, rig the box with a claymore so when they inspect it BOOM! Even
>nastier (but more expensive) is to take and old van, load that puppy full
of
>as much explosive material as you can get your grubby decker hands on and
>park it by the terminal with a fiber lead snaking out to the terminal. When
>the coppers show up and try to arrest you wait until they get close enough
>and BOOM! For added fun try a remote fired ATGM as well, just to take out
>the paramedics when they arrive.


you're one sick bastard...I like that :)
That paragraph just screamed sentry gun to me!!!
>
>If they check for thermal signatures then pick up some homeless guy and
>strap him in. Or do us ALL a favor and strap Harlequin in, after
>Cyberpirates we should all be spared the lame commentary that character and
>his friends generate.
Message no. 7
From: Asymmetric all@******.net
Subject: The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead)
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 22:16:37 -0500
At 21:40 12/6/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Actually, with all the technology i keep hearing about to expand the data
>handling capabilities of plain old telephone wires, I wouldn't be suprised
>if copper lines were still used in many areas...

I'm getting T1 speed SDSL (1.54megabits) into my house on Jan 21.. over
copper. I doubt anything will "replace" it for a long long time.. it's
just too damn cheap, and too damn reliable.


-A

"There comes a time when the operation of a machine becomes so odious,
makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; not even tacitly take
part, and you have to throw yourself on all the gears and all the levers
and you have to make it stop."

-Mario Savio, founder of the free speech movement.

Commandment XI: Thou shalt not inflict upon me thy useless prattlings, for
I thy God am a busy God.
-Joe Thompsonn

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about The Matrix: Jackpoints (Gearhead), you may also be interested in:

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Thwap!