While Captain Zap was hacking the White House and the Pentagon, he was also putting his skills to a more profitable se--theft. He and his friend, Doctor Diode, had learned how to rack the sales and invoicing systems of a number of large comuter companies and equipment wholesalers. The system they had worked out was surprisingly simple. First they would create dummy corporations by hacking into a credit agency, listing their company on the register, and giving it a "triple-A" credit rating--the highest. Then they would hack into a supplier's computer and create a real-paper trail: they would connect themselves to the sales department and cut an order, jump to the accounts department and "pay" the invoice, then skip over to shipping and write out a delivery manifest. The delivery address would be a mail drop the address of an answering service, say, which would also receive all documentation from the target company. From the supplier's point of view the paper trail was complete: they had an order, a paid invoice, and a delivery manifest. The paperwork made sense. If they checked with the credit agency, they would find that the buyer had a triple-A credit rating. Of course the company didn't actually have the money to cover the equipment it had just delivered, but that wouldn't be discovered until they tried to balance their books.
The supplies that Captain Zap and his friend ordered included portable terminals, a Hewlett-Packard computer, peripherals, cameras, walkie-talkies, and other supplies. According to the authorities, the total amount of goods stolen in the scam amounted to over $500,000.
Pat insists that hacking into the supplier's computers was simple: "There was no security," he says. Using guesswork and knowledge of the default settings, they could make their way past the log-in and password prompts. For more recalcitrant computers they rigged up an adapted "war-dialing" system that would keep pounding at the door with one ID and password combination after the other until they got in. Even if a computer operator has assiduously removed default codes, there are still common combinations that people use over and over. There are said to be just a few of these combinations--such as name and surname, or company name and department--that, in a large system, someone will use. Knowing the names of employees and where they work greatly speeds up the process of hacking. People pick simple combinations for an obvious reason: they need to remember them. Choosing something completely off-the-wall increases the chance of forgetting the ID or password just as the prompt is flashing. And writing them down defeats the object.
The surveillance of Captain Zap began in May 1981. Pat knew he was being watched because he noticed a van with two men in it outside his apartment. By then his unorthodox buying spree had gone on for almost two years. Though each "order" was relatively small, the companies that had been robbed had been able to isolate the accounts that appeared to be paid but for which there was no corresponding check. Then they called the police.
There was a trail of connections the authorities could follow, which led from the companies that had sold the goods to the mail drops, and from there to Pat and the others he worked with. The bust came at ten A.M. on July 2, 1981. Agents from the FBI accompanied by state police from the White Collar Crime Unit, Bell Security representatives and two military policemen raided Pat's parents' home. The maid answered the door.
He lived in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Philadelphia; the homes are substantial, the residents well established. Pat's father owned and managed one of the largest and oldest shipping companies on the East Coast. When the newspapers carried the story, Pat and his friends would be castigated as "children of privilege."
The FBI presented Pat's mother with a thirty-seven-page document. "We have a search warrant," they said.
"For what?"
"For Pat. He's accused of computer fraud."
His mother looked aghast. "He couldn't pass mathematics. You're telling me he's a computer genius?"
The agents proceeded to tear apart Pat's room. They packed up alll the computers, modems, and communications gear they could find. They went through the files, stuffing them in boxes. When Pat came home that night, he found that all of his equipment had been taken away.
