r72







TO PAUSE S TO STOP ---(==



$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$

$      Electronic Switching System  $

$       From 2600 mag.  Feb '84     $

$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$+$

            (Courtesy of Black Knight)

  THERE WAS OF COURSE NO WAY OF KNOWING

WETHER YOU WERE BEING WATCHED AT ANY

OMENT.  HOW OFTEN, OR ON WHAT

SYSTEM, THE THOUGHT POLICE PLUGGED IN ON

ANY INDIVIDUAL WIRE WAS GUESSWORK.  IT 

WAS EVEN CONCEIVABLE THAT THEY WATCHED

EVERYBODY ALL THE TIME.  BUT AT ANY RAT

E THEY COULD PLUG IN YOUR WIRE WHENEVER

THEY WANTED TO.  YOU HAD TO LIVE--DID L

IVE, FROM HABIT THAT BECAME INSTICT--IN

THE ASSUMPTION THAT EVERY SOUND YOU MAD

E WAS OVERHEARD, AND, EXCEPT IN

DARKNESS, EVERY MOVEMENT SCRUTINIZED.

                                       

          'FROM NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR'

 

  ESS IS THE BIG BROTHER OF THE BELL

FAMILY.  ITS VERY NAME STRIKES FEAR AND

APPREHENSION INTO THE HEARTS OF MOST

PHREAKERS, AND FOR A VERY GOOD REASON.

ESS (ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM) KNOWS

THE FULL STORY ON EVERY TELEPHONE

HOOKED INTO IT.  WHILE IT MAY BE PARANO

ID TO SAY THAT ALL PHREAKING WILL COME

TO A SCREECHING HALT UNDER ESS, IT'S

CERTAINLY REALISTIC TO ADMIT THAT ANY

PHREAK WHOSE CENTRAL OFFICE TURNS TO

ESS WILL HAVE TO BA A LOT MORE CAREFUL.

HERE'S WHY.

 

  WITH ELECTRONIC SWITCHING, EVERY

SINGLE DIGIT DIALED IS RECORDED.  THIS

IS USEFUL NOT ONLY FOR NAILING PHREAKS

BUT FOR SETTLING BILLING DISPUTES.  IN

THE PAST, THERE HAS BEEN NO EASY WAY

FOR THE PHONE COMPANY TO SHOW YOU WHAT

NUMBERS YOU DIALED LOCALLY.  IF YOU

PROTESTED LONG ENOUGH AND LOUD ENOUGH,

THEY MIGHT HAVE PUT A PEN REGISTER ON

YOUR LINE TO RECORD EVERYTHING AND

PROVE IT TO YOU.  UNDER ESS, THE ACTUAL

PRINTOUT (WHICH WILL BE DUG OUT OF A

VAULT SOMEWHERE IF NEEDED) SHOWS EVERY

LAST DIGIT DIALED. 

EVERY 800 CALL, EVERY CALL TO DIRECTORY

ASSISTANCE, REPAIR SERVICE, THE

OPERATOR, EVERY RENDITION OF THE 1812

OVERTURE, EVERYTHING!  HERE IS AN

EXAMPLE OF A TYPICAL PRINTOUT, WHICH

SHOWS TIME OF CONNECT, LENGTH OF

CONNECT, AND NUMBER CALLED.

 

DATE  TIME  LENGTH UNITS  NUMBER

 

0603  1518     3   1      456-7890

0603  1525     5   3      345-6789

0603  1602     1   0      000-4011

0603  1603     1   0      800-555-1212

0603  1603     10  2.35*  212-345-6789

0603  1624     1   0      000-000-0000

(TSPS)

 

  A THOUSAND CALLS TO "800" WILL SHOW

UP AS JUST THAT--A THOUSAND CALLS TO

"800"!  EVERY TOUCH TONE OR PULSE IS

KEPT TRACK OF AND FOR MOST PHREAKS,

THIS IN ITSELF WON'T BE VERY PRETTY.

 

  SOMEWHERE IN THE HALLOWED HALLS OF 19

5 BROADWAY, A TRAFFIC ENGINEER DID AN

EXHAUSTIVE STUDY OF ALL 800 CALLS OVER

THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND REACHED THE

FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS:  (1) LEGITIMATE

CALLS TO 800 NUMBERS LAST AN AVERAGE OF

3 MINUTES OR LESS.  OF THE ILLEGAL (I.E

PHREAKERS) CALLS MADE VIA 800 LINES,

MORE THAN 80% LASTED 5 MINUTES/LONGER;

(2) THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL TELEPHONE

SUBSCRIBER MAKES FIVE SUCH CALLS TO AN

800 NUMBER PER MONTH.  WHENEVER

PHREAKERS ARE BEING WATCHED, THAT

NUMBER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER.  AS A

RESULT OF THIS STUDY, ONE FEATURE OF

ESS IS A DAILY LOG CALLED THE "800

EXCEPTIONAL CALLING REPORT."

 

  UNDER ESS, ONE SIMPLY DOES NOT PLACE

A 2600 HZ TONE ON THE LINE, UNLESS OF

COURSE, THEY WANT A TELCO SECURITY

REPRESENTATIVE AND A POLICEMAN AT THEIR

DOORWITHIN AN HOUR!  THE NEW GENERICS

OF ESS (THE #5) NOW IN PRODUCTION, WITH

AN OPERATING PROTOTYPE IN GENEVA, ILL,

ALLOW THE SYSTEM TO SILENTLY DETECT ALL

"FOREIGN" TONES NOT AVAILABLE ON THE

CUSTOMER'S PHONE.  YOU HAVE EXACTLY 12

BUTTONS ON YOUR TOUCH-TONE (R) PHONE.

ESS KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE, AND YOU HAD

BEST NOT SOUND ANY OTHER TONES ON THE

LINE, SINCE THE NEW #5 IS PROGRAMMED

TO SILENTLY NOTIFY A HUMAN BEING IN THE

CENTRAL OFFICE, WHILE CONTINUING WITH

YOUR CALL AS THOUGH NOTHING WERE WRONG!

  SOMEONE WILL JUST PUNCH A FEW KEYS ON

THEIR TERMINAL, AND THE WHOLE SORDID

STORY WILL BE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, &

PRINTED OUT FOR ACTION BY THE SECURITY

REPRESENTATIVES AS NEEDED.

 

  TRACING OF CALLS FOR WHATEVER REASON 

(ABUSIVE CALLS, FRAUD CALLS, ETC.) IS

DONE BY MERELY ASKING THE COMPUTER

RIGHT FROM A TERMINAL IN THE SECURITY

DEPARTMENT.  WITH ESS, EVERYTHING IS RI

GHT UP FRONT, NOTHING HIDDEN OR

CONCEALED IN ELECTROMECHANICAL FRAMES, 

ETC.  IT'S MERELY A SOFTWARE PROGRAM!

AND A PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR EASE IN

OPERATION BY THE PHONE COMPANY.  CALL

TRACING HAS BECOME VERY SOPHISTICATED A

ND IMMEDIATE.  THERE'S NO MORE RUNNING

IN THE FRAMES AND LOOKING FOR LONG PERI

ODS OF TIME.  ROM CHIPS IN COMPUTERS

WORK FAST, AND THAT IS WHAT ESS IS ALL

ABOUT.

 

  PHONE PHREAKS ARE NOT THE ONLY REASON

FOR ESS, BUT IT WAS ONE VERY IMPORTANT

ONE.  THE FIRST AND FOREMOST REASON FOR

ESS IS TO PROVIDE THE PHONE COMPANY

WITH BETTER CONTROL ON BILLING AND

EQUIPMENT RECORDS, FASTER HANDLING OF

CALLS (I.E. LESS EQUIPMENT TIED UP IN

THE OFF ICE AT ANY ONE TIME), & TO HELP

AGENCIES SUCH AS THE FBI KEEP BETTER

ACCOUNT OF WHO WAS CALLING WHO FROM

WHERE,ETC.  WHEN THE FBI FINDS OUT THAT

SOMEONE WHOSE CALLS THEY WANT TO TRACE

IS ON A ESS EXCHANGE, THEY ARE THRILLED

BECAUSE IT'S SO MUCH EASIER FOR THEM

THEN.

 

  THE UNITED STATES WON'T BE 100% ESS

UNTIL SOMETIME IN THE MID 1990'S.  BUT

IN REAL PRACTICE, ALL PHONE OFFICES IN

ALMOST EVERY CITY ARE GETTING SOME OF

THE MOST BASIC MODIFICATIONS BROUGHT

ABOUT BY ESS.  "911" SERVICE IS AN ESS

FUNCTION.  SO IS ANI (AUTOMATIC NUMBER 

IDENTIFICATION) ON LONG DISTANCE CALLS.

"DIAL TONE FIRST" PAY PHONES ARE ALSO

AN ESS FUNCTION.  NONE OF THESE THINGS

WERE AVAILABLE PRIOR TO ESS. THE AMOUNT

OF PURE FRAUD CALLING VIA BOGUS CREDIT

CARD, THIRD NUMBER BILLING, ETC. ON

BELL'S LINES LED TO THE DECISION TO

RAPIDLY INSTALL THE ANI, FOR EXAMPLE,

EVEN IF THE REST OF THE ESS WAS SEVERAL

YEARS AWAY IN SOME CASES.

 

  DEPENDING ON HOW YOU CHOOSE TO LOOK

AT THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF ESS, IT CAN BE

EITHER ONE OF THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS

INNOVATIONS OF ALL TIME OR ONE OF THE

SCARIEST.  THE SYSTEM IS GOOD FOR

CONSUMERS IN THAT IT CAN TAKE A LOT OF

ACTIVITY AND DO LOTS OF THINGS THAT OLD

ER SYSTEMS COULD NEVER DO.  FEATURES

SUCH AS DIRECT DIALING OVERSEAS, CALL

FORWARDING (BOTH OF WHICH OPEN UP NEW

WORLDS OF PHREAKING WHICH WE'LL EXPLORE

 IN LATER ISSUES), AND CALL HOLDING ARE

STEPS FORWARD, WITHOUT QUESTION.  BUT

AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT DO ALL OF THE

NASTY IMPLICATIONS MENTIONED FURTHER

BACK MEAN TO THE AVERAGE PERSON ON THE

SIDEWALK?  THE SYSTEM IS PERFECTLY

CAPABLE OF MONITORING ANYONE, NOT JUST

PHONE PHREAKS!  WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF

THE NICE FRIENDLY GOVERNMENT WE HAVE

SOMEHOW GOT OVERTHROWN AND A MEAN NASTY

ONE TOOK ITS PLACE?  WITH ESS, THEY

WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO TOO MUCH WORK, JUST

COME UP WITH SOME NEW SOFTWARE. IMAGINE

A PHONE SYSTEM THAT COULD TELL

AUTHORITIES HOW MANY CALLS YOU PLACED

TO CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE, I.E. BLACKS

 COMMUNISTS, LAUNDROMAT SERVICE

EMPLOYEES... ESS COULD DO IT, IF SO

PROGRAMMED.

 

*** BIOC

*** AGENT 003





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