<< 1994 1995 1996 >>
January 13, 1995
(Roughly) Mark Abene, also known as "Phiber Optik", finishes his 12 month sentence for hacking at Schuylkill federal prison in Pennsylvania.

Source http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/6095/articles/computer-crime/abene-1-14-95.txt

January 27, 1995
The US Attorney's Office announces that it will not appeal the dismissal of charges against David LaMacchia in the "Cynosure" BBS case, wherein LaMacchia is accused of running a pirate BBS on MIT servers.
From the press release by the Attorney General's office:

In his decision, the Judge observed that "the government's objective is
a laudable one" and stated that "if the allegations in the indictment
are accurate, LaMacchia's actions were at best...heedlessly
irresponsible, and at worst...nihilistic, self-indulgent, and lacking in
any fundamental sense of values."  The Court noted that "reasonable
people might agree" that the conduct the government sought to punish in
this case "deserves the sanctions of the criminal law."  Nevertheless,
the Court dismissed the indictment, holding that there was no clearly
expressed Congressional intent to permit prosecution of copyright
infringement under the wire fraud statute.  There was no allegation that
LaMacchia infringed copyrighted software for commercial advantage or
private financial gain.

From Harvey A. Silverglate, Sharon Beckman and Andrew Good of the LaMacchia
defense team:

We are pleased that U. S. Attorney Donald Stern has come to
agree with our position that this is a matter for resolution by the
Congress, not by the Department of Justice nor the Courts.  We hope and
trust that when Congress takes up the question that the U. S. Attorney
is posing -- that is, whether copying of computer programs without a
profit motive should be a criminal violation of the Copyright statute --
the Congress be sensitive to the important civil liberties question
posed by the LaMacchia prosecution: Whether a Systems Operator ("SYSOP")
of a Computerized Bulletin Board System ("BBS"), such as David
LaMacchia, who does not himself upload, download, copy, nor distribute
software, but who merely operates the system, should be designated as a
criminal.  The need to protect SYSOPS from excessively harsh liability
for the actions of others who log onto their BBS, is at least as
important as the need to protect copyright holders from unfair losses of
revenue. Given the explosive growth of the Internet, more and more
ordinary computer users will be falling into the category of SYSOPS.
Congress should be very careful before it seeks to hold them criminally
liable for the actions of others who use the BBS but over whom the SYSOP
does not have control.

Source http://philip.greenspun.com/dldf/us-pr-jan-27.text

February 8, 1995
TWO BBSCON, a European version of the ONE BBSCON Conventions held in the USA, takes place from February 8th to the 11th in Duesseldorf Germany.
Trans World Online Presents...
 
                 TWO BBSCON
             8.-11. FEBRUARY 1995
             DUESSELDORF, GERMANY
 
          The event of the century
          for Telecomm Professionals,
              Sysops, and
              Cybervisionaries
              Worldwide.
 
Come hear John C. Dvorak, Jack Rickard, Ralph Guido-Novak, and
many other experts speak about the future of electronic mail,
the Internet, and for-profit online systems.
 
Come see exhibits hosted by Galacticomm, Hayes, eSoft,
Rockwell, Clark Development, Microsoft, and dozens of other
companies in the online industry, many of which will be
offering exclusive "show discounts" on products and services.
 
Come meet with leading executives from all over Europe, such
as Klaus Langner of ELSA Gmbh (Germany), Gerald Meier of
Online Store (Liechtenstein), and Joerg Steinhaeuser of Bausch
Datacom (Netherlands).
 
TWO BBSCON will be held 8.-11. February, 1995 at the Swissotel
Rheinpark Congress Centrum in Duesseldorf, Germany.  This site
hosts many international conferences each year, being near
Germany's western border and therefore easily accessible to
to Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, as well as all of
Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and the rest of Europe.
 
Modelled after the successful ONE BBSCON conference in the
United States each year, TWO BBSCON will bring together the
best and the brightest in the online community for three days
of seminars, exhibitions, and networking.  If you run a BBS,
or are thinking about running one, you'll find the wide range
of information, products, and personal contacts at TWO BBSCON
invaluable -- and if your product or service is of interest to
BBS Sysops, you'll want to host a booth or a prize drawing,
and advertise in the TWO BBSCON Conference Directory and
Program Guide.
 
The fees to attend are as follows: DM 475.- (US$ 295) per day,
or DM 950.- (US$ 595) for all three days.  The conference fees
include admission to the exhibition and participation in all
workshops.  "Early-Bird" registration will be rewarded with up
to 35% price reduction.  Special "one-day tickets" for
Thursday and Friday will be available at the door.  The fee
for these tickets to the exhibition is DM 79.- (US$ 49) and
includes participation in one workshop.  Tickets will also be
available for DM 29.- (US$ 19) on Saturday, which will be for
the exhibits only.  The reduced tickets are available to
generate interest and participation of the local audience as
well as student-sysops.
 
The majority of the time will be filled with seminars and
workshops covering subjects such as ISDN, modems, the
Internet, BBSing, graphic BBS-interfaces, and Data
Communication within the GSM Net.  There will be plenty of
opportunity for discussion following the workshops.  In
addition to the conference, there will be an ongoing product
display by all major hardware and software manufacturers.
Many of these manufacturers will use the opportunity to offer
special "Sysop" discounts at TWO BBSCON.
 
The TWO BBSCON is sponsored by dozens of exhibitors and
hundreds of Sysops from all over Europe.  The founding members
are Gerald Meier (Liechtenstein), Joerg Steinhaeuser
(Netherlands) and Tim Stryker (USA).  In the advising
committee are leaders in the telecommunication industry such
as Dr. Klaus Langner from ELSA GmbH (Germany), Ralph-Guido
Novak from Vogel Verlag (publisher of "Chip" and "Telecom"),
John C. Dvorak of PC Magazine (USA), Dick A.J.M.  Hommen of
Infoboard BBS (The Netherlands) and Jack Rickard who issues
"Boardwatch Magazine" as well as organizes ONE BBSCON (USA).
 
Many telecom distributors from Europe as well as the United
States such as ELSA, Online Store, BAUSCH datacom, Telelink,
Dr. Neuhaus, eSoft, Clark Development, Galacticomm, Search-
light Software and TeleGrafix have already reserved their
slots as exhibitors and/or speakers and more are being added
every day to this list.
 

March 10, 1995
Richard D. Kenadek of Millbury, MA, sysop of The Davy Jones Locker BBS from 1990-1992, is sentenced in U.S. District Court to Six months home detention and two years of probation for the breaking of copyright laws with his BBS. Originally raided in 1992, charges were not brought until August of 1994, and Kenadek had entered a guilty plea in December of 1994 to one of the two charges brought against him.
Published on March 10, 1995, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
MILLBURY MAN SENTENCED FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

New England News Service BOSTON - A Millbury man was sentenced in U.S. District
Court yesterday to six months home detention and two years probation for 
copyright infringement stemming from a computer bulletin board he operated.
Richard D. Kenadek, who boasted he operated "Worcester County's biggest and 
best" computer bulletin board, which was called "Davey Jones Bulletin Board," 
had pleaded guilty to the charges.He is employed as chief engineer with two 
Worcester County radio stations..

THE SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS Association (SPA) reports: The United States District 
Court for Massachusetts today sentenced computer bulletin board system 
operator Richard D. Kenadek to 24 months probation with 6 months home 
confinement. In addition, for the first 3 months Mr. Kenadek will be 
monitored by use of an electronic bracelet and is required to forfeit all 
computer equipment related to the operation of the Davy Jones Bulletin Board. 
The Software Publishers Association's (SPA) four month investigation of Mr. 
Kenadek's bulletin board precipitated an FBI investigation which concluded 
with the sentence announced today. Kenadek was the operator of the "Davy 
Jones Locker" computer bulletin board, located at Kenadek's residence in 
Milbury, Massachusetts. More info on the SPA is available via the WWW at: 
http://www.spa.org or on CompuServe at: GO: SPAFORUM. 

Source Boston Globe

April 12, 1995
A Large-scale bust of pirate boards in Canada occurs, resulting in 15 arrests. 75 Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Officers are involved, $200,000 in computer hardware is seized, and the investigation lasts nearly a year. The boards busted include Bad Sector, Beyond Corruption, Jurrasic Park, Lineup, Main Frame, Necronomicon, No BBS, The Notice, On The World, Perfect Crime, Red Alert, Restricted Area, Rubbish Heap, Skull Island, Twins, The Underworld, and Wolf Pack.

Source E-mail from Hugo Fortier

April 19, 1995
The Assassin's Guild BBS, said to be one of the largest Pirate BBSes in the world, is seized by U.S. Marshals and Investigators from Microsoft and Novell. The board is said to be the headquarters of Pirates With Attitude (PWA) and Razor 1911
MARSHALS CRACK DOWN ON SOFTWARE THEFT RING BASED ON-LINE

Apr. 28--Federal authorities have cracked a giant theft ring involving 
Microsoft and Novell computer software with a raid in Kentucky, the companies 
announced Thursday.U.S. Marshals working in Lexington, Ky. seized computers, 
modems, a satellite dish and various databases in last week's raid on 
Assassin's Guild, one of the nation's largest pirate computer bulletin 
boards.Software publishers worldwide lost $15.2 billion last year as a 
result of software piracy, according to the BSA....



Source http://www.monitor.ca/monitor/issues/vol2iss9/newsbytes.html#111

July, 1995
Jonny Bergdahl, Region Coordinator for Fidonet in Sweden, organizes SUPCON, a meeting of Fidonet Sysops held at Sannabadet in Jonkoping/Huskvarna. It's considered a great success, and SUPCONs are held in the last weekend of July from 1995 to 2001, with different organizers and locations.
Berättelsen om själva evenemanget är fortfarande hemligstämplad, men
här har ni lite bakgrund från Pia Adler:

Nåja.... om nu alla glömt bakgrunden till SupCon, så får ni den
serverad återigen:

På vårkanten 1995 kontaktades jag av Dan Stark som hade planer på att
försöka få EuroCon 96 till Sverige. Han tyckte att det kunde vaa
lämpligt att förlägga den till södra Sverige och jag fick i uppdrag att
"hitta någonstans att husera där man kunde köpa en försäkring mot all
skadegörelse som skulle uppstå". Ett slutet möte sattes upp för
diskussionerna där Göran Eriksson, Stefan Andersson, Danne och jag
försökte få fram något vettigt. Vid ett telefonsamtal med Stefan
diskuterade han och jag sannolikheten för att så många som möjligt från
regionen skulle dyka upp, men vi misstänkte att det kunde bli ganska få
pga att inkvarteringskostnaderna blir rätt dyra för ett sådant jippo.
Rätt vad det var började vi prata om att ha en egen "Con" i regionen...
bara för att träffas och umgås. Stefan är mannen bakom namnet SupCon.
Ett datum som skulle kunna fungera borde ligga inom lagom
semester/solskenstid och sedan återstod att leta rätt på lämplig
belägenhet för evenemanget. Vi kom överens om att vi skulle förlägga
det så att det hamnade ungefär mitt emellan 200/201/203 och då hamnade
vi i Jönköpingstrakten. Jb kontaktades och han lovade att leta rätt på
lämligt ställe åt oss. Själv jagade vi, utan reultat, föreningsgårdar
o.dyl. då vi insåg att vi inte kunde bo på en vanlig camping i två
nätter (vi hade säkerligen blivit utkastade redan efter första natten).
Ca två veckor innan utsatt datum, fick jb äntligen tummarna loss och
kom på idén med Sannabadet. Då hade många redan trott på att det inte
skulle bli ngt av med hela historien, men vi som var där hade iaf
väldigt roligt och alla sade sig vilja göra detta till ett årligt
evenemang. Personligen är jag glad att ha varit med och dragit igång
detta jippo, men mitt privatliv har gjort att jag inte kunnat medverka
mer än det första året.

Mvh, Pia 

--- * Origin: DMS, http://www.dmicrosystems.se (2:200/445) 

August 16, 1995
ONE BBSCON '95 is held from August 16th to the 20th in Tampa, Florida. This is the last "BBSCON" held; it is renamed to ISPCON in 1996 to reflect a sea change from BBSes to the Internet and Internet Service Providers.

September 11, 1995
"Operation Cybersnare", a US Secret Service sting operation, results in the arrest of six computer users and the seizure of at least 20 machines throughout several states. The operation consisted of a "sting" BBS operated by the Secret Service called "Celco 51".

pressrelease.txt (8.0K) Press Release from the US DOJ Regarding Operation Cybersnare
variouspress.txt ( 20K) Various Press Regarding Operation Cybersnare, Compiled by Sabronet
Source http://www.fas.org/irp/news/1995/nj62_txt.html

October 25, 1995
Nexus BBS Software is released to the public.

Source Dave Kelso

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