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archive:news:hack-nsa

Hackers retaliate by leaking manual

By Keay Davidson` EXAMINER SCIENCE WRITER`

Computer hackers waging what they say is a war against government electronic snooping have distributed over international computer networks a copy of the supersecret U.S. National Security Agency's employee manual. The NSA manual, which was sent to dozens of news organizations Tuesday, was distributed ""to embarrass the NSA and prove that even the U.S. government's most covert agency can't keep documents secret, said Grady Ward, a software designer from Arcata in Humboldt County. Ward said the document initially appeared on a Texas-based hackers network late last week, and he helped redistribute it over other electronic networks. ""The intent is to embarrass the NSA and demonstrate that even their own security manual can be distributed, Ward said. NSA officials said the document is an unclassified employee handbook. Anyone seeking a copy of it would need to file a Freedom of Information Act request, said NSA spokeswoman Judi Emmel. The identity of the person who initially obtained the document and how it was obtained was not clear. The manual warns employees to safeguard the document: ""While you may take this handbook home for further study, remember that is does contain "FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY' information which should be protected. … Appropriate administrative action will be taken to determine responsibility and to apply corrective and/or disciplinary measures in cases of unauthorized disclosure. .

 The document describes the basic goals and responsibilities of NSA

employees. Among the document's instructions: ""Should strangers or casual acquaintances question you about your place of employment, an appropriate reply would be that you work for the Department of Defense. If questioned further as to where you are employed within the Department of Defense, you may reply, "NSA.' When you inform someone that you work for NSA (or the Department of Defense) you may expect that the next question will be, "What do you do?' ""It is a good idea to anticipate this question and to formulate an appropriate answer. Do not act mysteriously about your employment, as that would only succeed in drawing more attention to yourself. .x

 ""If you are employed as a linguist, you may say that you are a

linguist, if necessary. However, you should not indicate the specific language(s) with which you are involved. Ward told The Examiner he obtained the document from an electronic computer ""magazine published in Texas. The magazine is accessible over the Internet, the global data network that any computer user can access with a computer, telephone and modem. Ward and others who have distributed the document on electronic networks did so to undermine a federal push for data-encryption regulations that would let the government tap into computer networks, Ward said. In recent months, the Clinton administration has pushed for future information systems to use a microchip called the ""Clipper Chip,'' which would allow the government, after receiving a court order, to tap any electronic transmission. They government said the chip would allow it to monitor criminal, espionage and terrorist activities. The plan is vehemently opposed by personal computer users and groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which fears the Clipper Chip could lead to government snooping on private citizens' legitimate activities and private lives.`

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