Operation Cybersnare was a
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
operation in 1995 targeted at
computer hackers.
In January 1995, the Secret Service set up an undercover
bulletin board system in
Bergen County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. This was the first undercover Internet sting of its kind. With the help of an undercover informant, they advertised the bulletin board across the Internet. The topics for discussion were
cellular telephone cloning and computer hacking.
In September, twelve raids across the country resulted in the arrest of six hackers. From the press release, those arrested were:
*Richard Lacap, of
Katy, Texas
Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city o ...
, who used the computer alias of "Chillin" and Kevin Watkins, of
Houston, Texas, who used the computer alias of "Led". Lacap and Watkins were charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to break into the computer system of an Oregon Cellular Telephone company.
*Jeremy Cushing, of
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, who used the computer alias of "Alpha Bits", was charged with trafficking in cloned cellular telephone equipment and stolen access devices used to program cellular telephones.
*Frank Natoli, of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York, used the computer alias of "Mmind". He was charged with trafficking in stolen access devices used to program cellular telephones.
*Al Bradford, of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, who used the computer alias of "Cellfone", was charged with trafficking in unauthorized access devices used to program cellular telephones.
*Michael Clarkson, of Brooklyn, New York, who used the computer alias of "Barcode", was charged with possessing and trafficking in hardware used to obtain unauthorized access to telecommunications services.
Sources
* PMF, ''A British Hacker in America''
* Jeffrey Gold
"Internet Sting Operation Nets Six Attempting to Sell Stolen Data" ''Associated Press'', 11 September 1995
* Geoff Boucher
"Computer Hacker Snared in Cyber-Sting : Technology: Huntington Beach man is one of six arrested in alleged plot to steal credit card and cellular phone codes." ''Los Angeles Times'', 12 September 1995
* Geoff Boucher
"On-Line Sting Just the Beginning, Says Cyber-Sleuth Squad" ''Los Angeles Times'', 13 September 1995
* Clifford J. Levy
''New York Times'', 12 September 1995
* Reily Gregson
"SECRET SERVICE ATTACKS CELLULAR FRAUD AT SOURCE, STOPS COMPUTER HACKERS" ''RCR Wireless'', 18 September 1995
* CTIA press release
"Wireless Industry Salutes U.S. Secret Service" 11 September 1995. (Archived)
{{Hacking in the 1990s
Cybercrime
Hacking (computer security)