Letter From Prison

Justin Petersen Medical Center for Federal Prisoners P.O. Box 4000 Reg.#98535-012 Springfield, MO 65808-4000 2600 Magazine P.O. Box 99 Middle Island, N.Y. 11953-0099 Date: December 6, 1996 Dear 2600: I thought your readers might like to take a look at the Appeals Court decision of my case. This is an issue that may affect a fair number of hackers should they find themselves facing a Federal Indictment. It will not apply to all hackers charged, but for those it does it means an increase of typically 6 to 18 months in the length of their sentence. My attorney and I have not decided if the issue should be presented to the Supreme Court. I am due for release shortly so the point would be somewhat moot. There is also a strong possibility they would not hear the case anyway. In brief the decisions states that computer hackers may qualify for a "Special Skill" sentence enhancement if his skills are significant, and he has used those skills at some point towards a legitimate ends. In other words, because I worked as a computer security consultant for Pacific Bell and a Private Investigation/Corporate Security Firm, I received a longer sen- tence. If I had never tried to make a legal living with my hacking knowledge my 41 month sentence would have been 8 months shorter. Ironic huh? On another note,I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the hacker community. Many of you may be aware by now that I went undercover for the FBI. Despite the fact that the prime objective of the two year operation was primarilly to keep an eye on hacker trends and technologies, I can say it was a poor decision on my part. The government is nothing nice. Nevertheless, what's done is done and it certainly won't happen again. The best way I can think of to make up for it is to tell my story so you can all can learn from my mistakes. Over the next several months you will be hearing more about my case as well as Mitnick's. Ultimately it will lead up to a movie and yet another book. Unfortunately, I will have very little control of this and do not stand to profit from it. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy the saga and that it meets with your approval. It's my understanding it will once again portray hackers in a positive light. On a final note; if Emmanuel promises to publish it I will write one more hack/phreak phile worhty of 2600. This will be my final contribution to the hacker community and will make my retirement official. Sincerely, J. Petersen aka Agent Steal

It's the policy of 2600 not to "promise" to publish anything until it's been submitted.  Articles are printed without regard to the author's notoriety, popularity, or negative values of either.