Posted on 01/31/2005 10:06:23 PM PST by Pro-Bush
Clear skies for Area 51 hacker
By Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus Jan 27 2005 3:22PM Federal prosecutors formally dropped charges this month against an amateur astronomer who exposed a buried surveillance network surrounding the Air Force's mysterious "Area 51" air base in Nevada.
Chuck Clark, 58, was charged in 2003 with a single count of malicious interference with a communications system used for the national defense, after prosecutors held him responsible for the disappearance of one of the wireless motion sensors buried beneath the desert land surrounding the facility.
In a deal with the government last January, Clark agreed to enter a one-year term of "pretrial diversion" -- a kind of probation -- and to either locate and return the lost device, or make financial restitution to the Air Force. "He paid for the missing sensor, and complied with the conditions of his pretrial diversion and the case was dismissed," says Natalie Collins, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas.
Clark was already known to Area 51 buffs as an expert on the spot the government calls the "operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada," when, in 2003, he discovered an electronic device packed in a rugged case and buried in the desert, given away only by a slender wisp of an antenna poking through the dirt.
Along with fellow base-watcher Joerg Arnu, Clark began mapping the sensors, using a handheld frequency counter to sniff out their tell-tale radio transmissions, Arnu said in an interview last year. Together they exhumed as many as 40 of the boxes, noted their unique three-digit codes, then reburied and tested them, said Arnu.
The sensors -- an estimated 75 to 100 of them in all -- were marked "U.S. Government Property." In some cases they were planted miles outside Groom Lake's fence line on public land used by hikers and photographers, as well as the occasional tourist hoping for a Close Encounter.
On March 12th, 2003 one of the sensors went missing, according to the government. FBI and Air Force agents descended on Clark's trailer home in tiny Rachel, Nevada -- 100 miles north of Las Vegas along the Extraterrestrial Highway -- and prosecutors later filed the felony charge against Clark. As part of the deal settling the case, Clark was barred from interfering with any of the sensors or otherwise breaking the law, and was obligated to keep the court apprised of his whereabouts during his year of supervision.
Shrouded in official secrecy, the Groom Lake facility has become a cultural touchstone for UFO mythology. But the base is generally believed to be dedicated to the more terrestrial mission of testing classified aircraft.
Clark's emancipation from government scrutiny comes well in time for Area 51's unofficial 50th anniversary campout, planned for Memorial Day weekend, and likely to draw tourists, UFOlogists, and exotic aircraft buffs from all over. They'll celebrate with "a campfire with live music" outside the base's main gate, according to the event website. "Be sure to respect the Area 51 boundaries," the site suggests. "If you see the warning signs you have gone too far."
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Chuck Clark needs to stop watching X-Files re-runs and get a life.
There's nothing in the article that would actually define him as a "hacker".
Notice how he did not return the device, he paid restitution for the missing transponder.
How's that? As the article said many of the sensors were located miles outside Groom Lake's fence line on public land used by hikers and photographers.
Others were a few tens of yards from the fence line.
Did you think that the security can fire on any one, at any time, any where?
I'd say his life is fine the way it is. Kudos to him for the discovery.
Coast to Coast Ping
Thanks Karl. This should be interesting. Also quakes in Taiwan reported, two 5.+ but so far USGS only reports one.
Ping!
I have run into similar things out around China Lake in the Mojave desert. When I come upon a sign that says US Government - Stay Out - Deadly Force is Authorized.... YOU WILL BE PROBED!!!
Let's just say that a 180 turn is in order.
I hear ya! Makes sense to me!
Ferral hogs introduced into area 51 would hamper old Chuckies hobby of dinking around with goobermint sensor beds. Both the oinker and the A-10 versions....
Seems the AFOSI and FiBi's missed the fact Chuck is attempting to "spy" vs get a spot on Art Bell's "Loons up Late" ! (which I really enjoy :o)
Yeah, he seems more like a punk than a "hacker" and I have no use for either one.
The uncovering, mapping, and reburial of the sensors all sounds like an amateur astronomer. A few guys in my club would have done something like that. An intense curiosity, and a desire to understand what's really going on behind government technical projects, is a prevalent characteristic of astronomers. Stealing the thing is something else, though.
You know, I don't know that the deadly force warnings on the edge of what's called "Area 51" are serious. At least, I doubt they are serious, even today, on the edge of the installation.
I read a biography of Timothy McVeigh, and the author was describing various things McVeigh did before deciding to commit mass murder. One thing McVeigh did was drive well past one of the entrances to the "Area 51", and the deadly force warning sign, and sit there and wait for a security guard to show up. It didn't seem as if McVeigh was trying to provoke a violent encounter; he just wanted to see what would happen, apparently.
A private security guard did show up (the perimeter of that area was patrolled by private security). McVeigh just stood there, leaning on his truck, and the security guard watched for a while from his vehicle, and then left. Again, this was well within the "deadly force" posted warning.
Now, this was in the mid-nineties, and things might be different now. And, even then, it's likely that one would encounter real military police as one approached closer to the developed area of the base. But I'd guess it's not that likely you'd be shot just inside that perimeter. It's a long way, nowadays, from the perimeter of marked land to the developed base-- for a time, one could go to a hilltop some miles away, and observe the base below, but in recent years the government has declared even that land off limits, and some more miles back. So, the perimeter is really a long way away from the base. I doubt you'd be shot out at the very edge.
A couple of years ago my hubby and I decided to take a drive out Area 51, since we were going to be in Vegas. I found directions online, how to find the white mailbox to get on the dirt road. It is 10-20 miles off the paved road on a dirt track that is unmarked, out in the middle of nowhere. The really wild part was when we noticed a white SUV off in the distance watching us, moving position to keep us in sight. We drove all the way up to this sign, and stopped. The white SUV had moved to just a couple of hundred yards ahead of us. It was a really freaky moment, and we got really scared. So, I opened my car door, picked up a couple of rocks alongside the car, and we turned around and drove off. The white SUV followed us for about 10 miles, to make sure we were leaving.
Then, when we got back to the paved road, we went on and had burgers at the 'Lil Ale'Inn. All in all, a really crazy day!
Hey Timm, I agree with your analysis for the most part, but I do think that the unidentified guards will exercise their ability to use deadly force quite liberally. Best regards!
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