Sunday, 15 December, 1996. 3 p.m.: Interview with Vandal
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A 2600 T-shirt of the type worn by Vandal during the interview. | |
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I met Vandal at the Manhattan Mall on the corner of 36th St. and Second Avenue.
It is about as public a place for a meeting as one could ask for, especially with
fewer than two weeks to go before Christmas. So crowded is this monstrous monument
to capitalism that it takes 10 minutes to get from the ground-level floor to the
eighth-floor food court. Four tightly packed elevators are overrun by young
mothers pushing strollers. The only possible way to make the climb is to use the
escalator. Vandal's instructions are to meet him at the sushi bar near the
newsstand. He has picked this meeting place for a reason — the crowd. If
something unexpected were to happen, he'd have a good chance at escaping. And
though he says nothing about it, it is likely that at least one friend, possibly
more, are looking on, protecting him in case this is some sort of set-up. Weeks
later, he will admit that my suspicions about this are correct. There are ground
rules for this interview:
- No tape recordings. "I don't want anyone to
be able to identify me from my voice."
- No using his name in the story.
Only his handle is acceptable.
- No asking him if he has done anything
illegal.
Vandal is dressed in layers, a khaki-colored coat on the outside with a hood
hanging down the back. The zipper is open revealing a black T-shirt printed with
the 2600 logo. His head is covered in a dark blue stocking cap, his medium brown
hair showing around the edges. He wears nondescript blue-jeans and a pair of
light brown suede leather shoes. What at first appear to be stunningly blue eyes
turn out to be fake. They show faint outlines around the pupils that suggest he
is wearing contact lenses that make his eyes appear blue. "I have to say I
still think you are a fed," he says, suggesting that I might be part of a federal
sting operation.
But to Vandal, there is also a chance that this reporter is
legitimate, and that this interview is an opportunity to help dispel the
stereotype of hackers as criminals.
Vandal is intelligent and articulate. He
speaks easily about telephone switching systems and his philosophy of free access
to information. If it weren't for his five foot-two inch body and his adolescent
voice, it would be easy to forget that he is only 12 years old.
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