Is Joshua the GO Transit hacker?
This incident in which someone took control of an LED display unit on a GO Transit train and used it to display the message "Stephen Harper Eats Babies" continues to intrigue me.
Now I think I have an idea of who might have done it. Or at least, I can report on another person's suspicions.
Who is Joshua? He's a student at Sheridan College in the Telecommunications Technology program.
Joshua has a virtual home at MSN's MySpace. He uses the name "represto". "Repressed in Toronto"?
My interest in Joshua began with this post to his blog:
Monday, May 01, 2006
Revolution!
The snowball is rolling...
http://gerrynicholls.blogspot.com/2006/04/railroading-harper.html
A link to the original story by Gerry Nicholls, followed by my two stories. But what was interesting was the tone. Revolution? And a reference to a rolling snowball?
Sure sounded like what the person who started this would say. But then maybe he's just happy someone else started the snowball rolling. But then he is a telecommunications technology student...
His post earned him two "kudos" -- something you would expect would be given to the person who pulled the prank, and not just someone documenting it.
My suspicions grew stronger when I discovered that Joshua is a member of the Toronto Area Security Klatch, a message board for computer security experts who examine hacking, among other things.
I returned to his blog on Tuesday. Joshua had written three more posts -- each a reprint of the main stream media coverage of the GO Train incident. The Globe and Mail. The Toronto Star. The Toronto Sun.
A hacker's scrapbook? Checking out how well his "snowball" is rolling?
Interesting but hardly an iron-clad case.
I returned on Wednesday. One of his MySpace friends, "dani elle", posted this comment:
You ingenious hacker; you electronic vandal, you...Look at the quality journalism produced, I'd kill for this quote "I worked with Stephen Harper for five years and never once did he in that time eat a baby"
But I'd change never to only and write a story backwards from it...in fact I think I may
So "dani elle", who, like Joshua, is from Niagara Falls and so might know Joshua, congratulates Joshua for being an "ingenious hacker" and an "electronic vandal". "Danzo" thinks the incident was "awesome".
So is Joshua are electonic vandal? I'll reserve judgment, but "dani elle" seems to think so. I've been in contact with Exclusive Advertising, and though they have not added any more to their statement released on their website, I know the firm has been in touch with GO Transit Security with the information I've discovered. We'll see where it goes from there.
This posting suggests Joshua is Joshua Arsenio.
Is the hacker, whoever it turns out to be, in serious trouble? From the GO Transit By-laws, Section 87:
No person shall, without authorization, handle or operate any part of the mechanical, electrical or electronic equipment of any vehicle or any part of the transit system operated by the Authority, except devices which are intended for passenger use, and then only in accordance with posted instructions.
Sentencing is covered under the Provincial Offences Act, and could earn the guilty party a fine of up to $5,000.
Of course, Exclusive Advertising could pursue of civil case to recover lost revenue from advertising that has not been running while the LED display system has been taken offline pending the software upgrade.
All in all, potentially a very expensive stunt.
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Comments
Does it say something about my age that I just find the whole "MySpace" thing so completely lame?
Posted by: MustControlFistofDeath at May 4, 2006 10:41 AM
Good work...as always. Let's see how long JOSHUA enjoys the kudo's before the RCMP come for a visit. Oh yeah....I bet you old JOSH...will be out of a job soon if it is true.
Posted by: James Halifax at May 4, 2006 10:46 AM
I love that "ingenious hacker" quote from The Star. Especially since the next two paragraphs point out that you can purchase a sign remote at Sam's Club and the signs have no password protection. I guess it doesn't take much to impress the folks down at One Yonge, no wonder they always think so highly of the Libs.
Posted by: Thrteen at May 4, 2006 10:59 AM
I'm not sure about the Go Bylaws - they seem very selective about enforcing them. I've only ever seen them check for tickets (and that is only down about once every 6 weeks on average). Yet I can hardly navigate the parking lot due to illegally parked cars.
Posted by: Mike F at May 4, 2006 01:10 PM
I think this whole thing has spent too much time on the spin cycle. So "Harper eats babies". Big deal. I eat adults!
There!! That should put an end to this nonsense. Gerry Nicholls should grow a sense of humour.
Posted by: Citizen of the Great White North at May 4, 2006 01:12 PM
I've been in contact with Exclusive Advertising, and though they have not added any more to their statement released on their website, I know the firm has been in touch with GO Transit Security with the information I've discovered.
i.e. They didn't return my email but I did read their press release. Wow, your investigative powers are stunning.
Posted by: thickslab at May 4, 2006 02:00 PM
i.e. They didn't return my email but I did read their press release. Wow, your investigative powers are stunning.
Uh, no. It means what it says. I've had several conversations with Exclusive Advertising. They told me they are working with GO Transit Security. The data I've gathered has been forwarded by EA to GO. It's actually pretty straightforward.
Posted by: Steve Janke at May 4, 2006 02:04 PM
I hope Exclusive Advertising sues the ass off that little prick of a commie.
Posted by: William at May 4, 2006 03:31 PM
This is a no win situation. If they toss the book at the little turd, he will be a martyr for all the left wing media who sympathize with this crap, and if we leave the kid alone, then really in the end, we may just encourage him to do worse. It truly sucks either way. In the end, I would be tempted to ignore him. Change the passwords on the signs and this will go away.
If the RCMP show up, bust this mutt and toss the book at him, You can imagine the miles of rhetoric of how the mean old Conservatives are persecuting this kid. Is it worth the bad press?? I have no idea, and I cannot think of a perfect solution.
I know this much for sure though, people in this country who oppose Stephen Harper feel no shame in cheapening the level of political debate into name calling and slander. In short, a libreal or left wing pundit who loses an argument to a conservative starts tossing around the insults. Yes we call them names too, but that usually is after we have made our points stick. This kid is just another example of how the left cannot debate anything in the arena of ideas.
Posted by: Mark In Bowmanville at May 4, 2006 05:25 PM
This is a no win situation.
Actually it's not. If you rubes would simply stop being so hypersensitive to the point where you come off as a pack of raging Nazis and drop this idiocy it would work out in your favour. This type of crap might play well to the other right whingers but to everyone else it only makes Janke look like a small, spiteful man.
Posted by: Robert McClelland at May 4, 2006 09:18 PM
And what does this make you Robert?
Posted by: Steve at May 4, 2006 10:29 PM
You really should familiarize yourself with the Ontario Libel and Slander Act, Steve, before this kind of innuendo blows up in your face.
Posted by: wonderdog at May 4, 2006 10:42 PM
Incredible that the leftistas, now in total disarray, are coming to the defense of the GO Transit punk. He's just an immature little turd, not a 'hacker' or 'technically-savvy' vandal, and the book should be thrown at the snivelling little piece of lib excrement.
The whole incident hilights the vengeful nature of the liberal psyche. After decades of running this country into the ground & acting as if it was their personal fiefdom, they know they're out in the cold... for decades to come. Must be SUCH a festering boil!
One can almost muster some sympathy... NOT!
Posted by: Hank at May 5, 2006 12:17 AM
I thought it was kind of funny.
I think PMSH probably did too.
I don't believe it. I have not heard one credible source say that they had SEEN SH ever eat a baby.
What is interesting is the level of the criticism. It's reaching rock bottom, even from the 10 dwarfs. Which one is grumpy again?
And now, for our amusement and entertainment, Hedy Fry is leaping into the ring. It's turning into one of those Wrestlemania Cage Matches. I wonder if Hedy gets to fly around the cage like a moonbat?
I understand we may have one or two yet to announce. I never see these guys in the House during Question period. Has Ken Dryden even bothered showing up for work yet? PMSH should make him take annual leave.
cheers!
Tom
Posted by: Tom at May 5, 2006 01:47 AM
If anyone wants to be scared, it is the idea that Hedy Fry thinks she could be PM!!!!
Ok, McClelland, you think we are hypersensitive? Let the hacker 3 years ago try this and say "Jean Chretien is in the mafia" on the message screen, and the RCMP will be ripping apart Paul Martin's office.... oh hell, maybe we are taking this little turd too seriously, but he should get a slap on the hand if nothing else. As long as the RCMP aren't arresting this kid, I suppose it wont look too bad....
Posted by: Mark in Bowmanville at May 5, 2006 05:17 AM
Hey Steve Janke,
Grow a sense of humour. BTW your girlfriend(Cindy Sheenan) is in town!!!
Don't you think Gerry Nicholls is an opportunistic creep? Just saw his blog. So his "outrage" was just to get people to visit his blog? Talk about a saprophyte. Or is it a parasite?
PS: How do you say "stinking, blood sucking, viper" in Sasquatch-ese?
Posted by: Citizen of the Great White North at May 5, 2006 11:05 AM
And before any of you jokers lookup "saprophyte" and fire off a misnomer charge, I know what a saprophyte is. And it fits Gerry Nicholls well considering that he was a "plant" all along.
Posted by: Citizen of the Great White North at May 5, 2006 11:09 AM
Guess the junior hacker missed the mark by a mile.
The *eats babies * approach betrays a schoolyard taunt level of vandalism.
He had the opportunity to word something far more clever and cutting, yet only produced a low level annoyance.
This tends to reflect badly on liberals, who already struggle with grand larceny image.
I don*t want to see the liberals totally wiped out. They are required to dilute the NDP vote. TG
Posted by: TonyGuitar at May 5, 2006 08:11 PM
Hey CoftheGWN:
"How do you say "stinking, blood sucking, viper" in Sasquatch-ese?"
I think the answer is any Liberal who was in government the last dozen or so years.
You Libs are so... down & out!
Posted by: Alienated at May 5, 2006 09:52 PM
You are a very stupid individual, regardless of political colour.
Defenses against a libel suit in Canada include :
1) Truth (you better hire a Private investigator, because this innuendo you've written does not qualify 'truth' in my book)
2) Fair comment : yep, I would say so, but that relies on you being able to categorically prove it's true. See 1)
3) Absolute or Qualified privellige : Sorry, you don't pass this one either.
You still feel "powerful"?
Posted by: aghast at May 5, 2006 10:03 PM
Relax, Aghast. If you comment about a number of elements in a possibility it is an opinion not an iron clad statement or assertion.
It*s a maybe, or maybe not at all, situation.
No judge can hold jelly to the wall with a nail nor would one even try. TG
Posted by: TonyGuitar at May 5, 2006 11:21 PM
In the end do we really care ?
I travel the GO Train every day and thought it was funny. Much better than the normal "actual" advertising drivel about male erectile problems ... yes that's what plays every day. Problems getting it up ? You'll be reminded about it as you contemplate your miserable dull existence on the GO train.
I'm surprised that no one has hacked them before.(if you call hacking something that isn't password protected)
All the power to Joshua or whoever the hell he is. At least I wasn't reminded for a while.
Posted by: GlutinousMess at May 6, 2006 07:46 AM
GlutinousM, One could suspect, looking at your handle, that you may be overweight.
Don*t be so down on yourself. You make excellent points. Your brain is working fine.
As long as that part works well, you can figure out how to improve performance in other parts. TG
Posted by: TonyGuitar at May 6, 2006 01:17 PM
Can anyone offer conclusive evidence that Stephen Harper has, in fact, never eaten a single solitary baby? Are all babies born during Mr. Harper's lifetime accounted for? With all their limbs? No? Well then leave poor Joshua alone.
Posted by: Occam's Carbuncle at May 6, 2006 03:26 PM
TonyGuitar : not if you NAME someone, and insinuate something about them in a public place - leading someone to speculate you are suggesting they might have commited a crime. In defamation you don't actually need to outright accuse someone of committing a crime, the mere insinuation is enough to get yourself sued. Your mistake was not your speculation, your mistake was naming someone with half-baked evidence.
"Jelly to a wall" is a nice metaphor, but unfortunately it's wrong. A judge most certainly will try to nail a smear to the wall. The onus is on the person who committed the libel to prove their case. Get a clue and read the law.
If I were you I would be seeking legal advice and considering my options.
Posted by: aghast at May 6, 2006 10:49 PM
TG : Re above comment : "If I were you I would be seeking legal advice and considering my options.", I was referring to the author of this blog.
Posted by: aghast at May 6, 2006 10:52 PM
teh oh noes! teh haxxors may get me!
Posted by: pee at May 7, 2006 03:25 AM
Hey guys...
Just to set the record straight...I was on the GO train, saw the signs, and thought it was hilarious. I DID NOT "hack" the signs or change them in any way.
Danielle wrote her comment as a joke. Dan's "Awesome" comment...was just that. A comment about the whole thing being awesome.
So since you guys have all the answers, what does Stephen Harper really eat??
Joshua Arsenio
Posted by: Joshua Arsenio at May 7, 2006 01:42 PM
HAHAHHA you guys are hilarious. This whole thing would have been long gone if you left it alone. So far I have heard nothing about any new "hackings" although I hope there are more. So why is it still talked about? Also it looks like this isn't the only time that Nicholls character rode Harpers tip publicly. Stop wasting everyones time creeping around and over analyzing peoples Myspace accounts.
http://www.friends.ca/News/Friends_News/archives/articles01140401.asp
Posted by: Dan Lang at May 7, 2006 04:59 PM
Although I do not support hacking, I think the prank was funny. I'd like to have one of those scrolling LED sign boards on my room and have the same message scrolling.
By the way, MySpace is not owned by MSN.
Posted by: JP Loh at May 10, 2006 07:34 AM
 
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