Mathew Bevan

Mathew Bevan (born 10 June 1974) is a British hacker from Cardiff, Wales. In 1996 he was
arrested for hacking into secure U.S. Government networks under the handle Kuji. At the age of
21, he hacked into the files of the Griffiss Air Force Base Research Laboratory in New York.[1]

Mathew Bevan

Mathew Bevan

Born 10 June 1974

Cardiff, Wales

Nationality British

Other names Kuji

Occupation Hacker

Known for Hacking

Intent on proving a UFO Conspiracy Theory;[2] his sole tool was a Commodore Amiga loaded with
a blueboxing program called Roxbox. He was one of two hackers said to have nearly started a
third world war. according to Supervisory Special Agent Jim Christy,[1] at the time working for the
Air Force Office of Special Investigations

Background

Bullied by his peers,[3] Bevan had a difficult time with school and turned to the online world at
night for an escape. Having been told ways to negate the phone system, he could call anywhere
in the world without charges appearing on his bill. Bevan began to lead a double-life, a normal
school life during the day followed by his now well-publicized nocturnal activities.

On 21 June 1996 he was arrested in connection with hacking incidents relating to several
sensitive USAF, NASA, and NATO establishments. The United States Senate had already
misinterpreted the situation and branded Bevan's pseudonym Kuji as a "Foreign Agent, possibly
of Eastern European origin".[1]

A U.S. Air Force investigator summed up the risks and concerns brought about by their hacking,
how Bevan's alleged partner Richard Pryce (Datastream Cowboy), then 16 years old, hacked his
way into a research facility in Korea, and dumped the contents of the Korean Atomic Research
Institute's database on the USAF system.[4] The concern was that if North Korea noticed, they
would think the transfer of data was an intrusion by the U.S. Air Force, and threaten physical
retaliation for the espionage; fortunately it turned out to be South Korean data, significantly less
volatile.

At Woolwich Crown Court, Friday 21 November 1997 some 18 months later, the CPS decided
that it was no longer in the public interest to pursue the case. They offered 'no evidence' which
resulted in a full acquittal being recorded. He used to live in Devizes, Wiltshire.

Bevan has commented on the Gary McKinnon case as being very similar to his own.[5][6]

References

1. "The Case Study: Rome Laboratory, Griffiss Air Force Base, NY Intusion" (http://www.fas.org/irp/congres
s/1996_hr/s960605b.htm) . Security in Cyberspace: U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations. Federation of American Scientists. June 5, 1996. Retrieved 2014-01-26.

2. "Phrack Magazine 4, Issue 42, File 13 of 14" (http://www.phrack.org/issues.html?issue=42&id=13) . 4

(42). Phrack Magazine. 1992.
 3. Margaret Ryan (8 June 2005). "The 'spider's web' of hacking" (https://web.archive.org/web/20190319185
926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/4072938.stm) . BBC News. Archived from the original (http://news.b
bc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/4072938.stm) on 19 March 2019.

4. "2d Briton Is Charged In Computer Spying" (https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E2D61

539F937A15755C0A960958260) . The New York Times. Great Britain; United States. Reuters. 1996-06-
24. Retrieved 2014-01-26.

5. Inquirer newsdesk (10 May 2006). "Hacker Mathew Bevan vents his spleen on the INQ" (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20090821213059/https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1023776/hacker-mathew-beva
n-vents-his-spleen-on-the-inq) . The Inquirer. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009.

. Ward, Mark (2006-05-11). "History repeats for former hacker" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/47

61985.stm) . BBC News. Retrieved 2014-01-26.

External links

Kuji Media Corporation (archive of news stories relating to case) (http://www.kujimedia.com)

NOAA list of several hackers of U.S. Government systems (https://web.archive.org/web/2006

0505081436/http://www.wasc.noaa.gov/wrso/security_guide/hacking.htm)

Article about Mathew Bevan by Dr. George Smith, Ph.D. in his Crypt Newsletter (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20060709210420/http://www.soci.niu.edu/~crypt/other/afosi.htm)

Lengthy interview citing history of the case along with tv spots (http://www.kujimedia.com/?p
age_id=14)

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Last edited 4 months ago by Zetana