B2 Reading Student’s Copy

COMPUTER HACKERS

“A sixteen-year-old school boy using a cheap computer sparked international hunt for a spy
ring,” said prosecution lawyer Simon Dawson in court yesterday. Richard Pryce, a music student,
known to his fellow hackers as “DataStream Kid”, had hacked into military computers in the USA
from his north London bedroom on the least 200 occasions before he was arrested.

“He was a very able hacker and he had a fascination for military sites. It caused enormous
worries for the American authorities,” Mr. Dawson said. Pryce pleaded guilty to 12 charges of gaining
illegal access to computers and was fined £ 1,200; however, there was no suggestion that he had
destroyed the files. “A substantial number of military files that Pryce had transferred from the
military would have covered 2,000 to 3,000 pages, and some of them would have contained state
secrets,” he said.

Mr. Dawson told the court that several years ago the US Office of Special Investigation had
discovered a large number of illegal entries, particularly in air force computers. They had identified
several individuals by the names they used to make these entries on their computers and were now
looking for the DataStream Kid – whose real identity was, of course, Pryce.

Pryce, who was taking exams in computer studies and music, had been given a £ 750
computer to help him. Although he had a particular talent for playing the bass, he became interested
in hacking and spent more and more time on his computer. To help him do this without being
detected, he had a piece of equipment which fools the telephone exchange into giving a free phone
number. The free use of the telephone left Pryce secure in the knowledge that his parents would
never receive the bill for all the telephone calls he made.

After weeks of investigations, Pryce was eventually arrested by Scotland Yard at his home
following a tip-off from officials in the US. Mr. Dawson said he was co-operative when he was
arrested and he admitted everything he had done. In order to repair their security systems, the US
Air Force would have to spend at least £ 2,000,000. 

Police were convinced that they had found a master spy who might have been passing official
secrets to an international spy ring. However, they needn’t have worried. After pouring out from
more than half a dozen cars, in the attic room they were astonished to find a 16-year-old boy sitting
in front of his computer. Geoffrey Robertson, defense lawyer, said Pryce was a sheltered boy who
spent a lot of time on his own. “He meant no harm, made no money, and the last thing he was
thinking about was trying to become a spy”, said Robertson.

Robertson went on saying that Pryce could have accepted offers amounting to £ 30,000 from
a tabloid newspaper for his story, but he had turned them all down because he wanted to pursue a
career as a musician. Robertson argued that this was quite an extraordinary case that could only
happen against a background of advancing technology and it should be a warning to others.
B2 Reading Student’s Copy

1. Which of the following is not one of the illegal actions that Richard Pryce has taken?
a. learning state secrets
b. being a spy for the air force ttt
c. having access to military computers
d. fooling the telephone exchange

2. According to paragraph 2, all the information below is correct except _____.

a. Pryce was accused of transferring secret military information
b. Pryce was charged with a dozen attempted technology crimes
c. military authorities were convinced that Pryce had damaged the filesllllll
d. American authorities were extremely bothered about the crime Pryce committed

3. Richard Pryce was able to hack the computer at ease because _____.
a. he had a phone number free of chargellllllllllll
b. he hid the phone bills
c. he was a reliable hacker
d. he used the nickname “DataStream Kid”

4. The reason why the Scotland Yard police were shocked was that _____.
a. they managed to arrest Pryce without much effort
b. Pryce was unable to earn money out of transferring files
c. the master spy they were looking for was a teenage school boy lllllllll
d. Pryce didn’t accept the offers from a tabloid newspaper

5. What can be inferred from paragraph 7 about technology crime?

a. Although the case is a rare one, it can be a deterrent to authorities.lllll
b. It’s always easy for a teenager to hack governmental files.
c. Newspapers can make use of spy stories to warn the public.
d. Defense lawyers should warn the court about major technology crimes.

6. What does “sheltered” in paragraph 6 mean?

a) anti-socialiiiiiiii b) intelligent c) scared d)
extrovert

7. What does “pursue” in paragraph 7 mean?

a) bring up b) limit c) allow d) carry oniiiiiii
B2 Reading Student’s Copy
B2 Reading Student’s Copy

8. What does “their” in paragraph 5 refer to?

a) officials b) the US Air Forceiiiiiiii
c) police d) Scotland Yard officers

9. What does “this” in paragraph 7 refer to?

a) a career as a musician b) hacking into military computersiiiiiiiii
c) the £ 30,000 offer d) a background of advancing technology