Dutch Hackers Reach Out and Put Touch on Spain’s Government

MADRID — Dutch computer hackers have found a way of making international telephone calls at Spain’s expense by cracking a code used by the state telephone company, Telefonica, a company spokesman said Thursday.

The Dutch paper Volkskrant described how Dutch computer owners were using a so-called “blue box” to generate tones used by the Spanish network to link in and call around the world--with the bill going to Telefonica.

Telefonica told reporters Thursday that it is investigating how the code had been cracked and said they could not stop intruders making free calls until it had been changed.

Volksrant said that the Dutch system was too well protected to crack but that computer addicts had gained access to the Spanish exchange last year and all they had to pay was the $1 per minute for a call to Spain.