The World - News from Oct. 23, 1988

British police have cracked a ring of international computer hackers who penetrated more than 200 military and commercial establishments, including the U.S. Nuclear Defense Agency and Britain’s Ministry of Defense, the Sunday Telegraph of London reported. The paper said police traced a 23-year-old British member of the ring after he approached one of the world’s largest computer firms and offered to explain how he had broken into their system for a fee of about $5,300. The man, Edward Austin, told police he had contacts with computer hacking clubs in the United States and West Germany that specialize in gaining access to military systems.