1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey Thearon, 2 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm 3 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and how the tech 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: are you. Since we're winding down my tenure as host 5 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: of this venerable podcast, I thought that it would be 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: fun to kind of look at some quirky stories I 7 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: haven't covered in the past, and this is one that 8 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: some people refer to as the first cyber attack. Cyber 9 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: attacks obviously big in the news these days. There are 10 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: tons of stories surrounding them, everything from using cyber attacks 11 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: to spread disinformation, to espionage to sabotage. So there's a 12 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: lot we could talk about. But what if we were 13 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: to talk about a nineteenth century cyber attack, a cyber 14 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: attack that happens well before there was ever an internet, 15 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: in fact, before there was wired telegraphs running through the 16 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: region we'll be talking about. So allow me to tell 17 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: you a story. And details of this story may or 18 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: may not be entirely true, but we're going to go 19 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: with it anyway. There are certainly some resources that point 20 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: to this story being true. There are tons of blog 21 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: posts and videos and stuff that talk about this, but 22 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: I think most of them are pulling their information from 23 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,639 Speaker 1: one or two more recent sources. However, there's an article 24 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: in an eighteen thirty seven edition of a French newspaper 25 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: that I used for this particular episode. Now I should 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: add I had to rely on auto translation for that article. 27 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: My French at this point is non existent. But it's 28 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: the story of how a pair of brothers were able 29 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: to tap into a communications network and then insert information 30 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: into that network in an effort to capitalize on stock 31 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: market and bond information before anyone else could, or at 32 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: least anyone else in their neck of the woods in France. 33 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: So I want to point out a few sources that 34 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: I use while playing this together, because that's going to 35 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: be very helpful, especially if you want to read up 36 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: on this too. So I think my starting point was 37 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: Tom Standige's piece called The Crooked Timber of Humanity in 38 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 1: eighteen forty three magazine. That piece was published, as far 39 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: as I can tell, in twenty seventeen, but Standige had 40 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: written a book in nineteen ninety eight titled The Victorian 41 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: Internet that certainly ties in with this. He talks about 42 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 1: the network system we're going to chat about in this episode. Now, 43 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: I have not had the chance to read Standige's book. 44 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: I want to get a copy because it sounds fascinating, 45 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: but I'm not sure if this particular incident makes an 46 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: appearance in the book because I haven't read it yet. However, 47 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: Standage certainly writes about one of the key elements involved 48 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: in our story within the Victorian Internet, and from the 49 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: reviews i've it sounds like it's a really easy read 50 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: and very informative and entertaining. So it's on my list now. 51 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: Another piece I relied upon was a nineteen ninety nine 52 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: article titled taking Stock by Gerard J. Holsman. Holsman has 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: also written about this communications network we're going to be 54 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: talking about in this episode. He's got a white paper 55 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: that I found that's all about this particular network, and 56 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: then in this article he goes into the incident we'll 57 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: be chatting about. I found that article in INC magazine. 58 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: By the way, that's INC as an incorporated, not as 59 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: in tattoos. And finally, thanks to a blog commenter with 60 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: the handle tATu Tata, and I know I've messed that 61 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: up on Schneier dot com, I can cite that eighteen 62 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: thirty seven newspaper article. I mentioned it's in the and 63 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: I apologize. My French pronunciation is worse than my understanding 64 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: of French. It's been thirty years since I've studied French. 65 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: But the newspaper is titled Journal des de bat Politique 66 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: e leterreer. So again, I know my pronunciation's horrible. Just 67 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: save it. I'm already aware. So we're going to assume 68 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: this story is true, or at least mostly true. It 69 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: definitely has some verifiable elements in it. One big, important 70 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: verifiable element is that an eighteenth century inventor named Claude 71 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: Shop came up with a clever way to transmit messages 72 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: quickly over vast distances. He used signaling towers, which you know, 73 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: actually has been a way to send messages for hundreds 74 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,480 Speaker 1: of years, even before the eighteenth century. But his initial 75 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: approach used two clocks and some large flipboards that had 76 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: white on one side and black on the other. And 77 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,840 Speaker 1: the method of communication, honestly, is somewhat opaque to me. 78 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: I read a very simplified explanation, but it was so 79 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,919 Speaker 1: simplified as to not have any sticking power on my 80 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: brain cells. However, it doesn't really matter because by the 81 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: time our story takes place, he had already evolved his 82 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: approach to using poles that were mounted on beams, and 83 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: those beams, in turn were mounted on masts that stood 84 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: up on the top of signaling towers. So each mast 85 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: had a beam attached at the top. The beam was 86 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: attached in the center on like a pivot point, so 87 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: the beam could rotate and it could hold four different positions. 88 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: It could be horizontal relative to the mast, so this 89 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: would be like a person standing up straight and holding 90 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: their arms out straight off to either side. Or it 91 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 1: could be vertical, so this would be if you were 92 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: to hold your arms at the twelve o'clock and six 93 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: o'clock positions, assuming you are familiar with anaalog clocks. And 94 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: then it could also be diagonal, with either the left 95 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: side higher than the right or vice versa. Now at 96 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 1: either end of the beam that's mounted to this mast 97 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: were poles, a pole on each end, and they were 98 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: mounted at the ends on a pivot point. So it's 99 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 1: like if you were holding a stick, like imagine that 100 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 1: you're holding a stick at the end. That's kind of 101 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,239 Speaker 1: like what this looked like. So the poles could also 102 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: be rotated into different position, and they could hold multiple 103 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: positions from their respective end of the beam. The whole 104 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: thing was meant to be like a human being holding 105 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: semaphore flags. If you've ever seen those those signaling flags 106 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: where you hold your arms out and you hold the 107 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: flags up in specific positions, and that gives a particular 108 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 1: meaning according to a shared code. So, using a control 109 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: system that consisted of chains and pulleys, an operator could 110 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: manipulate the device to hold one of many different positions, 111 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: and then by ascribing these positions some sort of meaning. 112 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: Through creating a code, Shapp was able to create a 113 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: messaging system. So the towers were constructed so that through 114 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: the use of a telescope, the operator could see incoming 115 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: messages from the previous tower. They could then transcribe the 116 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: symbols that were used in that message. Then they could 117 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 1: send that same message further down the chain to the 118 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: next tower on and so forth. Now, Shap's plan was 119 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: to give only the origin and the destiny nation cities 120 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:06,479 Speaker 1: the endpoints of the communication lines the actual ability to 121 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: encode and decode those messages. The operators in the middle 122 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: of the line would have no idea what they were transmitting, 123 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: they would just be copying what came before and then 124 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: sending that same sequence of symbols along. This was to 125 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: maintain message security because this communication systems was primarily used 126 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: by the French government and nobody else Like the French 127 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: government had exclusive use of this communication system and there 128 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: would be special commands that the origin operator could use 129 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: to indicate that he had made a mistake in the transcription. 130 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: So let's say that you are operator number one or 131 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: a number uden, you know, if you're in Paris, France, 132 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: and you're transcribing a government message to be sent to well, 133 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: let's say it's Bordeaux, because that's the city that will 134 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: factor into our story. However, you realize that, gosh darn it, 135 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: you've only gone and done put the wrong symbol in 136 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: your last transmission, like you were transmitting, and you accidentally 137 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: sent a message or a word that means something like 138 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: cat instead of I don't know military. So then you 139 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: have to use another signal, and that signal is essentially backspace, 140 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: meaning that last symbol I sent you was in error. Well, 141 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: the next operator in the chain is going to transmit 142 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: everything you sent, including the mistake and the backspace because 143 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: operator too or do if you will, is unaware of 144 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: what those symbols actually mean. They're just sending along what 145 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: it is that they personally have received the message errors, 146 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 1: and all continue down the line until they finally get 147 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: to their destination. There at Bordeaux. The receiving operator at 148 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: the end of the line writes on the code, notes 149 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,959 Speaker 1: the indicators that say there's an error here, erases those errors, 150 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: and decodes the message and records it down. So any 151 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: errors that were sent along the line, assuming they hadn't 152 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: been introduced by an intermediary tower, will get taken out. Now, 153 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: it was this get taken out bit that in eighteen 154 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: thirty four factors into our store all right. Now, Sadly, 155 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: Claude Schapp would not live to see this happen. He 156 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,960 Speaker 1: had taken his own life back in eighteen oh five 157 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: under circumstances that were never entirely clear, at least not 158 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: to history, and this provided opportunity to a pair of 159 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: brothers who are the heroes or perhaps anti heroes of 160 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:23,199 Speaker 1: our story. We'll talk about those brothers in just a moment, 161 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break to thank our sponsors. 162 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: So before the break, I mentioned we have a pair 163 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:43,079 Speaker 1: of brothers, not just brothers. They're twins, Francois and Joseph Blanc. 164 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: At least according to various sources, those were their names. 165 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: If you go to that eighteen thirty seven newspaper article, 166 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,320 Speaker 1: you get a bit more specific. I mean, at first 167 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: article just as the brothers Blanc over and over and 168 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: over again without telling you their first names. But eventually 169 00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: you get Louis, Joseph and Francois Blanc. That Louis is 170 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: very important because Louis and Francois Blanc twin brothers, would 171 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: indicate that the Francois Blanc in this story would go 172 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: on to great fame and fortune. More on that in 173 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: a bit. So, according to this newspaper article, the fact 174 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: that they were twins actually made it more complicated because 175 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: they're identical. They were identical twins, not fraternal twins. And 176 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: I feel like we have the working for a real 177 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: farcical situation going on here where there's like mistaken identities 178 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: and conspiracies. Seriously, how has Wes Anderson not made a 179 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: movie about this already? Anyway, the brothers Blanc were bankers 180 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: in the city of Bordeaux, which sounds like a tongue twister. 181 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: They were in the business of trading government bonds or 182 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: speculating if you are being a little less generous, let's say. However, 183 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: one problem they ran into was that they were always 184 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,440 Speaker 1: behind the times when it came to what was going 185 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: on with the market in Paris. Because this is eighteen 186 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: thirty four, news about the market would take days to 187 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,080 Speaker 1: arrive in Bordeaux would be carried aboard a male coach, 188 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 1: and obviously male coaches had to traverse hundreds of miles 189 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: to get to their destination, Like the distance between Paris 190 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: and Bordeaux is more than three hundred miles, So by 191 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: the time the Brothers would learn of what was going 192 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: on in Paris, it would be too late for them 193 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: to capitalize on that information in Bordeaux. But if they 194 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: could only find out what was going on faster, if 195 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: they got news before their competitors did, they could actually 196 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: make money on speculation. Now, the telegraph system, as I 197 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, was restricted to official government communications, so the 198 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: brothers had no legal access to that system. And if 199 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: they had, so would everybody else, and the playing ground 200 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: would be even across the board. But the brothers came 201 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: up with a clever scheme. There was a weakness in 202 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: the line. So, like I said, an operator at the 203 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: beginning of the communications line could indicate that they had 204 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:51,479 Speaker 1: mistakenly transmitted the wrong symbol by including a backspace message. 205 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: But if mistakes happened in between the origin and the destination, 206 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: they would go unchecked until they arrived at the endpoint. Now, 207 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: the longer the chain of communication was, the more likely 208 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: errors would confound the message, because towers along the way 209 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: would just make a mistake right, not just at the 210 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: beginning and endpoints, but all along the way. And since 211 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,719 Speaker 1: the distance between Paris and Bordeaux was, you know, three 212 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: hundred miles, actually more than three hundred miles, there were 213 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: risks that a message arriving at Bordeaux would just end 214 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: up being gibberish by the time it got there from 215 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: all the errors. So the French government deemed it necessary 216 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: to have a sort of midway point established in Tour, 217 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,680 Speaker 1: which is roughly halfway between Paris and Bordeaux. So at Tour, 218 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: another operator would be allowed to actually decode the incoming 219 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: message before encoding it again and then sending it along 220 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: to Bordeaux. The Tour operator would be able to correct 221 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: any errors before they became too egregious. And it was 222 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:49,120 Speaker 1: this operator that the brothers Blanc targeted. Paris would have 223 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 1: been too risky, but tour was a possibility, so they 224 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,439 Speaker 1: plied this operator with bribery. I like to think they 225 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,439 Speaker 1: included wine and cheese in the process, but actually, according 226 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: to the eighteen thirty seven French news paper report, it 227 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,320 Speaker 1: was through money. The telegraph operations paid out very little, 228 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 1: and the brothers were happy to supplement the operator's meager 229 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: income with bribes. That, in fact, was one of the 230 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: elements that investigators would point to that the co conspirators 231 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: in the Blanc crime were able to accumulate wealth far 232 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: beyond their legal and meager means. Yay capitalism. Also, sadly, 233 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: it would be those two co conspirators that would end 234 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: up getting most of the blame. We'll talk about why. 235 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,839 Speaker 1: But anyway, what did the brothers actually want the tour 236 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 1: operator of this communications line to do. Well. They wanted 237 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:39,560 Speaker 1: him to insert errors on purpose into the chain of communications, 238 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: and those errors would be in response to news about 239 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: the French markets. And there are some variations in the story. 240 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: At this point in Standage's twenty seventeen Economist article, that's 241 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: the crooked timber of humanity. He doesn't actually indicate how 242 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 1: the tour operator would get information about the Parisian stock market, 243 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: just that he would pass that information down the communications 244 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 1: line to dough in the form of purposefully inserted errors 245 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: in the communication chain. But the newspaper article from eighteen 246 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: thirty seven says that someone in Paris would actually indicate 247 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: where the Parisian markets were going by sending either a 248 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: pair of gloves or a pair of stockings, or sometimes 249 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: a necktie by coach to the tour operator. So the 250 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: package arrives at the tour operator, he opens it up, 251 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: he sees, Oh, there's a pair of gloves, that means 252 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: the market is doing this, or oh it's a pair 253 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: of stockings, that means the market is doing that. Meanwhile, 254 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: his glove and stocking collection is growing every week. Later 255 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: versions of the story were, as conveyed in various blogs 256 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: and such, would say that the color of the fabric 257 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: inside the package was also an indicator as to how 258 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: the markets were doing. But I couldn't really glean that 259 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: from the eighteen thirty seven newspaper article. I'm not saying 260 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 1: it's wrong. I'm just saying my ability to read somewhat 261 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: questionably translated French is a little iffy, all right. So 262 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: the tour operator gets the indication of where the Parisian 263 00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: stock market is going, and then he inserts an error 264 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 1: in to the official messages, indicating essentially either up or down, 265 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 1: then includes the backspace symbol to indicate that the up 266 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 1: or down message was transmitted an error. So the message 267 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: with the inserted error would continue on down the line 268 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: all the way to Bordeaux, where the brothers had hired 269 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: a former tower operator to watch for incoming messages and 270 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: look for the tailtale signs of up or down followed 271 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: by the backspace. So this person wasn't actually working a 272 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: signal tower. They were just using a telescope to look 273 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: at a penultimate tower, the one that arrives before the endpoint, 274 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: to see what the message says. So this co conspirator 275 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: would then tell the brothers what the messages indicated, and 276 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: the brothers would quickly capitalize on the situation before the 277 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: rest of Bordeaux knew where the markets were headed. Meanwhile, 278 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: at the end of the line in Bordeaux, the innocent 279 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: operator there the one who's receiving the message would just 280 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: decode the incoming messages and delete all the errors as 281 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: indicated like do the backspaces, and that erased the evidence 282 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: of the brothers crime. And for two years, the story goes, 283 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: the brothers were able to get the scoop on what 284 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: was going on and were able to profit from it 285 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: by acting faster than their competitors. But it all came 286 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: crashing down. Why well, Sandidge says that the compromised operator 287 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: in Tour got sick, and in fact, the eighteen thirty 288 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: seven article tells the same story, sick enough to be 289 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: on his deathbed and he could no longer work his post. 290 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: So then he confides in a friend of his and 291 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: he hoped that his friend would take up that same 292 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: role in the conspiracy. But his friend was the more 293 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,560 Speaker 1: honest sort of person, and he went to the gendarme. 294 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: He went to the authorities, and ultimately the co conspirators 295 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: and the Blanc brothers were arrested. Now, the co conspirators, 296 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: the operators, they could actually be charged on issues with 297 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: compromising the communication systems, but for the brothers it was 298 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 1: more complicated because there was no law on the books 299 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: that the brothers had actually broken This kind of crime 300 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: was so new there was no law to cover. This 301 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: is something we have encountered multiple times with technology. So 302 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: they were released. The two brothers were released not too 303 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: long after they were arrested. Now some versions of the 304 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: story say they had to pay some fines, but they 305 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: got to keep most of the money they made off 306 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 1: their schemes, and so ins the tale of the first 307 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: cyber attack, or what's alleged to be the first cyber attack. 308 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,120 Speaker 1: But I do have a couple more fun bonus details 309 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: to share with this story now. First up, the Blanc brothers, 310 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: according to that newspaper article, were also students of pressed 311 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: to digitation or stage magic, particularly playing card magic, and 312 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,159 Speaker 1: they were identified also as gamblers who rarely lost. And 313 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 1: the implication in the newspaper, if one were to read 314 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: between the French lines, is that they use their stage 315 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: magic skills to cheat at cards. In fact, one of 316 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: the two, Francois Blanc, would become known as the Magician 317 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 1: of Hamburg when a few decades later he would establish 318 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: a casino in Hamburg. But further down the line, he 319 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,040 Speaker 1: would play an instrumental part in the establishment of the 320 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:04,479 Speaker 1: world famous Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, which is a 321 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: totally separate story. I've been to that casino, though I 322 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: didn't know about this story at the time, and I 323 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: think it's a really cool story to know. When I 324 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: first started researching this, I began to worry that it 325 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: was an apocryphal story because all the sources I could 326 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: find were after at least after nineteen ninety eight, most 327 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: of them were after twenty seventeen, and none of them 328 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: were citing the French newspaper articles, so they all seemed 329 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: to gather it from this pair of articles from ninety 330 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: nine in twenty seventeen, and I worried that maybe it 331 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 1: was all made up seas. But eventually, when I found 332 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: that French newspaper, thanks to the commenter on the blog 333 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: that I mentioned earlier, I was able to at least 334 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:46,399 Speaker 1: see that there's some journalistic evidence that Francois Blanc Impresario, 335 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: founder or co founder of the Monte Carlo Casino in 336 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 1: Monaco once upon a time, was a hacker, or at 337 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: least paid hackers to hack. Kind of cool. Hope you 338 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:00,880 Speaker 1: enjoyed that story, Hope you enjoyed this episode. I will 339 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: talk to you again really soon. Tech Stuff is an 340 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 341 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.