It is almost impossible to build a system that hackers cannot breach. This is especially true since many hackers work with information provided by someone inside the invaded organization. Pacific Telematics' approach is to provide the auditing tools which will enable hackers to be found out and shut down before significant toll fraud occurs.

AccuTRAC helps prevent toll fraud by alerting network managers to unusual call activity as soon as it occurs. This can be done in a variety of ways. The most dramatic and immediate alert method occurs when the Data-Link device detects an alarm condition and sends a numeric message to the appropriate manager's pager. Alarms are defined by formulae created by the user. For example: International calls made after 7PM.

The Data-Link device used with AccuTRAC is built for us by Omnitronix, Inc. We are very pleased with the performance of this unit. It not only alerts the user to toll-fraud situations in real-time, but also will store and forward call data.

Another method we use to detect toll-fraud is our Panic-Report. This report alerts management when usage for any line exceeds "X" percent from the prior day. "X" may be defined by each department manager receiving the Panic-Report. AccuTRAC reports may be directed to e-mail for fast notification.

"We found that there are well over 20,000 aggressive, deliberately destructive hackers in the United States alone and that number is growing at a minimum of five percent per month! Worse yet, we believe there is a large body of public thought which perceives that the activities of these individuals is morally, legally and socially acceptable. The notion being that if a system can be broken - regardless of the level of effort necessary to do so - then the responsibility for the break-in belongs to the system owner rather than to the trespasser." - Gartner Group, Enterprise Network Strategic Conference.