Bugtraq mailing list archives

Re: [work] Re: Major hack attack on the U.S. Senate


From: opticfiber <opticfiber () topsight net>
Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 13:46:40 -0500

How is that difrent then sneakiing into a hotel room and stealing tapes? Even if the hotel room door is unlocked any honest person would stay out.. So while the security may have failed because of the an idiot tech, the republican party still has to be helf responsible for the actions of there constituents. Also, I agree this is hardly a "Hack Attack".

Bill
http://www.topsight.net


Brian C. Lane wrote:

On Thu, 2004-01-22 at 09:25, Richard M. Smith wrote:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/01/22/infiltration_of_files_
seen_as_extensive?mode=PF

Infiltration of files seen as extensive
Senate panel's GOP staff pried on Democrats
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff, 1/22/2004

WASHINGTON -- Republican staff members of the US Senate Judiciary Commitee
infiltrated opposition computer files for a year, monitoring secret strategy
memos and periodically passing on copies to the media, Senate officials told
The Globe.


[snip]

You left off the most important fact in your snip. The final paragraph
pretty well sums it up:

"A technician hired by the new judiciary chairman, Patrick Leahy,
Democrat of Vermont, apparently made a mistake that allowed anyone to
access newly created accounts on a Judiciary Committee server shared by
both parties -- even though the accounts were supposed to restrict
access only to those with the right password."

I sure wouldn't call this a major hack attack. Someone goofed. Someone
else took advantage of the goof (and according to some reports even
reported it to the bonehead technician).

One one hand you really shouldn't look at someone else's files. On the
other hand if you're cooking up dirty tricks you darn well ought to make
sure your memos are protected, not stored in the clear on a shared
system.

And these are the jokers who want to dictate to us how to secure the
Internet and stop SPAM? Heh!

Brian

---[Office 71.6F]--[Fridge 38.4F]---[Fozzy 88.8F]--[Coaster 71.7F]---
Linux Software Developer http://www.brianlane.com



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