Consultant Breached FBI's Computers

["Fergie" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

Via The Washington Post.

[snip]

A government consultant, using computer programs easily found on the
Internet, managed to crack the FBI's classified computer system and
gain the passwords of 38,000 employees, including that of FBI Director
Robert S. Mueller III.

The break-ins, which occurred four times in 2004, gave the consultant
access to records in the Witness Protection Program and details on
counterespionage activity, according to documents filed in U.S.
District Court in Washington. As a direct result, the bureau said it
was forced to temporarily shut down its network and commit thousands of
man-hours and millions of dollars to ensure no sensitive information
was lost or misused.

The government does not allege that the consultant, Joseph Thomas
Colon, intended to harm national security. But prosecutors said Colon's
"curiosity hacks" nonetheless exposed sensitive information.

Colon, 28, an employee of BAE Systems who was assigned to the FBI field
office in Springfield, Ill., said in court filings that he used the
passwords and other information to bypass bureaucratic obstacles and
better help the FBI install its new computer system. And he said agents
in the Springfield office approved his actions.

[snip]

More here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/05/AR2006070501489.html

- ferg


--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/


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