Bush alert over pupil's prank

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/education/newsid_1153000/1153922.stm

[The interesting part of this story is that the CIA intercepted the
mail which I thought was usually allegedly done by the NSA. :) - WK]

Monday, 5 February, 2001

A UK schoolboy sparked an international security alert after he sent
an e-mail to the White House, threatening to kill United States
President George W Bush.

The 14-year-old pupil at Blake High School in Cannock, Staffordshire
sent the threats from a school computer.

He was investigated and interviewed by the Special Branch, after the
e-mail was intercepted by the US Central Intelligence Agency.

The teenager, whose name has not been disclosed, was not suspended,
but was severely reprimanded by the police and school authorities.

A spokesman for Staffordshire County Council said the e-mail was sent
in November last year, at the time of the US elections.

'Several involved'

"Several boys were involved in this, but only one was reprimanded by
police officers who went to his home," the spokesman said.

The council was in the process of drawing up guidelines for schools on
internet security measures, he said.

"We hope to keep incidents like this to a minimum in the future," he
added.

The school's head teacher, Heather Bowman, described the incident as
"a thoughtless prank".

It proved that, in an electronic age, all communications were
traceable and attributable, Mrs Bowman said in a statement.

"The school is well aware of its responsibilities and has good
monitoring and security systems in place, which are constantly being
updated," she added.

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