Hackers steal US Marine software via German university computer

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://web.lexis-nexis.com/more/cahners-chicago/11407/7189990/4

Agence France Presse 
May 16, 2001, Wednesday 

(KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany) Hackers have stolen a program for US spy
satellite navigation using the computer system at the University of
Kaiserslautern in western Germany, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The prosecutors office in Kaiserslautern said the unknown hackers had
penetrated university computers during the Christmas holidays over the
Internet and used them to gain access a computer in the United States
that held the software used by US Marines to navigate intelligence
satellites.

Prosecutor Helmut Bleh said the hackers appeared to come upon the
Kaiserslautern computers by chance while looking for a system that
could handle the size of the software.

The economic impact of the case is also sizeable.

Prosecutors said the user licenses alone for the software program cost
60 million dollars annually.

The hackers face up to three years in prison if convicted.



ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com
---
To unsubscribe email isn-unsubscribe () SecurityFocus com.