Hacker who disrupted DCFS hotline, other phone systems arrested

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/computing/20030825-1722-cnshacker.html

By Matt Krasnowski
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
August 25, 2003

LOS ANGELES - A former computer technician for a Manhattan Beach
technology company has been arrested on charges that he hacked into
and disrupted a Los Angeles County child abuse hot line, authorities
said Monday.

Walter Wiggs, 44, of Douglasville, Ga., is a former employee of
Technology For Business Corp., and allegedly used a computer in his
home to illegally access at least 13 computer systems that used the
company's automated telephone system services, court papers state.

FBI agents arrested him at his home west of Atlanta on Friday and he
remains in federal custody. The charges were filed in U.S. District
Court in Los Angeles earlier this month.

Wiggs was laid off from the company in June and according to court
papers was in a dispute over the amount of severance pay he was due.

According to an FBI affidavit, on July 1 Wiggs began remotely
accessing computer systems, including the system that helps operate
the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Service's
Child Protection Hotline. Wiggs allegedly deleted critical files and
disabled the hot line's call-routing system.

Callers use the hot line to report cases of child abuse or neglect
that require immediate response. The charging papers state that
callers were either unable to speak with an agency official or the
calls were significantly delayed.

A DCFS official said it was unclear how many calls were affected by
the alleged attack. The problem came to the attention of DCFS when a
supervisor noted on July 2 that a high percentage of callers were
hanging up after connecting with the hot line.

The disruption lasted through July 4, court papers state.

The charging papers state that Technology For Business also received
complaints that the automated telephone menu systems for the City of
San Diego, the San Diego Union-Tribune and Georgia-based clothing
company were disabled, but the court papers do not go into details.  
Wiggs allegedly accessed those computer systems on July 1.

Officials with the San Diego city manager's office and the
Union-Tribune said they were not aware of any reports that their
telephone systems' computers were illegally accessed.

Attempts to contact officials at Technology for Business were
unsuccessful.

The papers say that Wiggs also accessed computers for answering
systems for Orange County District Attorney's Office, the City of
Modesto and troubled energy company Enron.

Court papers state that on July 2, Wiggs called his former supervisor
in Georgia and left an obscenity-laced voice mail about his severance
pay. He concludes by saying "we'll see you ... in court."

Wiggs made an initial appearance in federal court in Atlanta on
Friday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arif Alikhan said he was not certain
when Wiggs would be transferred to California.



-
ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org

To unsubscribe email majordomo () attrition org with 'unsubscribe isn'
in the BODY of the mail.