IP: School hackers may face Secret Service

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "John F. McMullen" <observer () westnet com>
Date: Sat, 29 Jun 2002 08:35:15 -0400 (EDT)
To: johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com
Cc: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>, Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: School hackers may face Secret Service

> From Ziff-Net --
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-938235.html

School hackers may face Secret Service
By Robert Lemos

Students at universities in four states may have been monitored by
"spyware" placed on computers by online criminals to capture passwords and
credit card numbers, a public safety officer at one of the schools
involved said Thursday.
A month ago, agents with the U.S. Secret Service notified Arizona State
University officials that some of their computers may have been
compromised, said Lt. John Sutton of the university's Department of Public
Safety. The Secret Service seized almost 20 hard drives from computers at
the university and is analyzing them for clues as part of the
investigation, he said.

"We are looking to see if some type of software was installed on them that
would allow someone from the keyboard or from a remote location to
identify keystrokes and grab personal information," he said.

The investigation has encompassed compromised computers at universities in
Arizona, Texas, Florida and California, Sutton said. It's believed that
many of the computers had the software loaded onto the system by someone
sitting at the keyboard, he added.

Agents of the U.S. Secret Service's San Francisco bureau would not
immediately comment on the investigation.

Most of the computers being examined at ASU were located in student
computer labs, Sutton said. The users of the PCs are usually limited to
students, but the rule is not enforced. "It is supposed to be used for
students only, and like any other loosely secured area, it is possible
that someone could come in and use it who is not a student," he said.

It's known that university systems have long been a haven for hackers and
online vandals. Compromised university systems contributed to the
so-called denial-of-service attacks that struck well-known e-commerce
sites more than two years ago.



   "When you come to the fork in the road, take it" - L.P. Berra
   "Always make new mistakes" -- Esther Dyson
   "Be precise in the use of words and expect precision from others" -
    Pierre Abelard
                          John F. McMullen
   johnmac () acm org ICQ: 4368412 Fax: (603) 288-8440 johnmac () cyberspace org
                  http://www.westnet.com/~observer


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