County board can't hack an unsafe network

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=11027

By SCOTT PESZNECKER 
June 10, 2003

Despite the state budget crisis that's also hitting counties,
Calaveras County supervisors on Monday authorized the purchase of a
new firewall system to protect the county's computer network from
hackers.

A firewall is hardware that limits access from the Internet to private
networks.

The new system, which costs $8,913, will protect all the servers in
the county. The current system leaves the county's Web servers
unguarded and vulnerable to hackers.

If a hacker were to access a Web server, he or she could then access
other servers on the network, said Howard Stohlman, director of the
county's Technology Services Department.

That could put private information such as health records at risk.

The purchase will be paid for mostly by money that has been saved
within the technology department during the current budget cycle.  
Maintenance on the service will cost $878 annually starting July 2004.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Stein said departments shouldn't be
spending the money saved during this budget cycle, predicting the
upcoming fiscal year will be just as financially stifling.

In the end, though, Stein joined other board members in approving the
purchase.

Stohlman has said that if a hacker were to break into the county's
network, the cost of repairing the damage could be greater than the
cost of the new firewall.



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