Monday, August 11, 2008
The risks of entrusting network security to a single person have been highlighted by a recent case which took place in San Francisco, reports the Washington Post.
Administrator of the city's police, court, payroll, jail and health networks Terry Childs set a password known only to himself and blocked all other users from accessing the system, according to the publication.
Even after his arrest on July 13th, the 43-year-old refused to reveal what the new password was.
The Washington Post notes that city officials are now contemplating bringing in network security experts to identify oversights in its safety measures.
Mr Childs - who finally told mayor Gavin Newsom the password while in jail on July 21st - now faces four felony charges of tampering with the network.
InformationWeek previously claimed that the administrator had established a "booby trap" designed to delete files from the system - which stores around 60 percent of the city's documents - if it was triggered.
Related News:
Cybercrime is a geopolitical issue - 11.14.2008
As cybercrime has become ever more lucrative, hacking has taken on a geopolitical dimension, SC Magazine has claimed.
Phishing scams an added burden on Wall St - 11.7.2008
Working group launches phishing scam guidance - 11.4.2008
The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has issued new guidance for domain registrars which aims to help them identify websites used to launch phishing scams.
Sarkozy smells a phish - 10.21.2008
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has derided the state of email security after being caught out by a phishing scam.
The year's biggest email security scams - 10.21.2008
The launch of phishing scams purporting to originate from hurricane recovery charities is one of the biggest email security stories of the year so far.
