Aussie hacker jailed for sewage attacks

iAfrica.com cooltech ^ | 01 Nov 2001 | Luke Tagg

[Kermit]

HACKING
Aussie hacker jailed for sewage attacks
by Luke Tagg
Posted Thu, 01 Nov 2001

A 49-year old Brisbane man has been sentenced to two years in prison for hacking into a local council's computerised waste management system, causing an environmental disaster which saw millions of litres of raw sewage spill into rivers, parks and the grounds of a Hyatt Regency hotel.

Vitek Boden was found guilty on 30 charges involving computer hacking, theft and causing significant environmental damage after his exploits in March and April last year, in what is being described as the world's first environmental vandalism case. The Maroochydore District Court found Boden guilty of all charges relating to the cyber attacks, and ordered him to spend the next two years behind bars and pay AUS$13 110.77 in compensation to the Maroochy Shire Council.

Boden used to work for Hunter Watertech, the company that installed the waste management system for the Maroochy Shire Council, and he used the opportunity to pilfer the software that controls the sewage pumping system. The court heard that Boden's relations with his former employer were "strained", and when he applied for a job at the council and was turned down, he decided to get revenge.

On April 23, 2000 Boden was pulled over by police in his car, and in it they found a bunch of electronic equipment, including a two-way radio that Boden used to alter the pump station operations. They also found a program on his laptop that allowed him to hack into the council computers and control the sewage management system, as well as evidence that his laptop had been used at the same times that the pumps were sabotaged.

Using a combination of his computer software, his knowledge of the waste management system, and his radio equipment, Boden caused the pumping station at Pacific Paradise, just north of Maroochydore, to malfunction and pump hundreds of thousands of litres of raw sewage into the public waterways.

According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigations manager Janelle Bryant, the damage done to the environment was vast.

"Vitek Boden's actions were premeditated and systematic, causing significant harm to an area enjoyed by young families and other members of the public," she said. "Marine life died, the creek water turned black and the stench was unbearable for residents."

It took the Maroochy Shire Council a

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week and $13 000 to clean up the mess, and a further $176 000 in monitoring costs and extra security. According to the presiding judge, Judge Keith Dodds, the evidence was "overwhelming" in pointing to Boden.

Dodds sentenced Boden to two years in jail for the hacking charges, and a further year for serious and wilful damage to the environment. Both sentences are to run concurrently.

[Kermit]

The FBI reported today the threat by Al Qaeda against the computer systems controlling nuclear power plants, the power grid and chemical plants. The Vitek Boden case is according to Sasha Volokh to be the only case so far of hacking: "Specialists in cyber-terrorism have studied Boden's case because it is the only one known in which someone used a digital control system deliberately to cause harm." I thought this case would be useful to review in light of today's threat.

[VOA]

Sorry I can't give a link...but The Hugh Hewitt Show covered a Washington Post
story about potential cyber attacks routing via Saudia Arabia, etc.

I guess there is evidence of plenting of pinging and our cyber-defense guys are on edge.
This article was up at The Washington Post website earlier today.

[Kenny Bunk]

What a positively sh@%%& thing to do. This definitely proves a diet of Vegemite and Foster's causes long-lasting cerebral damage.

[Scott McCollum]

Hey, am I the only one that thinks the seven grand (in American money) is not enough compensation for this criminal to pay for his actions?

Honestly, all indications are that hacking crimes are going to get exponentially worse as more infrastructure systems are computerized and networked. These crimes are going to be terroristic acts. You can't fine a terrorist and expect them to stop.

You gotta execute them if you want to stop them.

Some will say that punishment is too harsh, but I think it's perfectly reasonable. Why do I want the death penalty for hackers? For the same reason I want the death penalty for rapists, murderers, theives and other criminals - Because I'm not a criminal.

Okay, in the interest of being flexible I'll go as soft as sticking convicted hacker terrorists somewhere that has no Internet and no electricity for twenty years.

Is anyone else tired of hackers? Maybe it's just me.

[LasVegasMac]

causing significant harm to an area enjoyed by young families and other members of the public

Good thing the "old" families were not affected.

LVM

[Cultural Jihad]

The Libertarian Party issued a press release blaming wage-slavery as the root cause of the attack. "He was compelled to do what he did because the agency initiated force by not hiring him," claimed Ima Phool, the spokeperthing of the Libertarian Party of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the Hollow Earth. "If only they had hired the guy, all this damage would never have happened."

[Kermit]

The oldsters don't have the same sense of smell.;^)

[Billthedrill]

Well, that stinks. The guy's a stool pigeon - they should pump him for all the information he's got and relieve themselves of the worry that he might attempt this a second, or even a turd, time.