http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/02/14/daily13.html By Timothy Roberts February 14, 2005 A Louisiana man pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in San Jose to sending phony e-mail messages containing a malicious script that, when clicked on, reprogrammed WebTV boxes to dial up 9-1-1. David Jeansonne was accused of committing the crimes from his home in Metairie, La. He was charged in California because the WebTV computer servers are located in Santa Clara. WebTV is a product of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), that allows customers to use their TV sets as a monitor while connecting to the Internet. Mr. Jeansonne, 44, pleaded guilty to intentional damage to a protected computer causing a threat to public health and safety, and causing intentional damage to a protected computer causing at least $5,000 in damages. His sentencing is expected to take place in March. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each of the two counts. According to an affidavit Mr. Jeansonne targeted 18 people across the country from Rochester, N.Y., to San Diego, with whom he had had some exchange in the past. The hoax reached a total of 21 people. Police responded to 10 of the victims in July 2002 after their WebTV boxes dialed up 9-1-1. The FBI learned from WebTV that Mr. Jeansonne was a widely known computer hacker, whose WebTV account it had closed 17 times in the past. The FBI obtained an indictment and arrested Mr. Jeansonne on Feb. 18, 2004. The WebTV case underscores the need for computer users to take care when opening e-mail, says Christopher Sonderby, Assistant United States Attorney based in San Jose. "Don't click on e-mail links that you don't already know and trust," he says. _________________________________________ Bellua Cyber Security Asia 2005 - http://www.bellua.com/bcs2005
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