Forwarded from: William Knowles <wk@private> http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/dec05/377589.asp By DAVID DOEGE ddoege @ journalsentinel.com Dec. 13, 2005 Waukesha - Brookfield police this week seized computer gear from the home of an 18-year-old student who said he illegally accessed Elmbrook School District computer records, according to documents filed in circuit court Tuesday. The student told a police detective investigating the computer break-in that he used "password cracking" software to access district records, then obtained an administrator's password, "which allowed him further access to confidential computer records," according to an affidavit used by investigators to obtain a search warrant for the teen's home. The affidavit indicates that a police investigation into a school district computer break-in began in August and that at least one other student obtained the illegal access. When police visited the 18-year-old student's home Monday, according to the affidavit, he and his parents allowed investigators inside, but they refused permission to seize personal computers they had in the home. After obtaining a search warrant later in the day, police returned to the family's home Monday night and left with four computer towers, a laptop computer, discs, papers and other equipment, according to an inventory attached to the warrant and affidavit when they were filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon. Elmbrook School Superintendent Matthew Gibson said Tuesday that two Brookfield Central students were believed to have been involved in the computer break-in and that both have been suspended. Gibson said he did not yet know the depth of the students' access into district records and whether any damage was done or sensitive information was compromised. "It's difficult to respond to questions right now because it's early in our investigation," Gibson said. The police affidavit provides the following information: Brookfield Central High School Principal Donald Labonte met with police Aug. 25 and reported that several days earlier, he received an e-mail from a student who questioned the calculation of her grade point average and class ranking. Labonte told police that he was aware of "an incident at Brookfield East High School where school computer security had been compromised through access to the computers without consent." Police subsequently began a probe aimed at determining whether "students or others" accessed district records. The student whose home was visited by police on Monday said that he "watched another student illegally access" district records in April. The student said that after he subsequently gained access, he downloaded the password cracking software to his flash drive device and later to a personal computer in his home. © 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved *==============================================================* "Communications without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC ================================================================ C4I.org - Computer Security, & Intelligence - http://www.c4i.org *==============================================================* _________________________________________ Earn your Master's degree in Information Security ONLINE www.msia.norwich.edu/csi Study IA management practices and the latest infosec issues. Norwich University is an NSA Center of Excellence.
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