[=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=]

title: Hacker posts nudes on court's Web pages
author: Rob Chepak
source: The Tampa Tribune


       TALLAHASSEE - The Internet home of the Florida Supreme Court isn't
the kind of place you'd expect to find nudity.
       But that's what happened Wednesday morning when a judge in
Tallahassee found a pornographic photo while he was looking for the latest
legal news.
       A computer hacker broke into the high court's cyberhome, placing at
least three pornographic photos and a stream of obscenities on its Web pages.
       ``All I looked at was the one picture, then I checked with the
court,'' said a surprised Charles Kahn Jr., a 1st District Court of Appeal
judge.
       The altered pages were immediately turned off. The Florida Department
of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident and the U.S. Justice
Department has been contacted. The hacker didn't tamper with any official
records, court officials said.
       ``We've got three photos and we're looking for more,'' said Craig
Waters, executive assistant to Chief Justice Gerald Kogan. The culprit
``could be anyone from someone in the building to the other side of
the world.''

[* I bet they are looking for more.. *]

       The Florida Court's Web site is used to post information about court
opinions, state law and legal aid. Thousands of people, including children,
use the court system's more than 500 Internet pages each month, Waters said.
       The court and other state agencies usually keep their most vital
information on separate computers that can't be accessed on the Internet.
       Officials aren't sure how the culprit broke in, and FDLE had no
suspects Thursday afternoon. But court officials long have suspected their
Web site could be a target for hackers armed with the computer equipment to
impose photos on the Web. The Florida Supreme Court became the first state
Supreme Court in the nation to create its own Internet pages two years ago.
       While the episode sounds like a well-crafted high school prank,
computer hackers are becoming a big problem for government agencies, which
increasingly are finding themselves the victims of criminal tampering on
the Internet. In August, someone placed swastikas and topless pictures of
a TV star on the U.S.
       Department of Justice's home page. The Central Intelligence Agency
has been victimized, too.
       ``It's certainly a common problem,'' said P.J. Ponder, a lawyer for
the Information Resource Commission, which coordinates the state
government's computer networks. However, there are no statistics on
incidences of tampering with state computers.
       The best way for anyone to minimize damage by computer hackers is by
leaving vital information off the Internet, said Douglas Smith, a consultant
for the resource commission. Most state agencies follow that advice, he added.
       ``I think you have to weigh the value of security vs. the value of
the information you keep there,'' he said.
       Court officials would not reveal details of the sexually explicit
photos Thursday, but Liz Hirst, an FDLE spokeswoman, said none were of
children.
       Penalties for computer tampering include a $5,000 fine and five
years in jail, but the punishment is much higher if it involves child
pornography, she said.
       Without a clear motive or obvious physical evidence, FDLE
investigators, who also investigate child pornography on the Internet,
hope to retrace the culprit's steps in cyberspace. However, Ponder said
cases of Internet tampering are ``very difficult to solve.''
       Thursday, the state's top legal minds, who are used to handing out
justice, seemed unaccustomed to being cast as victims.
       ``No damage was done,'' Kogan said in a statement. ``But this
episode did send a message that there was a flaw in our security that we
now are fixing.''

[* I tell you (and other agencies) I do security consulting!! Please?! *]