April 14, 1997 1:30 PM ET 
Hackers fail to crack Mac server
By Maria Seminerio

               
				Call it the hack-proof Mac.

                                More than two months after Swedish systems
                                consultancy Infinit Information AB offered a cash prize
                                of 100,000 kroner -- about $15,000 -- to anyone able to
                                crack into its Macintosh Web server, the company has
                                declared the contest closed, and the prize will go
                                uncollected.

                                The company's Macintosh 8500/150 machine survived
                                more than 220,000 attempts to crack into its
                                administrative functions by guessing passwords, along
                                with an undocumented number of tries to alter its IP
                                address and penetrate its mail server firewall, Infinit
                                officials said.

                                The contest rules prohibited hackers from physically
                                attacking Infinit's system or entering its headquarters,
                                calling for them to access the server via the Internet and
                                prove their access by altering text or graphics on the
                                company's home page.

                                One would-be hacker claimed he had broken into the
                                server and threatened the company with legal action if
                                he didn't get the prize -- but then was unable to provide
                                evidence that he had done so, Infinit CEO Joakim
                                Jardenberg said in a contest update posted on the
                                company's Web site at www.infinit.se/.

                                For those wishing they'd had a chance to take a crack
                                at Infinit's mighty Mac, Jardenberg said to watch the
                                company's Web site, because the contest is scheduled
                                to reopen in a few weeks.