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Hacker caused sewage overflows, court told Glenis Green 17oct01 A BRISBANE man accused of hacking into council computers to create raw sewage overflows on the Sunshine Coast had the know-how, equipment and opportunity, a court was told yesterday. Crown prosecutor Russell Hanson, QC, said Vitek Boden, 49, of Springwood, also had a motive – as a "disgruntled" former employee of the company which had installed the computerised system for Maroochy Shire Council. Boden faces 50 charges after he allegedly hacked into the council's sewage control computers early last year and used radio transmissions to alter pump station operations. The case is believed to be one of the world's first instances of online environmental vandalism. Deliberate raw sewage overflows were allegedly created on at least two occasions – at the Coolum Hyatt Regency Resort grounds and at the nearby township of Pacific Paradise, where up to a million litres of raw sewage ended up in a stormwater drain. Clean-up costs at the time were estimated to be $50,000. Boden has pleaded not guilty to 46 charges of computer hacking, two counts of causing serious environmental harm by means of sewage overflows, and two of stealing which involved the equipment needed to do the hardwiring. In his opening address on the first day of Boden's trial in the Maroochydore District Court yesterday, Mr Hanson said the court would be told Boden had been placed under both private and police surveillance when the council's new computerised sewage control system began to repeatedly malfunction. Mr Hanson said Boden had helped install the system as an employee of Brisbane company Hunter Watertech Pty Ltd but had left "on strained terms". Mr Hanson said Boden had made suggestions about changing the system while installing it and had made unauthorised changes to a pump configuration before being overruled by a supervisor. Boden's application for a job with Maroochy Shire Council had subsequently been rejected. Mr Hanson said Boden had been intercepted in his car by police on April 23 last year, less than an hour after one of the alleged sabotage attempts on the system. A two-way radio and aerial, PDS telemetry system and computer cables were allegedly found in his car, along with a laptop computer which had the necessary programs to hack into the council's sewage pumping station controls. Mr Hanson said it would be argued the laptop programme had been set for the same pumping station which had just been sabotaged. He said a copy of the hard disk on Boden's laptop showed that it had been used at the same times as pump station malfunctions on six of seven days of alleged sabotage between March 14 and April 23 last year. It had also been used on the seventh day, but the time was indeterminate. The trial, which is expected to last more than two weeks, will continue today. © 2001 Queensland Newspapers http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0%2C5936%2C3062444^3102,00.html ============================================================ Get a FREE Credit Report with a FREE CreditCheck Monitoring Service trial! CreditCheck gives you the tools to approach your lender with confidence, so don’t delay – get yours today! http://click.topica.com/caaadHxb1dhr0b2EDp2f/CreditCheck ============================================================ --via http://techPolice.com archive: http://theMezz.com/cybercrime/archive subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --via http://theMezz.com ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1dhr0.b2EDp2 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
