County Politico Fingers Helpful Hax0r, Sysadmin in Wireless Breach
2002-07-26 12:03:09
Stephen Puffer, aka the not-so-notorious "Dr SuSE," was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of hacking a county district clerk's new wireless network. However, the real story may be one of petty office politics, personal vendettas, and chronic paranoia.
The Houston Chronicle ran this story, relating the now-familiar tale of a helpful security consultant who nobly informs an important institution of weaknesses in their IT security posture -- and for his trouble, he is charged with a federal hacking crime.
But there's something fishy about this case (isn't there always?). First off, Puffer used to work for the County District Clerk's office, but left after a brief but "stormy" tenure. More significantly, though, the indictment mentions that Puffer's intrusion ended up costing the county exactly $5,000 in clean-up effort. Convenient for the prosecutor -- that dollar figure is the minimum amount required to get the attention of the Feds under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
It also happens to directly contradict statements made in this earlier Chronicle story. Back in March, Harris County District Clerk Charles Bacarisse indicated repeatedly that Puffer's actions couldn't possibly have damaged anything. After all, the network Puffer allegedly r00ted was "only being tested," and "neither Puffer nor anyone else could have done any damage."
Stranger still, Bacarisse accuses the head of the county's Central Technology Department, Steve Jennings, of being in cahoots with Dr SuSE, giving up "information to help [Puffer] access the system." A serious allegation -- yet Jennings is not named as a co-conspirator, accomplice, or anything in the indictment.
Finally, there's the mysterious "pornographic picture" that was discovered on the "clerk's office server." Of course, Puffer denies any involvement with planting the porn, and is ready to prove it.
Is this whole incident an elaborate power play by a power-hungry Jennings to extend his office's fiefdom? Is it a case of a disgruntled former employee trying to make his old boss, an elected official, look bad? Or is Bacarisse simply covering up his own l4meness (and/or secret pr0n habit) by blaming dark forces aligning against him?
T O P S T O R I E S
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ideas have taken horrifying shape and rooted into our modern reality. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
On the Implementation of a Grocery Bag And Overforestation Initiative
Patient Joab and his evil cohort, Patient Steve, develop a proposal for the plastic-v.-paper problem that EVERYONE can be happy with. An EXCLUSIVE from Spock Mountain Research Labs! (More...)
What the hell is going on with Sony?
Is anyone else as confused as I am with what's happening with the Sony Playstation network hack? (More...)
Vacationing from Somnambulant Narrow Realities
So about six months ago, I was chilling in Chang Mai, Thailand with ICBINJ, perursing the Bangkok Times over my banana pancake and Big Chang breakfast when I spotted this article reprinted from the LA Times. It was about some kooks from California (where else?) who were claiming to have been to the front lines in Afgahnistan in mid-December and had recorded the whole feat on their website. "Holy Fuck!" I thought, "Now That's web journalism. Who are these guys!?" (More...)
On a hot spring night after dinner and before the night's serious drinking begins, a Romulan Highball really hits the spot. (More...)
Alright kids, this is the column where you write in with the lurid details of your personal lives, and I put them on the Internet for everyone to snicker at. But also, I give you a free Tarot reading, so there's that. (More...)
WE'RE STILL TOTAL LOSERS JESUS
Mr. Bad, Tjames Madison, and various other Pigdoggers of all stripe take on the makers of JERKCITY in a PIGDOG INTERVIEW DEATHMATCH. (More...)