San Francisco municipal computer system hacked: related news

San Francisco municipal computer system hacked

A computer engineer has been arrested and accused of hijacking San Francisco's FiberWAN computer system which holds details of city payroll files and confidential law enforcement documents.

Disgruntled Engineer Hijacks San Francisco's Computer System

ceswiedler writes "A disgruntled software engineer has hijacked San Francisco's new multimillion-dollar municipal computer system. When the Department of Technology tried to fire him, he disabled all administrative passwords other than his own. He was taken into custody but has so far refused to provide the password, and the department has yet to regain admin access on their own. They're worried that he or an associate might be able to destroy hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents, including emails, payroll information, and law enforcement documents."

Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system

Add our medical news to digg - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to NewsVine - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to Fark - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to Furl - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to Shadows - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to YahooMyWeb - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to Reddit -Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to StumbleUpon - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system Add our medical news to Facebook - Drugs industry protecting 'morally unaccep

San Francisco Network Hacked by a Childs

According to various sources, including the San Francisco Chronicle, a soon-to-be former network admin has locked everyon out of the San Francisco "FiberWAN" network. From the article, "records such as officials' e-mails, city payroll files, confidential law enforcement documents and jail inmates' bookings" are stored on this network. Terry Childs is currently in jail on $5 million bail.

Smart Parking Spaces In San Francisco

2centplain sends along a report in the NYTimes on San Francisco's smart parking initiative. He asks, "Any guesses on the when this will be hacked? Like, 'reserving' an empty spot by convincing a sensor that a car is actually parked there, or, perhaps using the wireless mesh network for some other purpose?" Quoting: "This fall, San Francisco will test 6,000 of its 24,000 metered parking spaces in the nation's most ambitious trial of a wireless sensor network that will announce which of the spaces are free at any moment. Drivers will be alerted to empty parking places either by displays on street signs, or by looking at maps on screens of their smartphones. They may even be able to pay for parking by cellphone, and add to the parking meter from their phones without returning to the car.

UK Guy Who Hacked Into US Military Computers Overplays His Hand; Loses Extradition Appeal

From the very beginning it had seemed like the US was overhyping the fact that they had tracked down UK-based Gary McKinnon, as the guy who had hacked into various military computer systems. They claimed he had caused millions of dollars of damages, and even called him "the world's biggest hacker." Of course, the details suggest he was more like a big idiot. He got high, decided that the US was hiding secrets on aliens, and hacked into a military computer system to try to find the details -- and then (according to his own explanation) hit the wrong button and thought "oh, bloody hell." So, he clearly did something wrong: he broke into US military computer systems. He clearly deserves to be punished for it, but he's definitely overplayed his hand as well in response.

Is Live Messenger Interfering With IE or Have I Been Hacked?

When I turn on my computer, Windows Live Messanger is signed on. I never use this tool to IM. Now I cannot get more than one IE page to open at one time. When I already have one page open and I try to open another I get the response that the IE page is not responding, and that it is sending Microsoft an error message. I have logged off and shut down about seven times in a row. I evidently do not have a normal router either. I need to know how to go into my computer and check my router to see if it is sending out signals. And I need to check the security of my computer. How would I know how to tell whether I am just having problems with the computer, or if someone has hacked into my computer. Any help would be appreciated. Misseltoile

Our review of the MP3 player embedded on the navigation system from Honda cars.

All cars from Honda currently sold in the USA can come with an optional GPS system nicknamed “Navi� featuring GPS navigation with voice recognition (the voice recognition system also commands the audio system and air conditioning). Thru the screen of the navigation system you can also command the car audio system, which supports MP3 files. In this review we will analyze the MP3 feature of the Honda Navi system.

8/8/08 weddings popular in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- San Francisco officials said wedding reservations for Friday filled up minutes after they were made available due to the numbers of the date -- 8/8/08.

Play! - A Video Game Symphony Performs at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, Saturday, August 23, 2008

(San Francisco, CA) - Jason Michael Paul Productions, Inc. today announced the world-renowned PLAY! – A Video Game Symphony will perform at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on Saturday, August 23 at 8:00p.m. Maestro Andy Brick will conduct Symphony Silicon Valley as they bring to life the award-winning music from popular video game titles including Final Fantasy®, Silent Hill®, Battlefield 1942™, Metal Gear Solid®,

10 Great San Francisco Blogs

We all have our reflexive favorites -- the San Francisco blogs we bounce back to everyday. This list includes 10 personal favorites, covering the spectrum from Muni hassles to restaurant reviews to photographic essays of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

The Inside Story On the San Francisco Network Hijacking

snydeq writes "A source with direct knowledge of San Francisco's IT infrastructure has tipped off Paul Venezia to the real story behind Terry Childs' lockout of San Francisco's network, providing a detailed account of the city's FiberWAN, interdepartmental politics, and Terry Childs himself. Childs pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering yesterday and is being held on $5 million bail. According to the source, Childs' purview was limited to the city's FiberWAN — a network he himself built and, believing no one competent enough to touch the network but himself, guarded religiously, sharing details with no one, including routing configuration and log-in information. Childs was so concerned about the network's security that he refused even to write router and switch configurations to flash.

Our Solar System: An Island of Calm in a Violent Universe (and it's special, too)

We humans like to think we're special, but astronomically speaking we've been shot down quite severely and humbly put in our place. We're not at the center of our solar system, nowhere near the center of our galaxy and certainly not at the center of the universe. But now comes great news for the human psyche from scientists trying to explain solar system formation. As far as solar systems go, we have thought ours was just average and that all solar systems were like ours. But in looking at the 300 plus extrasolar planets that have been discovered and the systems they are in, none so far are anything like our home solar system. In fact, say scientists at Northwestern University, we may be special after all. In a study using computer simulations (this is the week for computer simulations, see here and here), researchers ran more than a hund

San Francisco mayor breaks password deadlock

A computer-network hostage situation in San Francisco is over, thanks to negotiations with the city's mayor.

S.F. engineer pleads not guilty to cyber crime

SAN FRANCISCO—A San Francisco computer engineer has pleaded not guilty to charges of taking over a city computer network that stores payroll files, police records and other confidential information.

Artist David Ireland's House Goes to Collector

SAN FRANCISCO—Artist David Ireland's house in San Francisco will not hit the real estate block; Carlie Wilmans, an art collector and philanthropist, has bought the 500 Capp St. residence with plans to preserve and restore it, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Demeter Group Advises Equity Firms on Investment in Yes to Carrots, Fast-Growing Natural Personal Care Brand

SAN FRANCISCO - (Business Wire) Demeter Group, an investment bank focused on high growth consumer brands in the food, beverage and beauty industries, served as advisor to San Francisco Equity Partners and Simon Equity Partners on their investments in Yes to Carrots, an innovative, high growth natural personal care company. Both funds participated in a $14 million Series A funding round that Yes to Carrots recently announced it has closed, and which was led by San Francisco Equity Partners.

System Specifications needed for the Da Vinci Code Computer Game

The requirements of the system are not just limited to only some computer systems, but form a part of all the games. No such game exists in this world that does not need any specific system requirements to run the game properly. Besides this, all the requirements needed by the game form a part of the device that a gamer must have.

Hacked Oyster Card System Crashes Again

Barence sends along PcPro coverage of the second crash of London's Oyster card billing system in two weeks. Transport for London was forced to open the gates and allow free travel for all. "There is currently a technical problem with Oyster readers at London Underground stations which is affecting Oyster pay as you go cards only," explains the TfL website. This follows the first crash two weeks ago, which left 65,000 Oyster cards permanently corrupted. Speculation is increasing that the crashes may be related to the hacking of the Oyster card system by Dutch researchers from Radboud University, though TfL denies any link. Plans to publish details of the hack were briefly halted when the makers of the chip used in the system sued the group, although a judge ruled earlier this week that the researchers could go ahead.

Blogroll: San Francisco Network Administrator Locks Everyone Out, Goes to Jail

Dan Lohrmann reports that a disgruntled San Francisco network administrator has locked everyone out of the city's system and now sits in jail refusing to divulge the password.

Xbox 360 Opened To Game Creators

A computer engineer who allegedly held San Francisco's computer system hostage was denied a bond reduction after the prosecutor said the system had been rigged to melt down during routine maintenance.

Apple's Jobs cleared in backdating probe

(NYT76) SAN FRANCISCO -- JAN. 15, 2008 -- APPLE-MACWORLD -- Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs holds up the new Macbook Air, an ultra-thin laptop after his keynote speech at the 2008 Macworld Expo at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, Jan. 15, 2008. Jobs also introduced new applications for the iPhone and movie rentals downloads via iTunes. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle) *MAGS OUT -- NO SALES *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Jobs cleared in backdating probe

(NYT76) SAN FRANCISCO -- JAN. 15, 2008 -- APPLE-MACWORLD -- Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs holds up the new Macbook Air, an ultra-thin laptop after his keynote speech at the 2008 Macworld Expo at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, Jan. 15, 2008. Jobs also introduced new applications for the iPhone and movie rentals downloads via iTunes. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle) *MAGS OUT -- NO SALES *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Threat mail; American national's computer hacked: Police

Mumbai: Police officials probing a threatening email allegedly sent from an American national's computer in Navi Mumbai, are investigating if his computer was hacked through a wireless internet connection, a senior police official said.

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