Forwarded From: Nicholas Charles Brawn <ncb05@uow.edu.au>
07May98 USA: 'FLIPPERGATE' ASSAULT BY US NAVY SINKS IN BATH.
A hacker employed by the US navy found himself in deep water when he tried
to penetrate the network of Bath, UK-based lobby group the Whale and
Dolphin Protection Society. The navy was anxious to get an advance copy of
a report by the society on the how dolphins trained for military use by
the former Soviet Union had been sold off after the end of the cold war.
Rather than wait a week until the report is freely available on the
society's website http://www.wdcs.org, the navy decided to launch an
assault on their network in a hack dubbed 'Flippergate' by the UK media.
But they clearly did not reckon on the stout defenses surrounding the
Lotus Domino site.
Lotus developer Matt Penton, director of Merchant Technology, the company
that set up the site, had written a routine that spotted anyone attempting
to violate security on the site and identified the culprit. It even
emailed him with details. "It points exactly who is doing it and where
they are from," said Penton. As a professional familiar with the dangers
of hackers, he was a little taken aback when he found the attack on the
network had come from someone at hq.navy.mil at the Pentagon. For this is
the same Pentagon that is forever issuing warnings about the dangers
hackers pose to its own security. Indeed, anyone accessing the site
http://www.hq.navy.mil will find a stern warning: "Unauthorized use may
subject you to criminal prosecution." Evidence of unauthorized use
collected during monitoring may be used for administrative, criminal or
adverse action." "It's a gorgeous bit of double-standards," said Penton.
The Pentagon has admitted that the hacker was based at its site but has
yet to identify the guilty person. Lotus Domino's ability to defeat
hacking by the world's most powerful military machine is clearly a tribute
to the company's technology. Yet rather than trumpet 'Flippergate' as
evidence of its prowess, Lotus is strangely silent on the whole subject.
This remarkable reticence may not be unconnected with the fact that its
biggest single customer is the US military.
Not Available for Re-dissemination.
(c) APT Data Group plc 1998.
COMPUTERGRAM 07/05/98
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Received on Fri May 8 08:59:42 1998