SF System Admin Pleads Not Guilty

Via efluxmedia.com -

The implications of San Francisco computer network administrator’s reckless and enigmatic decision to change all security passwords and keep them all for himself could turn bad if IT experts won’t soon manage to take back network control.

Terry Childs, 43, pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court, after being arrested on July 13 for computer tampering. He will remain in police custody on $5 million bail, while his next bail hearing is scheduled for July 23.

Child is accused of changing the administrative passwords of San Francisco’s FiberWAN network system, which makes accessing the system impossible now without the passwords only he knows. Furthermore, his motifs for doing it still remain unknown, but suspicions are his actions may have been triggered by a conflict with a superior.

"He was able to prevent other authorized users from being able to access the system, and at same time, put in place devices that gave him access to areas of the network which he was not authorized to access," said Erica Derryck, spokeswoman for the San Francisco district attorney's office, as quoted by ABC News.

The compromised network contains records, including inmates’ bookings, payroll files, confidential law enforcement documents and other confidential records, while at the same time it controls more than half of the city’s network traffic.

The network has continued to function normally so far, but the city system still can’t be accessed and officials are still working on resolving the crisis. The media has been kept in the dark, so little is still known about the ongoing investigation.

Childs has been a network administrator for five years, but no one expected a person from the inside to hack into the system. Cisco is currently working with city officials into solving the problem, however, there is one issue that remains unclear: how was this possible in the first place?

The problem is that the city spent $3 million for putting the system in place four years ago, without a backup plan in case of emergency. Although city officials say this will lead to no crisis, IT experts believe things might turn bad despite the fact that the network continues to function normally.

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For more background information, check my first blog on the case.