Information Security News: Texan charged with breaching Yale computer system

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/094/region/Texan_charged_with_breaching_Y:.shtml

By Associated Press
4/4/2003 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) A Texan is accused of breaking into Yale
University's computer system from home.

Jason Jarrell, 19, who lives with his mother in Coppell, Texas, was
arraigned in New Haven Superior Court Thursday and charged with six
counts of computer crime. He is accused of tapping into computers at
five university centers, including two computer systems used to
research AIDS, cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Damage is estimated at $150,000, based on the time the computers were
down and the time needed to restore the systems, state prosecutors
said.

The case is the first major network intrusion prosecuted at the state
level in Connecticut, said John Blawie, senior assistant state's
attorney.

''He hijacked a Yale account and there's evidence that he boasted on
the Internet of having owned Yale,'' he said.

The Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force tracked Jarrell's telephone
number with the help of his Internet service provider. His error was
to connect to Yale from his home, said Yale spokesman H. Morrow Long.

''We laid a trap and watched him come back,'' he said.

Jarrell repeatedly broke into Yale's computers from his home in
Coppell, creating his own user accounts and installing hidden software
to monitor Yale network traffic and gather passwords, according to the
arrest warrant.

James Ruane, a lawyer representing Jarrell, declined to comment other
than to note Jarrell's age. He was 16 years old at the time of the
alleged offenses.

Jarrell's next court appearance is April 22. Bond was set at $100,000.

If convicted on all charges, he faces 95 years in prison.



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