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Hacker tapped into accounts, police claim

15.02.2000 - By SCOTT MacLEOD

Police claim an Auckland software whiz hacked into at least 19 personal computers to glean their secret account details and threatened to damage one machine unless the owner stopped using Telecom's Xtra Internet service.

Pakuranga blacksmith Andrew Charles Garrett, aged 32, appeared in the Otahuhu District Court yesterday to face 14 charges of using a document, two of forgery and one of threatening property.

The hearing will determine whether he has a case to answer and is seen as the first big test of whether existing New Zealand laws can handle alleged Internet crime. New planned computer laws are before a parliamentary select committee.

The Crown alleges that Garrett used a virus called Back Orifice to find passwords and other personal details that let him use accounts belonging to two customers of Telecom's Xtra Internet service. They would have been billed for his usage.

Police seized Garrett's computer on March 23 last year and claimed in a court document that they found evidence he had infected 10 other Xtra customers and seven at Ihug, Voyager and Bestnet Internet firms.

Crown prosecutor Helen Gilbert said Garrett had sent an e-mail to an Xtra customer urging him or her to ditch Xtra or suffer damage to the computer's memory.

Garrett has denied using passwords belonging to the two Xtra customers.

Police computer expert John Thackray told the court he found a copy of Back Orifice on Garrett's computer and tested it.

He was able to infect another computer by sending an e-mail, and said he could have found out bank account numbers and passwords. He could have forced the other computer to "crash," even if it was overseas.

Defence lawyer Barry Hart questioned whether Mr Thackray had enough expertise to comment on Back Orifice.

Back Orifice was written by a hacker group in the United States called the Cult of the Dead Cow, and is a play on Microsoft's Back Office software.

Plans for new computer laws in New Zealand were hastily drawn up early last year after a spate of hacking problems, including a 15-year-old tagged "Sharkdogg" who claimed responsibility for wrecking 4500 Websites at Ihug.

Paul Swain, Associate Minister of Justice, has taken charge of technology crime. His spokeswoman said the planned changes were before a law and order select committee.

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-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 14, 2000