Hacker breaches security to alter Alexandra website text

By Sonia Gerken

A Gore computer business has beefed up its security after a Brazilian hacker got into one of the websites it manages and changed the text.

Clive Wilson Computers Gore managing director Ewen Whitefield said yesterday the security breach of its domain hosting machine last month was low level, but "anyone hacking into our machines is serious."

The hacker changed text on the website of an Alexandra client.

Police had been notified of the breach and the company was unlikely to pursue it further.

"It annoys us more than anything else. If it was a major security breach we could chase it back to the United States and Brazil," Mr Whitefield said.

If anything the breach proved the company's electronic "firewalls" were pretty good, stopping the hacker from getting any further than minimal damage, he said.

Website designer Ken France, of Arthurton, said the hacker probably found a "tiny little hole" to sneak in through.

It was an old site, designed two years ago.

The breach was annoying and nothing serious - "apart from getting a laugh at our expense," he said.

There was a big rush of "hits" to the site after the first hacker got in. Within a week 200 hits more than usual were logged and three or four of those had changed some text, Mr France said.

"Some even put their telephone number in.

"It was like 'If you want to know how I got in here give me a call'," he said.

The company was warned about the hacking by a phone call from someone claiming to be a website watcher in Australia.

Mr France said the call came an hour after he had looked at the website and it was all right.

"It's quite strange how they knew. I suspect it was bogus."

Mr Whitefield said the company received an e-mail the day after the hacking from the Brazilian Internet Society asking questions about the hacker.

There was no way to verify the authenticity of the e-mail, he said.

Mr France said the company's tighter security had been affective.

At times he had been unable to get into sites he designed that were managed by the company.

"It's good in a way. If I can't get in, how will anyone else," he said.

http://www.press.co.nz/2000/12/000323x04.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 23, 2000