I find it amusing that someone would be able to figure their way around a reasonably sophisticated computer security system and yet not be able to figure out that trying to sell the information that they stole from the company in order to avoid a scandal was a good move. That is what seems to have happened in a case involving Maserati North America Inc.
Bruce Mengler, a Sona Beach, California resident has been hit with five charges relating to the penetration of Maserati North America’s web site. It is alleged that he used an automated program to guess PINs provided to customers by the company allowing them to log onto a promotional website; when PINs were identified, he would then log on and download the customer information for that account.
While that is fairly standard malicious hacker fare, what is alleged to have happened next takes a special kind of stupidity. The prosecution claim that Mengler attempted to blackmail the company, and that he made threats in a series of emails. Some of the contents of the emails have since been made public knowledge and are included below:
Would you like this lack of security & privacy to become public knowledge? If you would like to buy my silence, make me an offer I can’t refuse.
What dollar amount is each name worth to Maserati to not be released to the public?
So what information was Mengler supposed to have found? We aren’t talking bank details or credit card numbers or even Paris Hilton’s home video collection – nope, just names and addresses of 2,600 people who may or may not have purchased a Maserati sometime in the past. Mengler has pleaded not guilty. [Computer World]
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Tags: allegedly, hacking, maserati, Security
3 responses
Sep 24, 2008 at 10:06 am
David Scott believes these data breaches and thefts are largely due to a lagging business culture. Read some fresh and original thinking from the author of “IT Wars” – http://www.businessforum.com/DScott_02.html – I urge every business person and IT person, management or staff, to get hold of a copy of “I.T. Wars: Managing the Business-Technology Weave in the New Millennium.” It has an excellent chapter on security, and how to scale security for any organization, any budget. It also has a plan template with all considerations. Our CEO has read this book. Our project managers are on their second reading. Our vendors are required to read it (they can borrow our copies if they don’t want to purchase it). Any agencies that wish to partner with us: We ask that they read it. Do yourself a favor and read this book – then ask your boss to read it – then ask your staff and co-workers to read it.
Feb 19, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Damn! He only hacked a website—why is this news?
Given the headline and the photo, I thought he’d hacked the auto’s computerized control system. Now that would be a worthy hack. Deadly, most likely, but still impressive.
Feb 27, 2009 at 10:42 pm
It’s news because the guy is a douche, he went through all that effort and thought that he could sell the information back to the company so that they would avoid the scandal.
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