http://www.fcw.com/article94547-05-17-06-Web
By Michael Arnone
May 17, 2006
An Education Department auditor who hacked his boss' computer and told
his co-workers about it will spend five months in jail, Justice
Department officials said.
Kenneth Kwak, formerly an information technology systems auditor at
Education's Office of the Inspector General, pleaded guilty in March
to one count of intentionally gaining unauthorized access to a
government computer and extracting information from it, Justice
spokesman Drew Wade said.
Kwak admitted he installed software on his supervisor's computer that
gave him access to his boss' e-mail messages and Internet activity,
Wade said. Kwak then shared the information with his co-workers.
He was prosecuted under the U.S. Attorney's Office's new
zero-tolerance policy for breaking into federal computer systems,
Justice officials said.
Once Kwak has served his time, he will spend another five months
confined to his home with his movements electronically monitored,
Justice officials said.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered Kwak to pay $40,000 in
restitution to the federal government and spend three years under
supervised release, including the five months at home, Wade said.
The Computer Crime Investigation Division of Education's Office of the
IG conducted the investigation, Justice officials said. Attorneys from
the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of Justice's
Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
"This unfortunate incident demonstrates that accountability applies to
everyone," said John Higgins Jr., Education's IG. "We will continue to
work with department and law enforcement officials to ensure the
integrity of the department's computer systems."
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