Fergie's Tech Blog

Australia: Hacker Shuts Down Government Computers

Phoebe Stewart writes on News.com.au:

An expert hacker allegedly shut down the Northern Territory Government computer system and deleted thousands of employees' identities, a Darwin court heard yesterday.

And the court heard the Government could still be at risk of another cyber attack.

David Anthony McIntosh, 27, allegedly hacked in and shut down several NT Government databases on May 5, including servers for the Health Department, Royal Darwin Hospital, Berrimah Prison and Supreme Court using his laptop at a Palmerston home.

Prosecutor Sergeant Erica Sims told the Darwin Magistrates Court yesterday the Sydney IT expert allegedly deleted the independent user accounts of 10,475 NT public servants.

She said many workers had to be "stood down", and experts had been working "24 hours, seven days a week" to repair the damage.

But Sgt Sims said it could take months to fix, with the repair cost estimated to run into the "hundreds of thousands of dollars".

posted by Fergie @ 5/15/2008 10:45:00 PM