News US port 'hit by UK hacker'

More from the Beeb:

A computer hacker brought the systems of a major American port to a halt during a revenge attack on a fellow internet chatroom user, a court has heard.

Aaron Caffrey, 19, allegedly hacked into the computer server at the Port of Houston in Texas in order to target a female chatroom user following an argument.

It was claimed that the teenager intended to take the woman's computer offline by bombarding it with a huge amount of useless data, and he needed to use a number of other servers to be able to do so.

Mr Caffrey, of Fairlane, Shaftesbury, Dorset, denies one charge of unauthorised modification of computer material contrary to Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

He had targeted the chatroom user, called Bokkie, after they argued over anti-American remarks she had made, Paul Addison, prosecuting, told Southwark Crown Court.

Mr Caffrey, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome - a form of autism - was said to be in love with an American girl called Jessica at the time.

The jury heard that he was so obsessed with Jessica he named his computer after her and dedicated part of his attack script to her.

Mr Addison explained to the court that the attack saw scheduling computer systems at the port, which is the eighth largest in the world, bombarded with thousands of electronic messages on 20 September, 2001.

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Re: Re: US port 'hit by UK hacker'

i kind of know how you feel with a girl friend with autism.

so how far did it go in court

 

I sort of know Aaron (went to school with his big brother) and I don't think he would intentionally bring down the authority.

 

Whether intentional or not, it was a malicious attack. There often seems to be a fair amount of enthusiasm for hacker activity amongst computer enthustasts. As if hackers were some sort of modern day Robin hood, loveable rogue type characters. However, let's not forget that it costs us all, even people that don't own or use computers. Businisesses spend thousands on computer software and security, where do you think that money comes from? The managing directors salary? No siree bob, it's added to the cost of the the goods and services we all buy and use. It's a bit like insurance fraud, you think your only taking money from some rich company, but in actuality your taking a little bit from every other poor sap that has an insurance policy.