Hacker Jodi "VeNoMoUs" Jones pleads guilty to hacking ISP
Source: New Zealand News
Well-known computer hacker Jodi "VeNoMoUs" Jones has pleaded guilty to hacking an internet service provider in yet another case that appears to have been handled smoothly by the 42-year-old Crimes Act.
Jones yesterday pleaded guilty in the Manukau District Court, before IT-literate Judge David Harvey, to a charge of wilful damage - hacking into the network of Web Internet, a small internet provider since bought by Maxnet.
In November 2001, Jones, who uses the web name "VeNoMoUs", exploited a flaw in an SSH (secure shell for servers) program - software that allows Unix-based systems to be accessed and maintained remotely - to gain access to the financial accounts of Web Internet's customers.
"There was a bug in SSH which allowed him to break into the system. Then he could do whatever he wanted," said former Web Internet managing director David Gottschalk.
Jones upgraded the SSH program, inserting "backdoor" software called "Frozen", which allowed access at will. He also deleted log files to cover his tracks, which wiped some accounts details.
