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| Mass. Man Hacks Florida Jail Computers |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 02/13/2002 |
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A Florida inmate was recently able to repeatedly hack into a jail computer system, destroying files and going onto the Internet, even though officials first caught him doing it last year. Michael Tanzi's Web excursions ended, though, once officials snared him during an online cat-and-mouse game. Tanzi, a Massachusetts man charged with killing two women in Florida and Massachusetts, had been using the Monroe County Detention Center's computerized law library, which consists of about 50 CD-ROMs that prisoners can tap into using two steel-enclosed computer terminals in a basement room of the jail. Last May, Tanzi discovered some law library software allowed him to get on the Internet by gaining access to the sheriff's office computer system, sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said. Computer technicians at the jail said they thought they had disabled any back doors to the rest of the network. Jail administrators hadn't installed a firewall because they thought they had already safeguarded the system through other means, system administrator Michael Grattan said. Moments after he was nabbed surfing the Internet in May, Tanzi showed deputies how he had managed to do it, according to a memo by Grattan. Officials asked Tanzi to promise not to do it again, and Tanzi agreed, according to the memo. But within a month, Tanzi was back online. Among the items Tanzi obtained were employee identification numbers, which are also on deputies' badges and paperwork around the jail. After the incident, officials intentionally permitted Tanzi back onto the computer. Tanzi made his way onto the Internet, but was monitored this time. Tanzi tried to apply for a magazine subscription and began deleting text files connected to the law library's computers. He re-logged into the computer six to eight times after being repeatedly kicked off by a computer technician for the jail. When Tanzi finally realized Painter was on to him he began typing expletives, according to Painter. Jail administrators have since installed a $10,000 firewall, which they say cannot be breached by inmates. |
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