Boston College student indicted for info theft

By Paul Roberts, IDG News Service

February 7, 2003 12:00 PM ET

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IDG News Service - A student at Boston College was indicted by a Massachusetts grand jury yesterday on charges that he surreptitiously installed keystroke-monitoring software on campus computers, then used the software to steal personal information from more than 4,000 individuals who used the machines.
The student, 21-year-old Douglas Boudreau, was charged with a variety of crimes, including six counts of interception of wire communications, eight counts of unauthorized access to a computer system and two counts of larceny over $250, according to a statement by the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly.
Boudreau, who is a senior computer science major and a resident of Rhode Island, allegedly installed the keystroke-monitoring software on more than 100 computers located in public areas around the BC campus, according to the Reilly's office.
Once installed, the software allowed him to secretly monitor and save every keystroke entered on those computers, which were used in common by members of the BC community.
Using the information, Boudreau is said to have compiled a database of personal information for around 4,800 BC students, employees and staffers, including computer passwords, confidential access codes to BC buildings, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers.
Some of that information was used by Boudreau to reconfigure his campus identification card, known as an "Eagle Card," allowing him to pass off purchases at the campus bookstore, dining hall and laundry facilities to other student accounts, according to the attorney general's office.
Boudreau allegedly racked up more than $2,000 in bogus Eagle Card purchases using the information he obtained, according to the attorney general's office. BC's IT staff discovered the scheme and took steps to correct and secure the affected computers. The case was then passed to the attorney general's office by campus police.
Boudreau was suspended following the allegations and is awaiting trial.

Reprinted with permission from

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Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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