New York man indicted for hacking into Verizon computers

Verizon had to spend $120,000 to restore security to its systems

By Linda Rosencrance

July 13, 2004 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - An East Chester, N.Y., man has been indicted on charges that he hacked into computers owned by Verizon Communications Inc.
Federal law enforcement officials filed the complaint yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan against William Quinn.
The indictment alleges that from January through April of this year, Quinn, who used the name "decoder," obtained passwords to Verizon's Direct Access Testing Units (DATU) -- computers that technicians use to disable Verizon telephone numbers while performing tests on a telephone line.
Prosecutors allege that Quinn used the passwords to break into Verizon's system at least 100 times, allowing him to test and disable telephone numbers within various area codes across the country.
Prosecutors also claim that Quinn posted the passwords for various Verizon DATUs, along with instructions on how to use them to break into Verizon's computers, on Web sites devoted to "phreaking," which is the practice of hacking into telephone company systems.
The indictment further alleges that Verizon was forced to spend $120,000 to restore the security of its DATU systems, which included changing the telephone numbers for each of its DATUs nationwide and paying employees overtime to reprogram the multidigit passwords for each of those DATUs.
Quinn is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Quinn's attorney, Roland Thau, couldn't be reached for comment today.

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