Los Alamos computer bod jailed

Jerome Heckenkamp, 25, of Santa Monica, California, admitted two counts of hacking, which took place before he joined the famous lab.

Heckenkamp broke into Ebay's computers in February and March 1999, defaced a webpage and installed several programs that captured usernames and passwords. He then used this information to gain access to other parts of the Ebay network.

Later in 1999 he broke into Qualcomm and installed more Trojan programs. Other companies that prosecutors claimed Heckenkamp hacked include Exodus Communications, Juniper Networks, Lycos, and Cygnus Solutions.

In addition to the jail sentence, Heckenkamp had to shell out $268,291 to repair the damage and isn't allowed to use a computer with Internet access for three years.

Heckenkamp was eventually fired when Los Alamos found out about the hacks. However there was a bit of an outcry in 2001, here, when it was discovered that his bosses had kept him on even after the FBI warned them he was about to be charged.

There was a major shake up at in security in Los Alamos, which was even shut down for a time. This was not just related to Heckenkamp, more to do with the fact that the nuclear weapons labs was leaking documents like a sieve. µ

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