14 DAY TRIAL // The hack is a term broadly used when talking about computer science. It has roughly three meanings, that of a quick fix, a clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem, or a modification to a program or device that would give the users access to features that were otherwise unavailable to them. The term used in security is an extrapolation of the last definition, but it would hardly apply to Susan Holmes, 36.
She has pleaded guilty to accessing without authorization a computer belonging to a former employee, Nannies Inc. All she did was go through some emails in AOL accounts, but the catch is that she was, at the time, working for a competitor agency. The story is mostly dull, Susan being fined ?500 and had to pay an additional ?60 in costs of the whole shindig.
Nannies Inc. was alerted by the drop off in emails recorded between January and March 2007, and the analysis of the connection logs traced the source of wrongdoing to the IP address, attributed to Holmes' home. The woman had left the company five months before this started happening and was finally arrested in October. On Friday, she admitted to 'hacking' her former employee's email, but pointed out that it was only possible because the child care agency did not change the passwords after she left. Basically, Holmes had all the access to the registration forms she had prior to her departure.
The investigation was conducted by officers at the Specialist Computer Crime Unit at Scotland Yard. You be the judge whether this even qualifies as hacking, I for one don't consider it as such. The fine is there to prove it, but I'm sure hackers around the world would feel ashamed to have their 'hobby' associated to this case.