Incidents

Member of Congress Hacks Legally

Although he accessed a member-only database, he may not be prosecuted

By George Craciun, Security News Editor

30th of June 2008, 10:38 GMT

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Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper was accused of gaining unlawful access to a National Rural Electric Cooperative Association web page. He used a password he had received from an undisclosed source, accessed the database and downloaded several documents, all of which he later used in a House of Government Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. The documents contained legal advice provided by the trade group and publicly displayed during the hearing. Although accessing such a private database constitutes a federal crime, Jim Cooper may avoid prosecution because he did it as a Member of Congress.

The Democrat refused to answer any question regarding the identity of the person who provided him with the means to access the database but he described them as an "industry whistle blower" trying to draw attention to the problems the electric cooperatives are facing. According to Cooper, the trade group is and has been aware of these problems for quite some time now.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative says that Cooper broke the law when he accessed the web page and downloaded said documents. Seeing as how it was a member-only site, Cooper should not have been able to access that information under normal circumstances. According to the long arm of the law, Cooper should be federally charged, as stated by the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

According to experts in legal matters, it all boils down to who gave Cooper the password, how that password was obtained and the manner in which it was later used. Did the secret source have the authority to do so? Does the web page clearly state that access to the database is restricted? These are just some of the questions the legal experts have to find answers to.

Nick Ackerman was employed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative to look into the matter. He says that it is obviously clear that only members could access the info on that site. Paul Ohm, associate law professor from the University of Colorado, says that "courts have generally found violations of this law when people have merely broken promises about web site usage."

Jim Cooper claims that it is all just a media scheme to take focus away from more serious issues. Since he has full immunity, he cannot be prosecuted and the FBI has not released any official statements or confirmed rumors that it is looking into the matter.

TAGS:

hack | Jim Cooper | US Congress

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