14 DAY TRIAL // The computer hacks, be them posting a simple message on an affected system or controlling the army's war machines, are extremely dangerous for all of us. Here's today's piece of news, that comes to support the statement above: an employee of the Tehama Colusa Canal Authority (TCAA) in Willows, California, has installed unauthorized software on a computer supposed to "diver the water from the Sacrament River," ComputerWorld reports. Moreover, 61-year-old Michael Keehn has damaged the system and he's facing a sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, The Register added.
It seems that the employee has installed the unauthorized pieces of software around the 15th of August, as "he was responsible with computer systems" inside TCAA, ComputerWorld continued. "With a staff of 16, the TCAA operates two canals, the Tehama Colusa Canal and the Corning Canal, that provide water for agriculture in central California, near the city of Chico. Both systems are owned by the federal government," the same source continued.
However, it seems that the modifications applied by the employee on the computer are not so dangerous for the canal system, because once the system is hacked, the entire technology enters the manual mode. "When the computer doesn't work, they have to go to manual operation,"Robin Taylor, assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, told ComputerWorld.
There are more and more reports concerning hacks or computer problems caused by employees, who misuse the technology they receive. A few days ago, we heard of a man who took his workstation at home, but once he connected it to the Internet, he shared the entire content of the hard drives with the rest of the web. Because the files also included HIV and hepatitis status, the data loss was pretty serious and affected numerous residents.