Nothing is hack-proof, for two reasons: first, all data is in plain text somewhere or else it’s of no use to humans; second, humans. This was recently proved at the 70th Police Precinct in Brooklyn, where someone appears to have been stealing traffic violation data in order to get referral kickbacks from local law firms and other businesses.
The hacker, an auxiliary police officer gone rogue, seems to have set up a camera inside the precinct in order to verify remotely that no one was looking as he accessed the database. While the camera was installed in order to guarantee no one would catch him, it appears have also been scheme’s undoing.
The accused is Yehuda Katz. More from the Daily News:
Prosecutors did not spell out how Katz profited from the scheme, but numerous calls on his cellphone were associated with medical clinics, law firms and chiropractors, suggesting he was getting kickbacks for referrals.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said Katz accessed personal information of thousands of citizens “to enrich himself through fraud.”
The surveillance camera had the capability to broadcast a live image of the office to the Internet. Investigators suspect Katz would activate the device from a remote location to make sure no one was using the computer so he could log into the database.
Katz has been released on bail and has resigned as an auxiliary officer, according to the story.
Read the full story
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!