7.23.2008

The downside of security


(07-22) 18:02 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco computer engineer accused of withholding access codes to the city's network surrendered the password during an unusual jailhouse visit by Mayor Gavin Newsom, authorities said Tuesday.





Newsom came away with the access codes Monday night after talking with Terry Childs, 43, of Pittsburg, who has been held since July 13 on four felony counts stemming from what prosecutors describe as an effort to block administrative access to the network that handles 60 percent of the city's information, including sensitive law enforcement, payroll and jail booking records.

[From Lawyer says client was protecting city's code]

Childs' defense attorney says Childs withheld the passwords to protect the network from "utter mismanagement, negligence and corruption" in the city's technology department.



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