Hacker pleads guilty to attacking computers at Seattle hospital
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, May 15, 2006
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A man pleaded guilty on May 5 to attacking a series of computers at a Seattle hospital and at a US military base in Germany, reports the San Diego Union Tribune. Christopher Maxwell admitted to creating a "botnet"-an army of computers that infects vulnerable computers with software that allows them to be controlled remotely.
Aiming to collect commissions for illicitly installing adware on the machines, Maxwell infected computers at Seattle-based Northwest Hospital. He was able to control operating room doors, disable physician pagers, and shut down computers in the intensive care unit. Northwest Hospital switched operations to a backup system during the attack.
Maxwell agreed to pay more than $300,000 in restitution and faces up to 15 years in prison at his August 4 sentencing hearing, according to the Union Tribune. Prosecutors also indicted two alleged co-conspirators.
Click here to read the Union Tribune article.
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