Teen Nearly Killed us All

[jahcs]

But so many of his fellow hackers also accessed the system at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois that it began to slow down. Technicians discovered the breach and "pressed the panic button". Fearing a terrorist attack, the computer was closed down for three days and the US Department of Energy sounded a full-scale alert.

Officers at Scotland Yard's computer crimes unit were contacted and quickly traced the then-16-year-old student to his east London home.

JustAGuy Posted on Feb 5 2004, 10:07 PM
It was not a terrorist threat, as that is what they thought it originally was, so their reaction was improper.

Just because a few "crazy muslims" want to kill America, doesn't mean that everything little thing that happens has to do with terrorists.

"Uh oh, my computer is infected with a virus! Musta been terrorists!"

Give me a break.

They feared it was a terrorist attack. If your system is under attack (regardless if it is terrorist or not) the easiest and fastest way to protect your system and its assets is to sever your connection with the outside and/or shut down the system.

On a footnote:
From all the definitions I've seen, terrorism is directed against civilians and this was a government installation. Although in recent history the definition of terrorism has been expanded quite a bit.

And to be a terrorist you don't have to wear a turban.