RCMP Computer Security Breach May Have Compromised Trial Evidence

RCMP in Kamloops set up six computers for use in processing evidence in a car-theft ring and isolated them from the Internet. An un-named officer then connected the computers to the internet so he could download, software and media files as well as using the computers for online chat and visting dating sites. The computers were eventually infected with at least four viruses. The RCMP say there's no guarantee that the evidence wasn't tampered with.

According to the article from CBC News:

• Subsequently, the computers were infected with at least four viruses over a 20-month period, the RCMP spokesperson said.

• One of the viruses caused one of the computers to become part of a Zombie Network, an intrusive web-based proxy network, and sent out thousands of spam messages to other computers.

• The viruses also opened a "backdoor" allowing the computer to be controlled by an outside person, including giving them the ability to view, copy, delete or alter any file on the infected machine.

readallaboutit: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/02/bc-rcmp-computers-viruses.html