Schwarzenegger Servers Hacked

According to the California State Police, servers at the state capital were hacked by external persons and data was stolen. Included in the data were taped conversations in which Arnold described a Puerto Rican lawmaker as “hot blooded.” This tape was given to the Los Angeles Times in an attempt to embarrass the Governor.

The State of California owes it to its residents to keep their servers secure against intrusion. And this also marks a rare instance of true political based hacking if this crime turns out to have been politically motivated.

From the SFGate here:

California Highway Patrol officials have opened a criminal investigation into “multiple” breaches and illegal downloads by outside hackers into the computers of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office, after an embarrassing private taped conversation was leaked last week to the Los Angeles Times, administration officials told The Chronicle.

The governor was criticized last week after the Times reported that during a conversation in March with Susan Kennedy, his chief of staff, and Gary Delsohn, his speechwriter, Schwarzenegger referred to Latinos and African Americans — specifically Republican Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, who is of Puerto Rican descent — as having “hot” blood or a passionate temperament.

According to a senior administration official who spoke Sunday with The Chronicle, a preliminary investigation showed that an outside individual or individuals had apparently hacked into the computer servers of Schwarzenegger’s office and downloaded the tapes.

“The state’s computer system was breached from individuals using outside computers” on three separate occasions — Aug. 29, Aug. 30 and Sept. 4, the official said, describing the breach as “a very serious matter.”