Two youths, Pang Soon Chen and David Kok Tuck Whye, were recently sentenced to 15 and 8 months’ imprisonment respectively for hacking into the computer systems of 54 unsuspecting Internet users. They not only illegally obtained passwords of SingNet (a local Internet Service Provider) and National University of Singapore account holders, they also used these passwords to surf the Web and posted some of these passwords on "Sicknet", their US-hosted public website.
In December 1998, Kok had experienced problems with his personal computer system, which he communicated to his friend, Pang. Pang later identified the problem: Kok’s system had been hacked into by a Netbus program. This program was then downloaded and used by the duo to get the names and passwords of their victims.
To flaunt his capabilities, Pang subsequently designed the Sicknet webpage and posted a list of SingNet user names and passwords on it. Kok then suggested that more names be added in order to give the impression that the webpage had been created by a group of people.
SingNet, one of Singapore’s leading Internet service providers, was drawn to Sicknet because of the mass messages sent by Pang inviting people to visit the webpage, and also because of its similarity to SingNet’s own homepage. As a result of their arrogance and obvious disregard of the law, Pang and Kok were arrested in March this year.
Pang reportedly faced 85 charges while Kok faced 26 charges. These included unauthorised access to computer materials and services, and unauthorised disclosure of access codes.
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