A Department of Defense contractor may have exceeded his brief in writing strongly worded letters to John Vranesevich, founder of the AntiOnline hacker resource site. As a service to security professionals, Vranesevich has been publishing the details of a series of hacks into Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) servers. His reports include screenshots of government logins, to prove that the attacks did in fact take place. Peter Farrell, a contractor at the DISA’s Defense Megacenter- Denver, wrote to Vranesevich on April 28. While Farrell did not threaten legal action in the letter, he warned that Vranesevich has admitted to knowledge of a crime and may be culpable, and instructed him to contact an attorney. Farrell wrote a further letter along similar lines to a member of Vranesevich’s staff. In a prepared statement, DISA officials said that the comments and opinions in the letters are those of Farrell, and that they do not reflect the official position of the government, the DoD or DISA. Vranesevich has published the letters and his responses on his web site at www.antionline.com.
