Statement presented to the house subcommittee on crime
Wilbur C. Miller · ACM SIGUCCS Newsletter · 1984
Mr. Chairman. Members of the Subcommittee on Crime. My name is Wilbur C. Miller. I am the President of Drake University, which is located in Des Moines, Iowa. I am here today, by your invitation, to share my views on the ". . . future problems with electronic and computer fraud and the effect such innovations will have on educational institutions." At Drake, as with many institutions of higher education, this issue is not and has not been a consideration merely of problems for the future but has, in fact, been of great concern since the initial use of computers on the university campus. The views that I will be sharing with you are not hypothetical nor are they totally philosophical. On the evening of January 31, 1984, one of Drake University's computers was penetrated by hackers. These individuals had no connection with the University as students, faculty or staff and gained access to the computer through a telephone connection from an off-campus location. As a result of this unauthorized intrusion into the system, the University has been forced to dedicate scarce resources to the task of determining the extent and the effect of the intrusion. Many students and faculty members have been seriously inconvenienced by having their research and curricular efforts restricted. While new and additional security provisions have been introduced following the intrusion, it must be understood that it is probably not possible to make an academic computing system totally secure against penetration by hackers. Use of the computer system in question goes on, but there is a new aura of concern. Users wonder, "Are my materials that I have stored in the computer system secure or have they been compromised?" Prudence dictates that the integrity of the system must be viewed as suspect and the use of the system for sensitive purposes must be curtailed. Indeed, this is the nature of the problem.