Secret codes that make critical police databases vulnerable to hackers are being peddled to private companies‚ a forensic probe has revealed.
IT investigator Trish Richardson made this discovery while looking into the alleged theft of computer systems and intellectual property belonging to a company contracted by the police.
Richardson stumbled across an offer to procure software source codes for firearm management systems – identical to those used by the police. The source codes are a set of instructions that are used for computer programming.
“Giving the source code to someone is the same as giving a criminal the master key to a safe. If the source code relates to the police firearm system you would also know where every single police firearm in the country is all the time‚” a police cyber crimes source told Times Select.
Top-secret police codes up for sale
Image: 123RF/Denis Ismagilov
Secret codes that make critical police databases vulnerable to hackers are being peddled to private companies‚ a forensic probe has revealed.
IT investigator Trish Richardson made this discovery while looking into the alleged theft of computer systems and intellectual property belonging to a company contracted by the police.
Richardson stumbled across an offer to procure software source codes for firearm management systems – identical to those used by the police. The source codes are a set of instructions that are used for computer programming.
“Giving the source code to someone is the same as giving a criminal the master key to a safe. If the source code relates to the police firearm system you would also know where every single police firearm in the country is all the time‚” a police cyber crimes source told Times Select.
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