X-SciTech

Pentagon Hacker Quizzed In Israel

March 18, 1998 / 2:26 PM EST / AP

An 18-year-old Israeli hacker was questioned by Israeli authorities Thursday, after being accused of having launched the most organized attack ever on the PentagonÂ's computer system.

The suspect, who calls himself Â"The AnalyzerÂ" and was identified by the U.S. Justice Department as Ehud Tenebaum, was questioned by a special police anti-hacker unit.

Police Brig. Gen. Elihu Ben-Onn said the suspect was cooperating with investigators, who don't think he was seeking personal gain.

Â"This guy didn't act for what we call criminal motives, only for his curiosity, his ego, or any other motiveÂ—not for money,Â" Ben-Onn said. Â"He's not so proud [now] of what he's done.Â"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was impressed with TenebaumÂ's technological prowess. Â"Damn good,Â" Netanyahu said when asked what he thought of the hacker, who was put under house arrest Wednesday and had his computer taken away. Â"Very dangerous, too,Â" Netanyahu added quickly.

The Pentagon has said the intrusions appeared to have been aimed at systems that contained unclassified personnel and payroll records. A spokesman described the Israeli hacker's work as the most organized and systematic attack the Pentagon has seen to date.

Â"The AnalyzerÂ" and two teens from Cloverdale, California, apparently penetrated computers in February using a weakness that already had been identified by computer security teams.

Tenebaum, who lives in the well-to-do Israeli suburb of Hod Hasharon, was arrested along with two Israeli friends from the neighborhood, at the request of U.S. officials. He has not yet been charged.

Â"He was not surprised, because the story was already in the press,Â" Ben-Onn said. Â"He knew that someday someone would knock at his door.Â"

Tenebaum's high school principal described him as a high achiever at the Mosenson Youth Village school, which has an advanced curriculum in science, computers, and communications.

Â"We are sorry about what happened,Â" said the principal, Yitzhak Chen. Â"On the other hand, he didn't exploit this for a bad cause.Â" Chen said the school would talk to students about hacking and explain that it was a serious violation of the law.