Mark Addinall, ring-bearer

Melbourne Age - Thursday 22 June 1995.

A Public Servant who was responsible for the biggest Government leak in Commonwealth history was sentenced by an Australian Capital Territory magistrate yesterday to nine months jail.

Peter Mackay, 37, pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Crimes Act relating to the leaking of thousands of documents from the federal Attorney-General's Department to the shadow Attorney-General, Senator Amanda Vanstone, last year.

The information included confidential legal advice, possible parliamentary questions, personnel material, and the business plan for the Australian Government Solicitor.

Mackay, a computer applications programmer, was able to access the information by developing computer programs that allowed him to obtain confidential passwords belonging to other employees and access their e-mail. The magistrate, Ms. Karen Fryar, said that in his job Mackay had been placed in a unique position in relation to the computer systems of the Department.

(He) was employed in a position of trust and, as a consequence of a serious breach of that trust and of the duty he has as a public servant, he jeapordised, at the very least, the efficient workings of the department, she said.

Ms. Fryar rejected Mackay's claim that his motives for the offences were altruistic because he wanted to highlight the lack of security in the computer system. She said this claim had been a convenient fallback position in the hope of some leniency. A person as adept at solving problems and lateral thinking as the defendant must surely have thought of at least half a dozen different ways to bring the problem to light.

Taken together with his admissions of a political agenda and his wish for a financial reward for his deeds, it makes it impossible to believe that the defendant had any altruistic motive at all in this matter. She said despite extenuating factors including a previously impeccable record, and the toll on his marriage, Mackay had shown a lack of remorse and she was compelled to impose a jail term.

However, she suspended most of the sentence. Mackay will serve a minimum of three months, on entering a three-year, $3000 good behaviour bond. Under the conditions of the bond, Mackay is barred from publishing details of his hacking or of the programs he developed to crack passwords, or develop similar programs.

Ms Fryar warned other people in similar positions that they also risked jail. After the hearing the Secretary of the Department, Mr. Stephen Skehill, said the department would discuss a punishment. Macakay had been suspended from duty since the discovery.

Now THERE is something from the past, now PISS OFF MACKAY!

To which I respond by saying/posting things which I know will piss Mark off.

Here's something else from the past, which you can see online at:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/disp.pl/au/cases/sa/ SAIRC/1997/50.html

'Seppo Renfors' wrote <big snip>

COULD YOU PEOPLE OVER THERE IN OZ PLEASE STOP CROSSPOSTING TO

says...

Forgive him, for he knows not what he does. Probably just hit the 'Reply' button, like I did. You could always trim the follow-up line if you don't want a reply to come back.

Seppo, you are an idiot. Ted is an American and he visits Australia frequently. As a visitor, legally processed with visas and everything, he enjoys the full protection of the law. If you think otherwise, then you must have your head up your bum.

Geez, remember how we all thought you were a Yank because of your name? That was a hoot!

Seppo indeed has his head up his bum, but also for reasons other than this.

Then we found out that he's a drongo.

Chuckle.

Yair. He opened his mouth.

Looks like Barry Mckenzie has joined the ng (or maybe it's Dame Edna).

Can I ask what led up to you landing downwind? Not trying to hassle you here... just trying to learn from it here. We had a bad one at our dz recently.

Glad you were ok.

If people are sick of seeing Ned clutter up the group with his lunatic stalking and his petty hatreds send complaints to:

Have you worked out yet why you're a social outcast, Renfors?

BTW, what you're doing with these posts is an offence under S. 85ZE of the Crimes Act.