University may punish students who exposed flaws

Found on Yorkshire Post on Thursday, 15 July 2004
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Patrick Foster, from Ilkley, and Roger Waite, wrote an article for The Oxford Student newspaper about how easy it was to gain electronic access to personal details of staff and students.

The pair, both first-year students aged 20, claim they were carrying out an investigation and told the university about their findings.

They were immediately referred to the university's internal "police" – the proctors – last month, and Thames Valley Police were called in under the Computer Misuse Act. The pair are now facing suspension and a hefty fine.

Mr Foster, who is reading Politics, Philosophy and Economics said: "It's a sorry state of affairs when they fail to recognise we were doing them a favour, and instead try to kick us out. So much for a free Press and academic freedom. I am very disappointed in how the university has handled the situation."

That's one of those "see no evil, hear no evil" solutions. As long as nobody says the system is buggy, it isn't buggy. Plus, their security measures don't seem to be as perfect as they claim if it is so easy to gain access.