How did Todd Shriber think he was going to get away with this?

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SUMMARY

Todd Shriber, the communications director for Montana Representative Denny Rehberg, was terminated for attempting to hire hackers to inflate his college grades. The incident involved email correspondence where Shriber solicited illegal modifications of personal data, which was identified as a federal offense by the recipient, a member of the hacking community. Chief of Staff Erik Iverson stated that Shriber's actions were inconsistent with the trust required in his position, leading to his dismissal.

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Rach3
Congress Aide Sought Hacker To Hike Grades

Communications Director To Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg Fired After Soliciting Help to Inflate College Marks

(AP) The communications director for Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., has been fired for trying to have the director's college record inflated by people he believed were computer hackers, Rehberg's chief of staff said Friday.

...As communications director, Shriber held "a position that entails a lot of trust," Iverson said. Shriber's work involved communicating with the public, often through the news media.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/22/politics/main2292806.shtml


The correspondence is posted online:
From: Todd Shriber (nascar24_08530@yahoo.com)
To: security curmudgeon (jericho@attrition.org)
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 13:23:03 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Question for you or other Attrition members


Would it be possible for us to discuss over the phone?
I assure you the job wouldn't be anything like
invading a government mainframe for classified
documents or stealing money from a bank. Rather it'd
be a modification of some personal data. I can provide
a phone number if that is OK. If not, we can continue
email correspondence.
From: security curmudgeon (jericho@attrition.org)
To: Todd Shriber (nascar24_08530@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:30:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Question for you or other Attrition members

Hey, squirrels work fine. First, let's be clear. You are soliciting me to
break the law and hack into a computer across state lines. That is a
federal offense and multiple felonies. Obviously I can't trust anyone and
everyone that mails such a request, you might be an FBI agent, right?

So, I need three things to make this happen:

1. A picture of a squirrel or pigeon on your campus. One close-up, one
with background that shows buildings, a sign, or something to indicate you
are standing on the campus...
http://www.attrition.org/postal/z/033/0871.html
 
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"This was out of character for him. But at the end of the day, he just wasn't exhibiting the kind of veracity that we need and demand out of our employees."

Erik Iverson,
chief of staff for Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/22/politics/main2292806.shtml
 
Hmmm, wouldn't he be the perfect guy for a career in politics? :wink: