Police look into computer tampering

By Juana Summers

Published Sept. 11, 2007

University police are investigating an instance of computer tampering that, according to police, might have been responsible for outages on the Columbia Missourian Web site this weekend.

According to MU police Capt. Scott Richardson, computer tampering occurred between Sept. 6 at 11 p.m. and Sept. 7 at 5 p.m.

"We're reviewing the hard drive information for anything that may lead us toward a suspect," Richardson said.

According to Richardson, the computer involved with the incident was located at the Columbia Missourian offices. A system security analyst from the Division of Internet Technology filed the police report, Richardson said.

Reuben Stern, managing editor for the Columbia Missourian, said he was unaware of any investigation regarding the newspaper's Web site.

Messages on the Columbia Missourian's Web site throughout the weekend told site visitors that there was a problem with a server, which caused visitors to experience slower response times and instructed them to view a temporary site.

That message was replaced by alternate information, which instructed visitors to refresh the Web site multiple times if they experienced delays or difficulties with the site. That message was replaced Monday afternoon.

Employees of J-NET, the entity of the Missouri School of Journalism responsible for maintaining the Columbia Missourian's Web site, declined to comment.