Federal Database Misused For Cyber Stalking
A federal agent could face up to a decade in prison and a $250,000 fine for using a Homeland Security Department database to cyber-stalk his former girlfriend, eWeek reported recently.
Benjamin Robinson, a Commerce Department employee, was indicted Sept. 19 by an Oakland, Calif., jury for unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer and making a false statement to a government agency.
When the 40-year-old's relationship with an unidentified woman fell apart, authorities allege Robinson accessed the TECS (Treasury Enforcement Communications System) at least 163 times to track the travel patterns of the woman and her family.
Agents are authorized to use the database to perform their official duties and not for personal reasons. The indictment also claims that Robinson threatened to have the woman deported or to have her and her family killed, according to eWeek.
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