With costs related to a rogue network administrator"s hijacking of the city"s network now estimated at $1 million, city officials say they are searching for a mysterious networking device hidden somewhere on the network. The device, referred to as a "terminal server" in court documents, appears to be a router that was installed to provide remote access to the city"s Fiber WAN network, which connects municipal computer and telecommunication systems throughout the city. City officials haven"t been able to log in to the device, however, because they do not have the username and password. In fact, the city"s Department of Telecommunications and Information Services (DTIS) isn"t even certain where the device is located, court filings state.
The router was discovered on Aug. 28. When investigators attempted to log in to the device, they were greeted with what appears to be a router login prompt and a warning message saying "This system is the personal property of Terry S. Childs," according to a screenshot of the prompt filed by the prosecution.