Police records employee on leave after computer virus on
captain’s computer sends her work record to 400 e-mail addresses,
including Hells Angels
The job evaluation of a Hollister Police Department records
clerk was one of the files sent to nearly 400 e-mail addresses
– including a Web site maintained for the Hell Angels Motorcycle
Club – after a virus infected a captain’s desktop computer.
”
That’s what makes it so scary,
”
said Mary Ann Bradley.
Police records employee on leave after computer virus on captain’s computer sends her work record to 400 e-mail addresses, including Hells Angels
The job evaluation of a Hollister Police Department records clerk was one of the files sent to nearly 400 e-mail addresses – including a Web site maintained for the Hell Angels Motorcycle Club – after a virus infected a captain’s desktop computer.
“That’s what makes it so scary,” said Mary Ann Bradley.
The virus is an older, medium-threat one known as SIRCAM that most protection software guards against. Bradley maintains the department was negligent in not having updated software to protect against it.
“Why didn’t the department have virus protection?” she said.
SIRCAM entered Capt. Bob Brooks’ computer through e-mail, then copied files from his hard drive, including Bradley’s job evaluation, which she said was unfairly unfavorable. It then sent the files to everyone in his e-mail address book through the Internet.
“I’d still be upset if it were a good review,” she said Tuesday. “But it’s out there and I don’t know where it is, and that’s what has kept me up at night and that part is really scary.”
Hollister resident Dave Frisbee received the e-mail and said he wondered why Brooks, whom he’d never written, was sending him an e-mail with the subject header “Mary Ann eval.”
“I was going to open it and my anti-virus said don’t,” Frisbee said. “I figured it was someone’s job evaluation. I thought to myself ‘who the hell is this Mary Ann, well, maybe it’s someone who works for him.’ Then I was thinking ‘why did he send it to me?'”
Brooks said he has confirmed only two cases in which other people viewed Bradley’s job evaluation. Brooks also said the job evaluation was not sent out in every e-mail sent by the virus. Unlike most traditional computer viruses, this one does not erase files or crash the system, Brooks said.
“This one didn’t make it sick,” he said. “It was just an annoyance really.”
Bradley is annoyed as well. She met with an attorney on Wednesday, and is exploring her legal options with a police union representative as she prepares for a meeting Friday with city officials. She said she suffered humiliation, as people called the department wondering why they’d been sent “Bradley’s job evaluation” without realizing they were talking to the victim.
“I’m out there taking the calls,” she said. “It was mortifying.”
She said Chief Bill Pierpoint apologized and asked how the department could make it up to her.
“I was thinking, how do you call Sonny (Barger) and tell him to ignore it,” said Bradley, who says she has sought counseling in an effort to calm her anxiety over the situation. “I’m not the type of person who cries, but I keep bursting into tears over this.”
Brooks first learned his computer was sending out the unauthorized e-mails on Sept. 23. He was taken by surprise when he got the first of several phone calls from e-mail recipients, some of whose computers were also infected. The virus has the capability of sending more copies from the computer of someone Brooks infected, which means it could have been copied exponentially.
“I got calls from people I don’t even know,” Brooks said.
Bradley said she was so emotionally affected by the release of the job evaluation that she has been on administrative leave since Oct. 1 and does not know when she will return to work.
Bradley said the Hollister Police Officers Association is handling the matter on her behalf, because she cannot afford an attorney.
“The entire situation they have created is very stressful,” she said.
Brooks said he does not remember a contaminated e-mail coming to his computer, and said the virus could have been on his computer for weeks.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened,” he said.
Brooks said the e-mail went to recipients in the form of a poorly worded message, something to the effect of “I send this to you for your review. Talk to you later,” with an attachment. Those opening the attachment without virus protection had their computers infected. In some cases, the file could not be opened, though Brooks could not say why.
Before the unauthorized e-mails stopped going out on Sept. 30, Brooks said one went to Sonny Barger Productions, a Web site he has visited to look for information on the activities of motorcycle gangs before the annual Hollister Independence Rally.
“If it’s the Sonny Barger of the Hells Angels, I don’t know,” Brooks said. “I cruise their Web site.”
Calls to Union President Ray Wood and Chief Bill PierPoint have not been returned. City Manager George Lewis declined to release a letter sent by the Department’s union regarding the matter or what the letter outlined, saying it was a personnel issue.
“It’s certainly a mistake, we’re sorry that it happened and we’ll do whatever is necessary to correct the issue,” Lewis said. “The server has a virus protection program. That server did not block the virus. It’s not clear why that happened. We’re investigating that.”
In order for computer users to avoid making the same mistake, Bob Brentnall, president of South Valley Internet, said people should follow a simple procedure.
“No. 1, get a virus checker and put it on your computer, and make sure the virus checker is current every week,” he said.
Though Brentnall is not specifically familiar with the SIRCAM virus, he said anyone could get up to speed on virus developments by going to Norton Anti-virus Utility’s Web site.
Staff Writer Tracie Cone contributed to this report.
