Charges Laid for Corruption of a Database

[The Bread Guy]

The latest - sabotage & conspiracy charges dropped.  MSM links below CF statement text....

Military Members to Face General Court Martial in Database Corruption Case
Canadian Forces news release NR 08.077, 30 Oct 08
News release link

Petty Officer Second Class (PO2) Silvya Reid and PO2 Janet Sinclair will face a General Court Martial in relation to the alleged corruption of a Government database in July 2007.

PO2 Reid and PO2 Sinclair were charged by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service on August 5, 2008, with one count each of Conspiracy, Sabotage, Mischief in Relation to Data and Wilfully Damaging Property Relating to Her Majesty’s Forces while working in Ottawa, Ontario. The charges of Conspiracy and Sabotage were not brought forward, or “preferred,” to the Court Martial stage by the Canadian Forces Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) following the post-charge screening process; however, a charge of Negligently Performing a Military Duty was added.

The date of the trial will be determined shortly and will most likely take place in early 2009.

The final charges facing PO2 Reid and PO2 Sinclair are:

    * Mischief in Relation to Data - contrary to Section 130 of the National Defence Act, pursuant to Section 430(5) of the Criminal Code;
    * Wilfully Damaging Property Relating to Her Majesty’s Forces - contrary to Section 116(a) of the National Defence Act; and
    * Negligently Performing a Military Duty - contrary to Section 124 of the National Defence Act.

All potential Court Martial cases undergo a post-charge screening process. Prosecutors consider two main questions at this point when deciding whether or not to prefer charges:

    * Is the evidence sufficient to justify the continuation of charges as laid or the preferral of other charges?
    * If the evidence is sufficient, does the public interest require a prosecution to be pursued?

PO2 Reid and PO2 Sinclair are currently with the Maritime Forces Pacific Headquarters in Esquimalt, British Columbia. They have chosen to be tried by a General Court Martial, which is composed of a Military Judge and a panel of five members. Each accused is represented by a defence counsel designated by the Director of Defence Counsel Service.

The DMP is a separate and independent authority for military prosecutions who exercises prosecutorial discretion within the military justice system, free of influences, and based on legal principles and criteria.

-30-

More from Canadian Press and the Ottawa Citizen.

 

[geo]

Well... with those 3 charges, I would imagine that an end to their careers is not far away.
Wonder what they could get....
1(b)Service misconduct where convicted by service tribunals of a number of offences indicating a course of misbehaviour that warrants release;
2(a) Unsatisfactory conduct where convicted by service tribunals of a number of offences indicating a course of misbehaviour which warrants release under this category, but does not warrant release under Item 1(b)
5(f) Unsuitable for Further Service.  Applies to the release of a member who, either wholly or chiefly because of factors within his control, develops personal weakness or behaviour or has domestic or other personal problems that seriously impair his usefulness to or impose an excessive administrative burden on the CF.

Time will tell - either of the 1st two should be used.... the latter one being the one probably used.

 

[OldSolduer]

Nor should they be brought up in a public forum with no proof. Allegations without proof can get one in legal trouble.

How true.
We tried to dismiss a couple of ne'er do wells from our jail a few years ago. They were implicated in shenanigans, but the union stuck up for them anyways. We pretty much had them dead to rights, but our great union didn't agree. And we had solid evidence.

 

[geo]

Union members will expect / demand that their union stands up for them.... regardless of if they are in the right or in the wrong.... nothing personal - "that's just what we do" - Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... and all that crap

If you have someone dead to right, then management needs to stand it's ground and do the dirty deed - cause it has to be done... cause that's just what we do!... never pass a wrong!

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I agree, if management does its job/investigation properly than there is nothing the Union can do.

Unfortunately we see people who should be gone get off again and again and again....

 

[LuvsMud]

"alleged corruption of a Government database"... Just out of curiosity, what exactly are they accused of doing? And why? Have the details been released?

 

[Old Sweat]

LuvdMud

You beat me to it. What is the suspected motive and just what info was allegedly altered? Was it personal, operational, financial or what?

 

[geo]

Luvsmud... have you read the full thread ???
It's in there

 

[LuvsMud]

Geo I have read the thread again but the motives and what files were allegedly corrupted still aren't clear. A poster claims to have worked with them and made reference to past mistakes and a poisoned work environment.  Possibly because they were in a relationship and one held a senior position but since frat charges weren't brought forward that doesn't seem to be the issue. Unless of course the Gov just doesn't want to go there. The links won't open so I'm probably missing something. Sorry I still don't get it but it would certainly be easy to jump to conclusions. Oh well best of luck to everyone involved and I hope it all gets sorted out one way or the other.

 

[geo]

Two sailors could face up to 10 years in jail and dismissal from the Canadian Forces if they are found guilty of sabotage in a case involving a classified computer database at Ottawa's National Defence headquarters.

I can say that I never had to work with the two Navy types - so whatever relationship they may have with anyone else is none of my concern...but, from what is on the courts martial agenda and what is above - the charges stem from a one year investigation into a ruined database.... these two sailors will have their day in court - hope their explanations are good ones.

 

[Reccesoldier]

Geo I have read the thread again but the motives and what files were allegedly corrupted still aren't clear. A poster claims to have worked with them and made reference to past mistakes and a poisoned work environment.  Possibly because they were in a relationship and one held a senior position but since frat charges weren't brought forward that doesn't seem to be the issue. Unless of course the Gov just doesn't want to go there. The links won't open so I'm probably missing something. Sorry I still don't get it but it would certainly be easy to jump to conclusions. Oh well best of luck to everyone involved and I hope it all gets sorted out one way or the other.

LuvsMud, the comment about past mistakes was raised by me and others because someone tried to insinuate guilt by way of the members histories.

The work environment was something I walked into upon my return to that place.  It was my personal interpretation and based on first hand knowledge. 

The fraternization issue still amazes me, but that is an issue separate from the charges, as it should be.  though I wonder if it will ever be addressed.

As for the database, it is part of a highly classified system.  You will never know what system or what parts of that system's database were corrupted.  It's a little thing called the need to know, and you and 99.999% of the people in this forum obviously don't.

 

[LuvsMud]

Thanks for clearing things up Zip. 

 

[AlphaQup]

Disturbing to hear about this. I remember first reading it and thinking they might be demoted or moved into positions which don't hold sensitive information.

 

[geo]

Alpha.... they have already been moved.... to the west coast
Rank & disposition of charges are still pending

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Media Advisory
Court Martial Proceedings to Begin for Database Corruption Case
February 2, 2009

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 30, 2009) - General Court Martial proceedings will begin on Monday, February 2, at 9:30 a.m. at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt, Building 30-N, 2nd floor, for Petty Officer Second Class (PO2) Silvya Reid and PO2 Janet Sinclair in relation to the alleged corruption of a Government database.

The charges facing PO2 Reid and PO2 Sinclair are:

Mischief in Relation to Data - contrary to Section 130 of the National Defence Act, pursuant to Section 430(5) of the Criminal Code;
Wilfully Damaging Property Relating to Her Majesty's Forces - contrary to Section 116(a) of the National Defence Act; and
Negligently Performing a Military Duty - contrary to Section 124 of the National Defence Act.
PO2 Reid and PO2 Sinclair are currently employed with the Maritime Forces Pacific, based out of Esquimalt, British Columbia. They have chosen to be tried by a General Court Martial, which is composed of a Military Judge and a panel of five members. Each accused is represented by a defence counsel.

As the matter is now proceeding in accordance with the Code of Service Discipline, it would be inappropriate to comment further about the circumstances surrounding this case at this time.

Information:

Media interested in attending the court martial are asked to contact CFB Esquimalt Public Affairs at 250-363-4006 by 2:00 p.m., Friday, January 30.

The Presiding Judge for this public hearing will be Colonel Mario Dutil with the Prosecution represented by Major Jason Samson. The accused are represented by Lieutenant-Commander (LCdr) Pascal Levesque for PO2 Reid, and Mr. Martin Reesink for PO2 Sinclair.

The senior panel member is Col P. Keddy, and the remaining panel members are; LCdr L.J. Tempstra, Lt(N) B.A.M. Quemerais, MWO B.S. Bekus, and WO W.S. Mullins.

The hearing is open to the media and the public, however electronic recording devices and photographic equipment are not allowed within the court room.

News Release 08/12/08 - Charges Laid for Corruption of a Database
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=2725

News Release 10/30/08 - Military Members to Face General Court Martial in Database Corruption Case http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=2799

 

[ModlrMike]

It will be interesting to see the specifics of the case.

 

[dangerboy]

Sailors plead guilty to damaging DND computers


By Dave ******** , The Ottawa CitizenFebruary 4, 2009



VICTORIA, B. C. — Two sailors pleaded guilty Wednesday to willfully damaging military property at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa after a 2007 incident that temporarily hindered the ability of officers to search for secret missile launch and space data.

The two were originally charged with sabotage last year in relation to a July 2007 incident with a classified defence headquarters computer system. The sabotage charge, a rarity for the Canadian Forces legal system, was dropped in October.

Petty Officer Second Class Janet Sinclair and her spouse, Petty Officer Second Class Silvya Reid, both worked at the National Defence Headquarters command centre at the time of the incident and both had a top secret clearance and access to classified databases. One was a NORAD system while the other was a separate system called Titan.

The two were charged after a year-long military police investigation and are now serving at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, B.C. in the Maritime Forces Pacific headquarters.

The sailors said little during the court martial and their guilty plea will limit the number of witnesses to be called in the proceedings.

In entering their guilty plea, their lawyers asked that the wording on the charge indicate the two had willfully damaged a “database icon.”

According to information provided to the court, Petty Officer Second Class Sinclair had voluntarily created a computer program that allowed officers better access to data by improving how they could search for the information.

But on July 16, 2007, a database icon on the command centre’s computer system was damaged and an assessment report later determined that the program created by Petty Officer Second Class Sinclair had been rendered inaccessible. That, in turn, limited the search for what was termed historical data on missile launches and other space-related information.

No motive was provided Wednesday during the court martial.

But prosecutor Maj. Jason Samson told the court that Petty Officer Second Class Reid wanted to see if anyone at the command centre could fix the damaged system. He explained that the computer program in question had been created on Petty Officer Second Class Sinclair’s initiative and Petty Officer Second Class Reid “didn’t want to leave it” with the unit.

Petty Officer Second Class Reid “wanted to teach them a lesson to do their job,” Maj. Samson read in a statement to the court.

The court martial judge, Col. Mario Dutil, heard details about an electronic chat between the two sailors that Maj. Samson said had revealed “an intent to crash the database.”

Petty Officer Second Class Sinclair, in a message from home, explained to Petty Officer Second Class Reid at headquarters how to disable the system. Petty Officer Second Class Reid noted that she was going to backup the information on to a CD and “then corrupt.”

At that point, Petty Officer Second Class Sinclair responded: “Don’t forget to crash the database.”

Petty Officer Second Class Reid wrote back: “I will now.”

The electronic chat messages were later discovered by investigators.

In a turnover note to her co-workers Petty Officer Second Class Reid informed them that she had a problem with the database and couldn’t fix it.

It took four hours of work and cost $536 to fix the system. Military officers have not disclosed details about the specific nature of the database or its security value to the Canadian Forces.

Both Petty Officer Second Class Sinclair and Reid had top secret clearance and according to Maj. Samson held extremely sensitive positions with access to highly classified information. There were no details about the type of classified work that the two performed.

Petty Officer Second Class Sinclair is a sonar operator, while Petty Officer Second Class Reid is a naval combat information systems operator.

Part of the court martial was spent hearing the pay and pension implications if the sailors were released from the military or reduced to a lower rank.

The two were originally charged in August 2008, each with one count of sabotage, one count of conspiracy, one count of mischief in relation to data, and one count of willful property damage.

In October the military decided not to move forward on the charges of sabotage and conspiracy after a post-charge screening process by the Canadian Forces director of military prosecutions was done. The charge of negligently performing a military duty was added at that time.

The prosecution agreed Wednesday to drop the charges of mischief in relation to data and negligently performing a military duty.

News Article

 

[Wookilar]

Wow there's some leadership for you. I would expect more from two experienced members, especially given their ranks and positions of trust that they hold.

Question I have for the legal beagles here: They have plead guilty to willfully damaging military property, but the courts martial is still proceeding? Does the court have the authority to not except that plea and continue with a trial?

Also, to me, there is a big difference between "willfully damaging military property" and intentional corruption of a secure database. I see willful destruction and I think smp vehicles seriously driven like they were stolen or LOSV's taken off cliffs to do jumps. I'm just wondering on the legal status of databases and secure systems in Canada.

Wook

 

[ModlrMike]

In the military system, even though they plead guilty, the particulars of the offence have to be entered into the record. Witnesses have to be heard, documents entered into evidence, and the judge has to rule. All of which ensures a fair and transparent trial.

 

[George Wallace]

Wow there's some leadership for you. I would expect more from two experienced members, especially given their ranks and positions of trust that they hold.

Question I have for the legal beagles here: They have plead guilty to willfully damaging military property, but the courts martial is still proceeding? Does the court have the authority to not except that plea and continue with a trial?

Also, to me, there is a big difference between "willfully damaging military property" and intentional corruption of a secure database. I see willful destruction and I think smp vehicles seriously driven like they were stolen or LOSV's taken off cliffs to do jumps. I'm just wondering on the legal status of databases and secure systems in Canada.

Wook

So they pleaded guilty.  Has the Court made judgement and 'Sentenced' them yet?  No.  Therefore the Courts Martial will still proceed.  It has unfinished business.