The Triangle

Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Facebook.com Gang Qiu, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering was arrested Jan. 19.

Drexel University freshman Gang Qiu was arrested Jan. 19 for allegedly using a state computer system to access the personal information of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former Mayor John Street and actor Will Smith, according to police.

Qiu has been charged with six felony counts, including attempted identity theft, but in his first public comments told The Triangle he was simply bored at work and had no intention of using the personal information.

Qiu said he knew his actions were wrong, but insisted he was simply curious what he could find in the state's driver license database.

As an employee at Success Auto Tags, Qiu had access to the driver license records of Pennsylvania residents via the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's database. Simply typing in the names of the target led Qiu to the personal information, he said.

That simple search led to a visit from Pennsylvania State Police.

Qiu told The Triangle he searched the system for Rendell, Nutter, Street and actor Smith Dec. 8, 2007; he also admitted to the troopers that he had searched his friends and family in the state computer.

"All I did was type his [Ed Rendell's] name into the system," he said. "I didn't hack into anything; I was already in," he added, about the PennDOT computer.

The database did not have any special protections to prevent Qiu from retrieving the information, he said.

"You just have to be told once and you get into it," Qiu said. He did say that "entering the system" was very difficult but declined to provide specifics.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman Danielle Klinger declined to comment on the specifics of the computer system, citing security concerns.

Klinger said she could not comment on specifics of Qiu's case, citing the ongoing police investigation.

Local television reports have characterized Qiu as an attempted identity thief with a headline at CBS3's web site reading "Center City Identity Theft Scheme Foiled." However, this is something Qiu denies.

"Oh god no," he said when asked if planned to steal the identity of those he searched.

State police said there was no evidence at the time to suggest Qiu has used the information to open credit cards or otherwise compromise the identity of Rendell and the others.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools