Student group Web sites and certain parts of HereAndNow are not working because a hacker compromised the Associated Student Government server earlier this week, ASG’s Technology Director Mike Jurewitz said Wednesday.
All the data should be intact, but the server might take several days to fix, Jurewitz said during the weekly ASG Senate meeting.
The server hosts student group Web sites, and ASG’s Web site and online services, including the ASG Online Restaurant Guide. Certain features of the HereAndNow Web site, such as the student directory search window and the list of Daily headlines, also rely on the ASG server and have not been working, said Jurewitz, a Weinberg senior. Those services still can be accessed through Web sites other than HereAndNow.
The hacker accessed the system and installed software designed to take commands from an outside computer. Information Technology noticed the security problem and turned off the port late Saturday or early Sunday, Jurewitz added.
Jurewitz is working with NUIT to fix the problem and prevent breaches from occurring in the future, he said. The server is a “hodgepodge of sorts,” and he said he wants to make sure it is set up properly so security is not an issue again.
“Because it’s been a server run by ASG, there typically has not been a lot of oversight in how the server was configured,” he said.
A hacker also broke into the server last December.
“The ASG server has had a somewhat storied history when it comes to incidents like this,” Jurewitz said.
Jurewitz said he has been discussing moving the server to the NUIT Datacenter, where most of Northwestern’s servers are kept. ASG would have more time to focus on issues besides equipment concerns. Technical maintenance of the server would be put under the control of a professional instead of a student technology director, Jurewitz said.
“Every year you get a new person in the (technology director) position, of varying expertise.”
He said he hopes to make the move during Winter Break.
During Wednesday’s Senate meeting, senators also heard a proposal to formally recognize in the ASG bylaws students who are not senators but are active in ASG. Senate will vote on the bill next week.
At a meeting today open to all students, ASG members and student groups will discuss a response to the city liquor ordinances, passed Oct. 10 by Evanston City Council. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the faculty dining area on the ground floor of Norris University Center.
Reach Diana Samuels at [email protected].
