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Online Bookseller Fined for E-Mail Theft

Massachusetts company intercepted messages and hacked competitors' computers.

By Margret Johnston, IDG News   

Alibris representatives pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, to 11 charges that the company illegally intercepted e-mail messages and hacked into the competitors' servers to get customer lists, says court spokesperson Samantha Martin.

The snooping began at a company called Interloc, which merged with Alibris in May 1998. But Martin says the illegal activity continued after the merger, with the approval of top Alibris executives. Alibris sells used, rare, and out-of-print books.

In addition to supplying books, Interloc also provided Internet service to the Greenfield, Massachusetts, area through a business unit called Valinet.

In January 1998, Interloc's systems administrator altered the code for the company's e-mail software so that it could intercept and copy messages sent to its bookseller ISP by customers of Amazon.com, Bibliofind.com, and Advanced Book Exchange, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanne Kempthorne.

During the first half of 1998, Interloc intercepted and copied thousands of e-mail messages, according to the prosecutor. The company planned to compile information contained in the e-mail to build a database of the book dealers' top 100,000 book purchases. The company did not obtain confidential customer financial information, Martin says.

The systems administrator of Interloc also hacked into the servers of competitor ISPs--Shaysnet, Megatron Data, and CrockerCommunications--and gained access to customer lists, Martin says. She says she did not know what Interloc planned to do with the lists.

Alibris, which cooperated in the investigation, faced a maximum $250,000 fine per count in the criminal information brought by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Martin says.

No charges have been brought against Bradford Councilman, senior executive of Interloc, or any other officials of the company, but Martin says the investigation is continuing.

Attorneys representing Alibris did not return a call seeking comment.