Making The Alma Mater Proud

TF6S tells me that our football team is doing okay this year. That does make this Indiana University graduate proud. I found this little gem via
Amber MacArthur and BoingBoing:

Christopher Soghoian, who created the Fake Boarding Pass Generator website, claims to have been visited by FBI agents this afternoon at his home in Bloomington, Indiana, according to a security researcher with whom he was instant-messaging at the time.

This news comes just hours after Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) called for Soghoian's arrest, and for the takedown of his website, which generates phony Northwest Airlines boarding passes to illustrate an airline security weakness documented on the 'net since 2003.

Calls and emails I made to the 24-year-old computer science student after learning of the reported FBI visit were not returned. An iChat transcript provided to BoingBoing shows Soghoian claimed the FBI was at his door between 345 and 350pm PST. He stopped responding to incoming IM messages at that time, and has not responded to other incoming messages since.

There is plenty more to see if you follow the above links.

My take?

There have been a few newsworthy items that have occured at IU since my departure in 1998. A coaching legend was fired. After Knight's forced exodus the basketball team makes it to the NCAA finals. My beloved school was named the #1 party school a couple years in a row. There was supposedly a porno flick filmed in the Teter Quad. Now, the FBI is (supposedly) investigating PhD students for creating fake boarding passes.

I don't know whether to feel sorry for Mr. Soghoian or not. I, for one, definitely miss being able to greet or be greeted by people at destination gates in the airport. Seems like a pretty sweet service to rebel against the new MO at airports. But, on the other hand, I realize the pain that could be caused if it got into the wrong hands.

Crazy, crazy, stuff.