AL-Bail Companies Accused of Hacking Sheriff's Computer

AL-According to a report from the Mobile Press-Register, three Mobile County, Alabama bail bond companies have been accused of hacking into the Sheriff's Office Web site to get personal information on inmates and gain a competitive advantage. According to the report, bonding agents at A to Z Bail Bonds, Central Bonding and Bandit Bail Bonds somehow obtained a login and password allowing them access to a protected portion of the Web site, Sheriff Sam Cochran said. The companies are accused of using that information to contact inmates' relatives and get their business. That gave the companies a leg up on their competitors, who rely on walk-ins and cold calls from the inmates themselves, Cochran said.

No arrests have been made, but charges could be filed later as the investigation progresses, Cochran said. Deputies served search warrants at the bonding companies seizing seven computers in the process. The sheriff reported that two computers at the companies were still logged onto the site when deputies walked in the door.

Clint Ulmer, who runs Bandit Bail Bonds, didn't deny accessing the jail Web site. On the contrary, he said that he and just about every other bonding company had a password and accessed the Web site on a regular basis. Ulmer said that the password his company used was given to him by a sheriff's deputy. Investigators are still trying to find out how the password was leaked.

The Sheriff's Office began its investigation after receiving complaints from other bonding companies, Cochran said. In order to find out who was accessing the site, he said, technicians planted false contact information in the system. When representatives from the companies called to solicit business, they were talking to undercover deputies instead of family members, the sheriff said.