A Houston ethical hacker accused of breaking into the wireless network of a Texan court has been acquitted of all charges. Stefan Puffer, 34, was charged in July 2002 on “two counts of unauthorized access into a protected computer system and unauthorized access of a computer system used in justice administration”, the Houston Chronicle reported yesterday. It’s believed to be the first case of its kind in the US. In court, prosecutors claimed Puffer caused $5,000 in damage by breaking into the Harris County district clerk’s wireless computer network in March 2002. On March 18 2002, Puffer demonstrated to a county official and a Chronicle reporter how easy it was to gain access to the court’s system using only a laptop computer and a wireless LAN card. Puffer first noticed the problem while scanning for insecure 802.11 networks throughout Houston earlier that month, around the time (March 8 2002) that alleged offence took place. Full Story