Computer expert testifies in trial
of man accused of database sabotage
By Ivana Avramovic,
Bosnia bureau
TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina — The testimony of a computer expert Friday
highlighted the second day in the trial of a former Brown & Root employee charged with
sabotaging a company computer database.
Nizah Memisevic, a specialist hired by the court, told the judge that the defendant had
sent an e-mail with a harmful file to another Brown & Root employee. The employee
opened the e-mail on a company computer and it destroyed a company database, he said.
"There was an attached zipped file in the sent message," Memisevic testified.
Opening the file, he said, could cause damage to the company’s computer database.
Brown & Root officials allege that Admir Tinjic, a local Bosnian, intentionally
sent a contaminated e-mail to the company’s Bosnian headquarters after being fired
last December. Officials say that Tinjic’s e-mail destroyed one of the company’s
major databases.
Tinjic has admitted to sending messages from his home to former colleagues at the
company, but denied that he knowingly sent e-mails capable of damaging computer systems .
Memisevic testified that although the message Tinjic sent wasn’t technically a
virus, it could still look at files on a computer’s hard disk and delete those with a
specific extension.
Tinjic, who was given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, asked Memisevic if
the information lost was retrievable from the backups that he [Tinjic] had created while
still employed with the company.
"I was told that [Brown & Root] should have backups," Memisevic replied.
"But there were none in this case, only copies that did not reflect current
conditions."
Memisevic admitted, however, that it was months before he got involved in the case.
"We got involved six months later," Memisevic said. "Brown & Root
formatted the computer in the meantime. Theoretically, [Brown & Root] could have
retrieved [the lost information]."
The Brown & Root employee who opened the contaminated e-mail also testified Friday.
Asked by Tinjic if she had access to the Internet from her Brown & Root office,
Snjezana Cvjetic initially denied it. Warned by the judge that perjury was punishable by
law, she admitted that a co-worker had provided his password and that she used it on
several occasions to check her personal e-mail from a company computer.
Tinjic didn’t clearly state the reason for his questions, but seemed to suggest
that since Cvjetic wasn’t supposed to check her e-mail at work, he should not be held
responsible, even if he had send a corrupted message to her.
Brown & Root officials initially claimed the damage to the database to be about
$189,000. Court experts however, have estimated damages to be around $4,500.
The trial continues Nov. 20 when closing arguments are expected.
Brown & Root provides various services to the U.S. military in Bosnia such as food
preparation, laundry services, construction and maintenance projects.
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