One look on Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D., N.Y.) computer is all it would take to get to resolve the Weinergate scandal, says Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute for Computer Security Training. Paller tells NRO that locating the image in question and the “time stamps” associated with the file would be enough to basically close the case. “Things are hard to delete entirely,” he says. “It could definitely find him guilty, but it couldn’t necessarily prove his innocence.” (Which is probably why Weiner won’t give it up unless he has no choice.)
Paller says that if Weiner’s Twitter account was legitimately hacked, it would have been through a process known simply as “password guessing,” in which a hacker can create a program that runs hundreds of thousands of variations and combinations of certain personal information — birthdays, pets, family members, etc. — until a match is found.
It is perfectly reasonable, he adds, that Weiner could have tweeted from his account some five minutes after a “hack” took place, which some had argued was impossible (or at least unlikely) and pointed to Weiner’s guilt. “The way these things operate, you can access from a multitude of machines, so you haven’t really taken control away just by getting access from a single entry point,” Paller says.
So Weiner wouldn’t have necessarily been “locked out” of his account for an extended period of time — or any period of time — as some have suggested. If this really was the work of a hacker, Paller says, the individual responsible would almost certainly have wanted Weiner to retain full access after the incident to give the appearance of guilt. “You’re basically playing with dirty minds here, trying to think like a bad guy,” he says.