TO SERVE AND PROTECT.*
*DOES NOT INCLUDE BLOGS.

Even bloggers have to be careful about securing their own web sites. That lesson was learned the hard way by the staff over at Boston Police Information Services.

The department's blog was infiltrated Thursday by a hacker who left an obscene message on the media relation department's site. The blog, which usually lists daily incident updates as well as crime data, displayed only a blank web page Thursday night with a message that read "hacked by metlak / Ownz here / [expletive] papa."

Police believe the hacker disrupted the site sometime between Thursday afternoon and Thursday evening when they were notified by a young, hungry reporter looking for a story during his Thursday night shift at the Globe. (Yes, it was this blogger.)

During a brief interview, police said they were not too worried because the information they post on the blog is public information. They do not believe the hacker could have accessed any other information.

Within an hour of notifying the department of the disruption, the site was taken down. Police said their information technology department was working on repairing the site.

For all of the positives of the internet and the new media, there are an equal number of negatives, as demonstrated by the example in this post. Yes, print and broadcast media have their faults too, but who worries that their newspaper will get hacked?

The Boston Police don't have the reputation for being as tight-lipped as some other local police departments (Northeastern University Police Department), but could this be symbolic of their openness to the public? Are they too open? Probably not, but ...

stay tuned.