To combat deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian province of Pará has been using computer technology to administer a system of forestry permits. Unfortunately, the system has led to widespread abuse by logging companies that have allegedly hired hackers to issue fake permits:
Companies logging the rainforest for timber or charcoal production are only allowed to fell a certain amount of timber every year and this is controlled by the use of transport permits issued by the … computer system. … each shipment of timber requires one of these transport permits, and the volume of timber in each shipment is deducted from the total amount allowed under the company’s forest management plan. Once that amount is reduced to zero, no more transport permits are issued so there’s no profit in felling more trees.
At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen but today the public prosecutor will release details of how hackers employed by 107 logging and charcoal companies have compromised the system, falsifying the online records to increase the timber transport allocations for certain areas of the forest.
The government is seeking a US$833 million fine for the contraventions. A Greenpeace worker noted that “this method of controlling the transport of timber was subject to fraud,” and that “this is only the tip of the iceberg, because the same computer system is also used in two other Brazilian states.” It is unclear when the authorities plan to fix the security holes in this deeply flawed permit administration system
