Lichtenegger among lawmakers whose Facebook pages have been hacked

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- On Jan. 21, the following message appeared on Rep. Donna Lichtenegger's Facebook page: "I love lobbyists! All the free food and stuff you get. This job is awesome!"

Inappropriate, right? Except she didn't write it.

Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, is among several Missouri lawmakers saying they were targeted by Internet hackers who posted messages on their Facebook pages since the start of the legislative session last month.

"From what I understand, it's not really an uncommon thing," Lichtenegger said Monday. "I think people just don't have enough time on their hands."

Three Republican and one Democratic state House member and one Republican staff member have reported that their Facebook pages have been hacked since Jan. 5.

Lichtenegger said no one knows for sure how their accounts were hacked, but some have suggested it may have been over a free wireless network at the statehouse that is used by visitors, lawmakers and staff members. In all of the instances of Facebook hacking, that open network was used, she said.

"What they wrote on mine was obviously pretty immature," said Lichtenegger, a freshman lawmaker. "They changed one person's profile and said on another that that person was resigning. Silly stuff."

The one mistake Lichtenegger said she made was that she deleted the posting right away. When she contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Cyber Crimes Unit, she said, she was told it could not be investigated if the posting had been deleted.

Lichtenegger said she uses her Facebook page on Fridays to reach out to her constituents about her work as a legislator. While she normally uses the House's secured Internet connection, she logged on through the public wireless connection for the statehouse on the day her Facebook page was changed.

"I'm not going to stop using Facebook," she said. "It's a good way of letting folks know what's going on up here. It's a good way to get information out. But I don't plan on using the public network anymore."

House clerk Adam Crumbliss said there has been a "spike" in the number of reported hacking incidents this year.

"We're hearing more about it than we ever have," he said.

Missouri House members have access to the public wireless network, which officials said goes largely unwatched. However, there also is a separate, secure network for lawmakers. Crumbliss said the House wants to ensure individuals using the public network do not need to fear government surveillance. The House previously considered a secured network, but users were not satisfied and found the login process cumbersome.

In the Missouri Senate -- where there have been no complaints about compromised accounts -- the Internet networks are monitored.

Lichtenegger said she's not worried about people thinking she did actually write the message: "I had seven phone calls on my way home after it was posted and the first thing they said was 'Donna, your Facebook page has been hacked.' They knew I didn't post that."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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