Search for aliens costs school employee his job
Man used computer program that bogged down system; will cost $1M to fix

5,000 computers hijacked for alien search
Dec. 2: An Arizona school district computer administrator is accused of wasting resources, totaling more than $1 million, to search for alien civilizations. KPNX-TV's Brandon Kline reports.
updated 3:46 p.m. ET Dec. 2, 2009
MESA, Ariz. - A former school district employee is accused of using school computers in an experiment to find space aliens, costing the worker his job and the district more than $1 million.

School officials say that Brad Niesluchowski, who was Higley Unified School District's information technology director, downloaded free software on district computers in 2000.

The program, known as SETI @ home, uses Internet-connected computers worldwide to analyze radio telescope data in an experiment to find extraterrestrial intelligence.

But Superintendent Denise Birdwell told the East Valley Tribune that the program also bogged down the district's system and interfered with technology use in classrooms.

Birdwell said it will take more than $1 million to fix the problem, including removal of the SETI software. She says police are conducting a broader investigation.

Niesluchowski resigned from the district Oct. 22.

His lawyer did not return calls for comment.

$1m? I find that hard to believe, though I could see how he could severely balls things up, but still...

I'd sort it out for them for £100k.

over 9000

You're underestimating the overcharging common in educational IT. I hear it costs the tax payer over 9000 for every computer to be locked down by some company who's boss is probably f*cking someone with connections.

I see what you did there.

I don't. Please enlighten us.

I see what you did there.

I see what you did there.

Question: Doesn't SETI have a similar setting to Folding@home where only spare cpu cycles are used? If so why this guy didn't use it? If not, he was an idiot for installing it.