A FORMER employee has confessed to hacking into an online advertisement for a Border Express job and changing it to make a “slim waist” and “DD cup breasts” the criteria.
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The man, who did not wish to be named, handed himself in to police following an article in The Border Mail last Thursday.
He also agreed to pay almost $300 to publish a letter of apology in the classified section on page 29 of today’s paper.
In the announcement, the man described his actions as being “completely irresponsible” and “highly inappropriate”.
“My actions were taken while heavily intoxicated and without giving consideration to the consequences,” he said.
“I attempted to rectify the situation by changing the advertisement back the next morning and was dismayed to read the article in The Border Mail and to find that it had spread internationally.”
The self-confessed hacker said he was a former member of the human resources department and “all too aware” of the importance the company places on equal opportunity.
Yesterday, Border Express IT manager Jeff Quinn said the company had accepted the former employee was sorry for his actions and didn’t wish to pursue it further.
“He was a young bloke who left a little while back, prior to Christmas,” he said.
“He wasn’t disgruntled or anything, he just mucked up... he got on the turps one night and it went from there.
“He fully understands what he has done and he’s very remorseful.”
The ad for an IT developer was changed to make reference to candidates with a petite figure.
It said applicants must be prepared to undergo a strip search to ensure they met these requirements.
The ad, posted on Australian jobs site SEEK, was picked up by British-based online tech publication, The Register, and was also discussed on various internet chat forums.
Emails sent to The Border Mail described the job description as “sexist” and “lewd” before the mistake was realised.
