Since the system looked identical to that of the campus modem banks and had no warnings or or indications that it is a private system, Ron had no warning that this system was not part of the campus modem banks. Also since the phone number to this system is one digit lower than the modem banks. It would make it seem that much more as if this number was just another number to the campus modem servers. Ron did not knowingly attempt to hack or break into any system that he did not have approved access to. He used what he thought was another connection to the campus modem banks to connect to his account on the Engineering Computer Network which he has an active account on.
System security is the responsibility of the system administrator of that system.
Had the computer system in question been adequately configured to display a warning notice or the more common method of requiring a login and password to gain access to the system, Ron would have known that this was not a campus modem server and would not have been able to access this system. Any unsecured computer system or modem server has the potential of being a security concern for all system administrators on the associated computer network. Unsecured modems provide easy access to individuals who could then attempt to break into other systems on that network and remain somewhat anonymous. At least with the campus modem servers, we are aware of their lack of security and can deal with them accordingly. With other systems such as the one stumbled across by Ron, it is the responsibility of the system administrator to make sure that the system is secure, and poses no threat to other systems on the network.