Most likely if it was GUI activity, they had a pre-made script that was run by the GUI to take advantage of an exploit? Sort of like "The Big Red Button" that broke NT security. :)

Real easy to hack using someone else's program that they wrote with a GUI front end?

How about "Indepenence Day" typing "Upload Virus" on an alien mainframe from a Powerbook to crash the alien mothership? Good thing the Alien mainframe spoke English and had bigger security holes than a MS-OS?