Password Crackers Volunteer To Help Family Access Dead Marine's E-mail Account

Associated Press ^ | December 22, 2004

[wallcrawlr]

WIXOM, Mich. -- Offers of help have been pouring in for a Michigan family who is trying to persuade online giant Yahoo! to allow them access to the e-mail account a Marine killed in Iraq.

From lawyers to computer-code crackers, people across the nation have come forward wanting to help the family of 20-year-old Justin M. Ellsworth, who was killed last month during a foot patrol in Iraq.

``Oh, my God. It's been incredible,'' Justin's father John Ellsworth said. ``It's an overwhelming response. ... Things are really moving. I'm very encouraged by it all, but I still have my reservations.''

Yahoo! is standing by its policy of protecting the privacy of its e-mail subscribers, spokeswoman Karen Mahon said.

[wallcrawlr]

Something doesnt feel right about this...its difficult when its such a tragedy.

[Capagrl]

I just hope when the family does gain access they realize the 200+ messages regarding Cheating Housewives and Hot Teen Sl^ts may *not* be something the soldier willingly subscribed to (hopefully!).

[commonguymd]

I wonder if you can prevent this in your living will. I hope you can prevent this in your living will.

[Red Badger]

If Yahoo does not give them their son's e-mails, I will never use any of their services or log on to any of their web sponsors again. We must organize a boycott of Yahoo all across the net. Make them feel this family's pain! Yahoo is run by a bunch of Liberal A$$h0les anyway. This is a crime against a suffering family. Yahoo must be made to pay.....

[Quinotto]

I don't understand why would they want to get into the man's email account. If he decided, while alive, for his family NOT to know his password, why would his death make any difference? They cannot argue that they want copies of his emails, they have that in their inbox or copies of what they sent, they have that on their sent box. Something is very fishy here and I am surprised nobody in that little article brought up the issue.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Kinda torn on this one. His e-mails could lead to a good book or article on the "Mind of a Marine" or something like that.

But, I'm thinking they'll find things they probably don't want to see, and shouldn't.

Personally? I don't keep stuff in my e-mail account that I wouldn't want anyone else to see. Not being moralistic, just saving myself the embarassment. (And two decades of military training; don't leave anything behind for the enemy to use against you, you know?) ;)

[MikefromOhio]

Here we go with another worthless boycott that will achieve absolutely nothing....

[seacapn]

The question is whether or not there is any privacy involved when you open and operate a private e-mail account. It's a privacy issue. Perhaps there are things he didn't want to share with his family. It's not Yahoo's place to violate his privacy and expose him in that fashion. We have no idea what his relationship with his family was, nor does Yahoo. The default assumption has to be one of privacy. Unless the man specified the opening of his account, his privacy should be respected.

[First_Salute]

Bump.

[blaquebyrd]

If Yahoo does not give them their son's e-mails, I will never use any of their services or log on to any of their web sponsors again.

If Yahoo "GIVES" them their son's e-mails without a court order I'll never use their services again. This is a privacy issue. If the parents wanted to see their son's e-mail they should have asked him for his password. It would violate the privacy of everyone the son corresponded with to illegally release his e-mail. If the parents illegally gain access to the son's e-mail they should be prosecuted.

[Red Badger]

I have only one child, an adult. I know she is not perfect, and neither are we, her parents. if this case applied to us, instead of this poor family I would be screaming at every yahoo executive I could find until they relented. Privacy? what about plain old decency to help a bereaved family. That PRIVACY issue is a red herring and a liberal tool used for decades to accumulate more power for themselves at the expense of the people.......

[TomGuy]

People having Yahoo or similar email addys have them for a reason--primarily, privacy; secondarily, universality [being able to access easily via the web].

I have to side with Yahoo. Unless the owner of the email address has granted someone else account access, no one else should have access. It would be no different than finding the deceased had a bank account and a relative other than the 'beneficiary' tried to claim access due to blood-relationship.

Yahoo has a privacy policy. The deceased signed up to Yahoo and agreed to that policy. The parents, aunt, 2nd cousin on mother's side, nor anyone else, have an automatic right to access the man's account.

[FITZ]

I can't imagine doing this to a loved one. Never in a million years would I want to snoop on a child that much --- to take advantage of their death in such a way, what kind of information on him are they hoping to find? And my email is completely benign stuff. You can usually get into someone's email quite easily on places like Yahoo --- you're going to know the answer to most any secret question in case they lost their password --- mother's maiden name, city of birth, favorite pet ---- so if he made his secret question that secret then he doesn't want them reading it.

[asgardshill]

I posted yesterday that I honestly don't know whether Yahoo! is right or wrong in not providing access to the soldier's emails to his family. Today has dawned, and I still don't know. There are good points on both sides, and all I can really say is "Be careful what you ask for".

[tutstar]

That was really unnecessary.

[television is just wrong]

they may find things they never wanted to know. Sometimes things are better left not known.

[xsmommy]

privacy is a term of the contractual obligation between the deceased user and Yahoo. next of kin do not inherit any rights to this account.

[tutstar]

You're right about Yahoo! There used to be email groups with child porn til Ashcroft &Co. stepped in. I firmly believe their privacy policy is horse hockey because I used to have a group there which was not even listed in the directory but received spam addressed to the "list owner" so either they gave my personal email address out or they got hacked. They stink!

[CGASMIA68]

WHY?

[Malsua]

Today has dawned, and I still don't know.

Seems to me that his death nullified the contract he had with Yahoo.

Actually, the easiest out for Yahoo is to have someone "leak" the mailbox contents to the family. Blame it on a rogue staffer who has been "punished"(3 lashes with a wet noodle) and be done with it.