Hackers face life imprisonment under 'Anti-Terrorism' Act

Security Focus ^ | Sep 23 2001 | Kevin Poulsen

[Fred25]

Only “life”? I was hoping it would be death by firing squad at dawn.

[Liberal Classic]

And if they manage to trash a medical monitoring system while engaged in their hack exploits, it CAN turn into murder pretty easily.

Of course. If it's truly accidental, perhaps a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

I am not saying wrongful acts accomplished with a computer should go unpunshed. I'm not sure how people got that idea. Just that computer intrusion is not murder.

[SubSailor]

I really do agree that life w/o parole is too harsh, BUT there does need to be stricter punishment as a deterrant to this type of behavior. Hacking and virus planting can be severely disruptive and as one poster mentioned earlier, could conceivably lead to someone's death in the case of a medical facility being the recipient of the hit.

[Dog Gone]

Of course there has to be some common sense applied. Strict liability, applied to criminal cases, doesn't make any sense.

On the other hand, a single virus can cost billions of dollars in damages and even imperil lives. There is currently very little punishment being handed out, and it won't stop until there are some very high profile punishments handed down.

I assume most people here know I was deliberately exaggerating as far as the death penalty, although I'd actually support it if the hacking or virus directly led to loss of life.

[Fred25]

Yeah, same goes for the punks who keeping puttin' dents in my mailbox with a baseball bat!

When I was a kid growing up in the South in the ‘50s, there was sort of an old “common law” understanding that men (especially old grumpy ones) could shoot the kids with the baseball bats, if they caught them in action. Therefore, I never saw a dent in a mailbox in the South in the ‘50s, and I never dented a mailbox.

[Fred25]

voluntary manslaughter.

“Voluntary manslaughter”??? Where I come from, that’s called “cold blooded murder”.

[Liberal Classic]

Are there not different charges the county attorney can bring? Involuntary manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter, second degree murder, first degree murder, capital murder, etc.

I think you are barking up the wrong tree. I am not saying people should not be punished for computer intrusion, I am saying computer intrusion is similar to trespassing, and should be treated accordingly.

[Servant of the Nine]

I really do agree that life w/o parole is too harsh, BUT there does need to be stricter punishment as a deterrant to this type of behavior. Hacking and virus planting can be severely disruptive

I have nothing against Life without Parole, or dragging to death behind a pickup for that matter, for people who write or distribute viruses, or deliberately damage important systems.

I do object to the broad brush language that allows the Feds to call any computer literate person they dislike a hacker and put them away for life.

This is just a blank check for the government or any federal agent to get even with anyone for anything. Steal someones girlfriend? You could become a convicted hacker if he's a Fed.

So9

[SubSailor]

I wish I could catch the lil' buggers! I wouldn't want to shoot 'em, but I sure would like to tag their rap spoutin' cars! Sorry, I don't know if that's proportionate retribution or not, but it's still what I'd like to do!

[B Knotts]

I don't how a conservative could oppose the most severe punishment for hackers that spread viruses. We should be increasing the punishment for other crimes and be thankful for proper punishment for losers that create viruses.

Yes. I also propose disembowlment for jaywalkers and speeders.

Taillight burned out? 30 lashes.

Failed to seperate your recyclables? We cut off your hands.

I mean, the law's the law, right?

[Liberal Classic]

Causing the death of a man through your negligence and carelessness is manslaughter. For example, tossing a brick from the roof of a building which hits someone in the head, killing them. That's manslaughter.

Premeditation in the act, such as sabotage of someone's automobile, leads to a charge of murder.

[B Knotts]

ROFL. That's a good way to reduce Windows' market share quick. If you pass on a virus, even unknowingly, you go to jail for life.

[Poohbah]

Uh, sorry, I cannot support "voluntary manslaughter" for this any more than I can support it for a security guy who decides to clear his sidearm while pointing it at the head of a coma patient.

[Fred25]

I think you are barking up the wrong tree. I am not saying people should not be punished for computer intrusion, I am saying computer intrusion is similar to trespassing, and should be treated accordingly.

If someone has a car accident and runs over my fence and into my yard, I consider that an unfortunate accidental trespass. That actually happened to my yard and fence, and I didn’t do anything about it. I told the drunk neighbor not to worry about it too much.

However, if someone comes into my house to steal and rob or to trash my house, then I think that “life in prison” is not too much of a punishment. (I’d probably let the guy out in 10 to 20 years anyway, but I would not let him know that at the start.)

If someone gets into my computer by some fluke or accident, I can live with that, but if someone hacks it on purpose to steal info or to trash it, I would like to see him get “life”. Ten or 20 years from now, we can consider giving him a pardon.

[Dirt]

"I don't believe that our definition of terrorism is so broad," said Ashcroft. "It is broad enough to include things like assaults on computers, and assaults designed to change the purpose of government."

Does this mean that someone will finally be able to go after the person that wrote "Buttons.exe"?

[Fred25]

Causing the death of a man through your negligence and carelessness is manslaughter. For example, tossing a brick from the roof of a building which hits someone in the head, killing them. That's manslaughter.

In liberal courts.

[Liberal Classic]

If someone gets into my computer by some fluke or accident, I can live with that, but if someone hacks it on purpose to steal info or to trash it, I would like to see him get 'life'. Ten or 20 years from now, we can consider giving him a pardon.

Perhaps you mean in twenty years, give him parole.

I just don't agree. I see computer intrusion as a criminal trespass. I don't think people who trespass should be given life in prison.

[Liberal Classic]

Uh, sorry, I cannot support "voluntary manslaughter" for this any more than I can support it for a security guy who decides to clear his sidearm while pointing it at the head of a coma patient.

Perhaps I am not being clear. Whether a charge of manslaughter or murder brought, depends on whether the act was deliberate or accidental. I am not arguing that people should get away with causing someone's death, whether accidental or deliberate.

[Servant of the Nine]

In liberal courts.

Fred you would be over the top even in Houston. Houston sends more people to the needle than any place else, but even in Houston lots of the stuff you call cold blooded murder would get No Billed by the Grand Jury. Most people who get killed deserve it.

So9