Sure it is -- didn't you read the original article?
Six of the defendants were charged with violating the anti-encryption provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The other charges involved conspiracy or manufacturing a device for the purpose of stealing satellite signals. All three counts carry a maximum prison sentence of five years.It's inarguably illegal.
And don't try to weasel about it not being "wrong" in a moral sense either -- picking the lock on your sister's diary and reading it is wrong too, even though it's not illegal.
Yes, I read the article, and know about this from other sources. These people are NOT in trouble for 'stealing' satelite service.
One of my earlier posts gave more detail. Essentially, the 19 yr old's uncle worked for the company who developed a NEW Smartcard. The NEW Smartcard was very Company confidential, and contained a great deal of intellectual property (patents, ect). That's how the company justified the $14 Million dollar fines, as that is what the company invested in the card's creation. But I get ahead of myself.
The 19 yr old visited his uncle; who worked for the card company, and had a legitimate reason to have the card's tech. specs home (working on the card at home). The 19 year old stole the tech specs, and then distributed the tech specs (which were clearly labeled 'Confidential') to various web sites dealing with hacking satelite. The intention was to leak confidential information on a new product; to enable hackers to 'crack' the card before it was released to the public. This is intellectual theft. The other people involved then distributed stolen goods; thus are also guilty of the theft.