Free Republic

"Arson, vandalism, burglary, grand larceny, firebombing, kidnapping, slander, conspiracy, computer crimes, and theft. If you think this sounds like a rap sheet for a hardened, malicious criminal, you would be close. It's your local neighborhood animal lover and tree hugger gone berserk," ex-Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo.) writes. And columnist Todd Wilkinson notes, "Because involved individuals are anonymous, they could be anyone. Parents, teachers, church volunteers, your neighbor or even your partner could be involved." SHAC, a violent anti-medical research organization that has harassed and beaten individuals linked with Huntingdon Life Sciences, now says it will extend its campaign or terror ...

LONDON (AP) — British police, with aid from U.S. investigators, have shattered a global Internet pedophile ring, rescuing 31 children and rounding up more than 700 suspects worldwide, authorities said Monday. Some 200 suspects are based in Britain, said the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center, a government agency. Of the 31 children, some only a few months old, more than 15 were in Britain, the center said. British authorities would not break down where the other suspects or children came from. A Canadian official said 24 Canadians were arrested and seven children rescued, but added that the time period...

Crusader’s son faces child-porn charge The son of conservative religious activist Dave Daubenmire has been charged with downloading child pornography onto a computer at the family's Licking County home. Zachary Daubenmire, 24, was arrested Tuesday by sheriff's detectives and charged with pandering obscenity involving a minor, a felony punishable by two to eight years in prison. A repair technician working on the Daubenmires' computer on Monday called authorities after finding digital videos showing girls having sex with men, said Capt. Chad Dennis. The video files, marked "illegal," were found under Zachary Daubenmire's user profile on the computer and apparently were...

More than half of recent major Internet threats try to harvest personal information, a sign that financial gain is behind the attacks, according to a Symantec study. Identity theft features were found in 54 percent of the top 50 malicious codes detected between July and December last year, the security company said in a report released Monday. That marks an increase on the 36 percent found during the same period in 2003. "This represents a clear trend that attackers have gone from seeking fame to seeking fortune," said Oliver Friedrichs, senior manager with Symantec Security Response. Computers are increasingly...