The Economics of Executing Virus Writers

applemasker writes "Slate.com has an article titled Feed The Worms Who Write Worms to the Worms which argues based on economic theory (and somewhat tongue-in-cheek) that it is a 'better investment' to execute the creators of worms, virus and trojan authors, than murderers. Anyone who has tried to resurrect a network or computer after a nasty infection may agree. Although the author does not seriously argue for capital punishment for the script kiddies, it does raise some interesting issues about how much 'value' society puts on certain types of harm and the author's view of a government's role in protecting us from it."

Let the heads roll

[treehouse]

And spammers, and people who put spyware in the programs you buy, and companies which design operating systems so they won't run a competitor's apps, and company lawyers who keep you so busy fighting their lawsuits that you eventually just give in.

"They never would be missed, They never would be missed."

A Better solution...

[baudilus]

They may not fear death. I'd suggest limiting them to 33.6 kbps internet connections. That's the real hell.

Death by sand paper

[poutine514]

I say first we take their fingers and toes, and rub them down with sandpaper, taking a break every 5 minutes to dip the stumps in salt. How can you program viruses if you have no fingers, you fucking script kiddy.

They should do it

[MrRuslan]

by putting them in a room with a bunch of spammers on penis enlargement pills and viagra.

Wouldn't that be Aiding and Abetting?

[lecithin]

Same punishment could apply.

Personally...

[D-Cypell]

I think that it would be even better to execute the senior management at companies that release their software to the general public while it is still full of holes that can be exploited by authors of malcious code...

Infact... wasnt this what Tarintinos new flick is about... I havent seen it yet! ;o)

Abu Ghraib

[soloport]

So why destroy Abu Ghraib prisons in Iraq? Seems like a worthy use of these facilities!

Re:Let the heads roll

[fiannaFailMan]

And peope who drive too slowly in the fast lane.

GAH!

[Xel'Naga]

If we can effectively deter malicious hackers by cutting off their supply of Twinkies or crippling their EverQuest avatars, then there's no need to fry them.

I swear to god, if they nerf archery, I'll write a worm that'll bring the world to it's knees!

Xel'Naga

Re:Along the same lines...

[Penguinshit]

"And then we nuke it from orbit; it's the only way to be sure..."

Re:Punishments go up, never down

[14erCleaner]

Maybe we should execute politicians whose districts receive more money than average (say $4.5 million more than average, since that was the "value" of a white-collar worker in the article).

Re:Simple

[Anonymous Coward]

Saying "Killing people is wrong." is wrong. Simple. No matter who does it.

Re:About 3.4 Million Dollars

[The-Dalai-LLama]

If one uses the airlines approach to safety as a guide, at the point where it costs them more than 3.4 million dollars in liability and litigation per person is what each person's life is worth.

Somebody's gotta say it, might as well be me:

Narrator: A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Business woman on plane: Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?
Narrator: You wouldn't believe.
Business woman on plane: Which car company do you work for?
Narrator: A major one.

The Dalai LLama
...damn, I love this quote...

Re:Don't kill - HUMILIATE

[DocSnyder]

Don't kill these scum - humiliate them, VERY publicly.

What about having them pose naked next to a sign "I'm selling penis enlargements"?

Re:Punishments go up, never down

[corbettw]

Politicians love to associate their names with "get tough on crime" laws that raise the punishment for certain crimes... but you rarely here about anybody supporting lower sentances for crimes.

Yes, you're right. Why, just this morning on the way to work, I stopped by the town square to throw tomatoes at two blasphemers currently locked up in stocks. And I noticed one of my neighbors now has a very red "A" on her forehead. May have to stop by her place after work tonight, see if her cows need milking....

83 cents

[cL0h]

From the article

Assuming that half the $50 billion cost of malicious hacking is concentrated in the United States and that you bear your proportionate share of that cost, we're putting about 83 cents in your pocket.

You mean every time someone kills a virus writer every US citizen gets 83 cents. Wow!! Did you guys switch to communism while I wasn't looking!

Mikado? I've gotta follow that.

[soxos]

And that Bonzai Buddy who just now is in the taskbar
The weird Linux kid -- I've got him on the list!
All spammers, 1337 speakers, and vb scripters by far
They'd none of them be missed -- they'd none of them be missed.

And apologetic astroturfers of a compromising kind
Such as what d'ye call him, Marc Fleury, and likewise, never-mind
And t-t-t and what's his name, and also you know who
The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you

Bravo, treehouse, on the Gilbert and Sullivan ref

Re:*snerk*

[digitalsushi]

What if it takes 262,980 hours worth of time distributed over 30,000 slashdotters trying to verify your math, and we find that it's off? Same thing?

Re:Let the heads roll

[Anonymous Coward]

But then I would be the only person left alive in Milwaukee...

Let's do it.

Survey says...

[nukey56]

I for one welcome our organ-bank overlords!

Re:Punishments go up, never down

[MntlChaos]

actually... birth also has a 100% death rate. Thankfully, that disease usually takes 70+ years to finally kill it's victim. Unfortunately, though, It appears that 90+% of the population is infected.

Re:Let the heads roll

[aquabat]

Ironic, isn't it, that the viruses these people write must be executable, while the writers are not...

Re:Punishments go up, never down

[Q Who]

Judging from the fact that I am not from the USA, I render your comment void and purposeless.

Obligatory Chico Marx quote

[xyote]

From Duck Soup I think.

Chico: (menacingly)I kill people for money. (looks at Harpo) I kill you for money.
Harpo: (looks worried)
Chico: (smiles). No, I no kill you for money. You my friend. I kill you for free.
Harpo: (smiles in relief)

I'm sure killing spammers will be very economic as many people would be willing to do it for free.

Look here for phree softwarez

[PCM2]

Look at the various "geek issues"... it's all about doing whatever they want with no responsibility or cost. Downloading music for free. Downloading software for free.

What a whiner! Screw this guy. I say we plunder the world of its software until they come and get us!! If anybody reading this post right now is truly K-31337, check out my kr4d warez site [kernel.org] right now. We've got appz, gamez, OS, everything j00 need. And just because this guy pissed me off, everything will be PHR33 for a limited time! Yeah that's right, I've disabled all the ratios. Leech all you want ... for now! But if you expect the site to continue, you need to contribute!

P.S. We're currently looking for couriers [kernel.org], so if you've got mad bandwidth then apply within!

Re:Punishments go up, never down

[pyro_peter_911]

People need to learn the mentality that crime can actually be low enough.

Personally, I think crime is too low. I mean, seriously, what is a guy supposed to do with his Glock if no one ever breaks into his home. I've kept this thing loaded under my pillow since 1993 and haven't had the chance to shoot a prowler in the middle of the night yet.

I'm beginning to feel that my investment in a weatherproof shotgun for the shower and a ten inch stiletto for my sock drawer will never pay off by proving that they're actually for self defense.

Instead, I'm forced to defend my home against scorpions and termites and, let me tell you, a .45 automatic is not the right tool for the job when it comes to termite control.

Someone did steal the knobs off of my Jeep's radio once, so if you see someone with an extra set of Jeep radio knobs let me know and I'll be right over to reduce the criminal population some more.

Peter

Re:Punishments go up, never down

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't foget that it's sexually transmitted.