Hacker Sentenced To Longest US Sentence Yet 775
Iphtashu Fitz writes "The Associated Press is reporting that a Michigan man has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for his involvement in hacking into the corporate systems of Lowe's Home Improvement and attempting to steal customer credit card information. The sentence far exceeds the 5 1/2 years that hacker Kevin Mitnick spent behind bars. Two others are awaiting sentencing, including one of the first people to ever be convicted of wardriving. Prosecutors said the three men tapped into the wireless network of a Lowe's store in Southfield, Mich., used that connection to enter the chain's central computer system in North Wilkesboro, N.C., and installed a program to capture credit card information. No data was actually collected however."
Longest sententence? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Longest sententence? (Score:5, Funny)
You must be new here.
Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Good (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Good (Score:3, Interesting)
Really, is the policy working?
Re:Good (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Good (Score:3, Interesting)
On a somewhat related note, why is it that so few
Re:Good (Score:3, Interesting)
Today its a "war on terrorism" but its the same bullshit.
(not) Good (Score:2, Insightful)
So what's worse:
Not nice (Hackers),
or _grossly_ irresponsible (Lowes)?
bull (Score:5, Insightful)
'Yet'
The real problem I have is Lowes was putting credit card data on a wireless network!
I agree this is pretty dumb, but it's still no reason for it to get cracked. Think about this: you have an expensive house and several heavy locks on your door. One day you forget to lock them. Does this justify every burglar that walks up to your house, opens the door, enters your house and sets up camera's? Okay, they didn't steal anything (yet), but it's really your fault. Yeah right. They knew exactly what they were doing, and the fact that the security wasn't good enough is *no* reason whatsoever to justify this crime.
Don't worry. (Score:5, Insightful)
Three Ring Circus! (Score:3, Insightful)
But, hey. It looks better when they catch a guy "breaking" into a computer across the internet then when they catch someone actually breaking into a house. Best to throw the biggest book in the area at them to play the circus up some.
Re:Three Ring Circus! (Score:2)
"I think the massive amount of potential loss that these defendants could have imposed was astounding, so that's what caused us to seek a substantial sentence against Mr. Salcedo," federal prosecutor Matthew Martens said.
Thousands of compromised accounts would have lead to quite the theft rings... this is a little bit more serious than simply breaking in.
Re:Three Ring Circus! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Three Ring Circus! (Score:3, Insightful)
sweet this set's a pattern up for lawyers to use.
"your honor, when we pulled him over he had a rifle in his trunk, he had the potential of not only shooting several hundred people, but the car he was driving could have been used for mass murder also... instead of a $50.00 running a stop sign fine, I s
Re:Three Ring Circus! (Score:3, Interesting)
I also find it hard to believe they'd have been slapped with that sentence had they stolen the tape backups instead of used a network.
Re:Three Ring Circus! (Score:2)
Re:define a crime (Score:3, Insightful)
is it the same crime?
Should the value of the car change the sentence?
Yes, the value of the car should change the sentence. If I steal $5, should I get the same sentence as if I stole $10,000? Of course not, because the scale of the crime is different. These people didn't try to steal 1 credit card number, or even a thousand cc#s. They tried to steal an infinite amount of numbers. If this program hadn't been caught, they would have had access to every single c
they got the wrong guy (Score:4, Funny)
If a person can be convicted for war driving (Score:4, Funny)
Re:If a person can be convicted for war driving (Score:5, Insightful)
Interesting concept... So lets say someone leaves there front door unlocked, should they go to jail if someone breaks in? Perhaps the front door is locked, but the dog door is unlocked? What if the the windows don't have bars on them?
What bugs me is that the guy illegally accessed the computer but was not successfull in retreiving credit card information. Is such a long term warranted? What about the Corporate crime bosses who bilk millions or billions from people via fraud - they never get this level of sentence.
Re:If a person can be convicted for war driving (Score:3, Interesting)
If that person's windows and doors were broadcasting the contents of the home on public frequencies, maybe.
LK
Re:If a person can be convicted for war driving (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually, it's more like leaving all you furniture out by the curb for someone to walk off with at will. You're broadcasting its presence to the rest of the world and you have no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Wireless signals are accessible by EVERYBODY. They are not constrained by the notion of "private property" like your house is.
The most fitting analogy I can come up with is leaving a breifcase full of credit card information sitting on a park bench DELIBERATELY.
Yes, using that information for nefarious purposes is illegal, but leaving it laying around somewhere with no reasonable expectation of privacy is negligent. One might even consider it criminally negligent. If you were in the UK, it sounds like their privacy laws would agree with you.
What about the Corporate crime bosses who bilk millions or billions from people via fraud - they never get this level of sentence.
In our society, some people are more "equal" than others. It's fucked up but it's a given when you let someone have 1E9 dollars to themself. The only way it's ever going to get fixed is if we realize that capitalism != democracy, and adjust or society accordingly.
Wardriving... (Score:5, Insightful)
This begs the question... (Score:3, Insightful)
Can you be really convicted of wardriving, or just something you do illegally while you're wardriving?
According to the wikipedia article in the blurb:
Although acessing the files on an open network is illegal, it is not illegal to simply use the internet connection of an open wireless network, this is a common misunderstood concept. Most wardrivers do not in fact use services without authorization.
Seems kind of like saying, "He was convicted for using the Internet" when someone gets convicted of cracking.
Another thing...so you can use the connection, but you can't use any files? What's the justification for that? If you leave the network open and allow it to be used and you leave files open on it, how can it be illegal to use them?
Re:It doesn't beg the question (Score:2)
Even though 'lol' isn't in the dictionary, I still use it from time to time.
Re:It doesn't beg the question (Score:3, Interesting)
It was stated that someone is going to court for wardriving, which is tacitly stating that wardriving is an offense. However, this is not necessarily so, so it begs the question as to whether wardriving is actually an offense.
The poster himself may have responded to you admitting a misuse, but I don't think he misused the term at all.
Wardriving is illegal? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wardriving is illegal? (Score:2)
From wikipedia:
Although acessing the files on an open network is illegal, it is not illegal to simply use the internet connection of an open wireless network, this is a common misunderstood concept. Most wardrivers do not in fact use services without authorization.
Re:Wardriving is illegal? (Score:2)
Re:Wardriving is illegal? (Score:3, Insightful)
Since wardriving was accessing other people's privately-owned networks, with a reasonable expectation of privacy (most people won't try to wardrive for a connection when they don't have their own), possibly for the purpose of accessing other computers on the network behind the firewall.
About the public/private thing: driveways, a large lawn/garden, private parks in housing communities, private roads and parking lots, etc. are still private property on which you can be con
Personal financial information wants to be free (Score:3, Funny)
We, the Illegal Pirates of the Internet Who Must Steal Everything No Matter What, rue the travesty that has lead to the sentencing of our compatriots. We remain dedicated to the theft and infringement of all intellectual property at all costs, including but not limited to financial records and credit card numbers. Rest assured, we will continue our relentless campaign to thieve.
Signed,
The Illegal Pirates of the Internet Who Must Steal Everything No Matter What
p.s. clock!
Re:Personal financial information wants to be free (Score:2)
We just go online and leech it all
And if you ask us why we steal everything
We'll just tell you--we must steal everything!
[apologies to Big Idea/VeggieTales]
Nathan
This isn't like Mitnick, and prison doesn't work. (Score:5, Interesting)
Kevin had no interest in any sort of financial gain from his activities. He was only interested in exploring and seeing what he could find. He was an annoying guy, but not one with ill intention.
I don't know the details about these individuals, but it seems to be implied that it was a moneymaking operation. That makes it far worse than anything Kevin did.
That said, prison isn't the answer. Only violent people should go to prison (and those prisons should be run such that they don't create the atmosphere for violence inside that they do today -- i.e. don't use the prisoners as an unwritten "punishment" against eachother -- punishment is counterproductive.)
Re:This isn't like Mitnick, and prison doesn't wor (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:This isn't like Mitnick, and prison doesn't wor (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes punishments are harsh in the US and there's a good reason for this For one, people like vengence. Oh boy do they like vengence. For another, throwing tougher and tougher laws on the books doesn't piss anybody off. Won't you think of the CHILDREN? 3 strikes your out laws, etc, etc all appeal to about 70% of the population - namely the middle class and the rich (those who vot
Kevin didn't get out in three (Score:3, Informative)
Re:This isn't like Mitnick, and prison doesn't wor (Score:3, Insightful)
The harsh treatment and work didn't have the desired results, but we carried on locking people up not because of there
Re:This isn't like Mitnick, and prison doesn't wor (Score:3, Informative)
Re:But how do you rehabilitate? (Score:4, Insightful)
1.) Makes them even more angry at "the system", invokes feelings of alienation. They feel like they are a criminal and that is that.
2.) Gives them time to plot other crimes. Also gives them resources like other criminals to discuss their failures and plan for better crimes, as they are surrounded only by other criminals.
I'm not throwing blind guesses like most slashdotters here - I've done time. For my own reasons, I stopped doing what I was doing. Jail, though, only made things worse.
Re:But how do you rehabilitate? (Score:5, Interesting)
A small thing but I can't imagine how much those constant small things would add up. I don't have to go down there much, but I hate every minute of it. If I spent even a week on the inside, I'd come out with a real passion for getting at the gov't any way I could.
What goes around comes around (Score:5, Funny)
I bet he isn't looking forward to having his security hole exploited while in prison!
Re:What goes around comes around (Score:5, Funny)
A plea to the Slashdot population (Score:4, Insightful)
This guy is a criminal. He robbed people, or attempted to rob them. This is like robbing a bank, only worse. Nobody should show any sympathy for this guy. In fact, for the identity theft and fraud he commited, nine years is much too short of a sentence.
I know that a lot of the people who read this may tend to sympathize with him. This is the nature of
That's right, "Your Rights Online." Some editors or submitters apparently think that we have the online right to attempt to steal the property of other people, which if you think about for a minute is absurd.
The reason a lot of
But please, think before you post inane things about how our legal system is evil and corrupt. This is good. Thank God for the law.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:A plea to the Slashdot population (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd say that it's not just like robbing a bank, only worse.
That doesn't mean I think the sentence is unfair.
Have a little perspective, please. (Score:3, Insightful)
No, it's not. Theft and robbery are different animals. These guys never held a gun to someone's head, never threatened anyone. They are more akin to cat burglers than "robbers".
Nine years is longer than a manslaughter conviction. Longer than most murder convictions. Longer than rape convictions. What kind of fucking idiot are you to value some large corporation's potential bottom line (since they actually stole noth
Plea agreement (Score:3, Interesting)
Great news (Score:2)
Re:Great news (Score:2)
Well, if only "people" decided to take network admin security anywhere near as seriously we'd be in good shape, no? Running a major e-commerce chain over unsecured wireless. wtf.
(By the way, there have been something like 4 cybersecurity czars over the past 5 years in the US... they keep stepping down 'cause no one takes them seriously.)
Just because it i
Does the sentence really fit the crime? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Does the sentence really fit the crime? (Score:2)
Re:Does the sentence really fit the crime? (Score:4, Insightful)
No, it is higher than the average federal sentence for "non-negligent" manslaughter and murder cases combined (btw, murder is a capital crime in federal court...as how many years does the death penalty count?). Manslaughter is not murder, that's why it carries a lower sentence. Further, murder and manslaughter carry lower recidivism (repeat) rates than do property crimes.
People have this odd idea that incarceration is to deter people from committing crimes. It is not. The primary purpose of incarceration is to *prevent* people from committing crimes. Deterrence value of any punishment is weak, because it is not sure. Most criminals expect to get away with their crimes.
Re:Does the sentence really fit the crime? (Score:3, Insightful)
So they didn't steal credit card information? (Score:5, Insightful)
And they didn't even get any credit card information..
I mean if they broke in and took down the entire corp. network or put the company into administration then yeah sure, harsh it up...
But where is the justification for a 9year sentence?
Also, if you trespassed (into the office) and tried to steal a book of credit card information and let's add criminal damage (broken window) you would not get near five years let alone 9!
In other news.... (Score:2, Funny)
quick (Score:2, Funny)
Enron? (Score:2)
Seems like you get of if you you cough up government payola.
Cracker != Hacker (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously, where the hell did this misconception arise from? It's tempting to blame hollywood, but it's more likely to have been some self proclaimed "landmark" NY Times article written by some clueless reporter who knew next to nothing about computer or the net in general outside of what some equally misinformed 133t script kiddies spluttered out to him when he asked them on IRC( The devils internet dungeon!!).
This misnomer of hackers used in the media at large has got to be tackled somehow. Otherwise other FUD might creep in, and pretty soon FOSS apps might be classed as warez by another bumbling journalist looking to rise ranks by jumping for the businees pages to the spanking new IT suppliment section by writing the next domesday tech article, complete with teenage (cr/h)acker masterminds.
Crime equals time? (Score:2)
Stealing CC numbers is a bad thing and needs to be punished but let's face it, in the US we have a criminal injustice system that favors rich, white people who steal large amounts of money and have access to lots of lawyers. Everyone else gets caught up in the great meat grinder of "justice".
Check out: frontline: the plea [pbs.org]
In addition to the prison time.... (Score:2)
Why IT folks should support severe sentences (Score:5, Interesting)
Look at the analog of this in meat-space -- people would rather shop, go to work, enjoy entertainment, etc. in a safe environment. Businesses that try to operate in crime-ridden neighborhoods don't do as well, don't have as many customers, don't hire as many employees, and don't pay as well.
IT employment depends on the continued adoption and use of IT by businesses and consumers. If the internet and computing becomes a ghetto of spyware, crackers, and phishers, the economics of IT will suffer. To the extent that people avoid using computers for fear of crime is the extent that ITer will see their jobs disappear.
Re:Why IT folks should support severe sentences (Score:3, Insightful)
The internet IS a ghetto of spyware, crackers and phishers. Nobody is going back to carbon copy credit card swipes, human tellers in banks and grocery checkouts where the clerk codes in prices into his mechanical cash register.
How does this particular crime, even if it had payed off, going to put a dent in computer use? It might piss some people off at Lowes, result in a lot of charge backs and
Deserves what he got (Score:5, Informative)
What is sad here (Score:4, Insightful)
Giving up on my Covalent T shirt and the H/C thing (Score:4, Interesting)
The 'popular perception' of the whole hacker (code geeks)/cracker (crypto geeks) myth is a kind of hopelessly unwinnable argument about angels on pins.
Considering the alternatives, I've just invented a new name for myself and left the waste of time up to those poor souls who care.
I've just given the hell up.
Coming from Whitmore Lake, Michigan myself... (Score:3, Interesting)
My business partner learned hacking and coding from this guy when the guy was legit.
What he did I think any of us on Slashdot could do. It doesn't require a great deal of skill or 31337N355.
This is in the "Your Rights Online" section because he should be treated the same as someone who thirty years ago stole file cabinets of data about people at a large chain's headquarters. If the data is the same then there is no need for changing the sentence.
That said, the young man did wrong and will get what he deserves. He was a little bit bright and could surely have come up with a better scheme than this. I know I could, but I and his former "student" are devoting our time to a legit business. [s3mi.com]
Please excuse the shameless plug. We may be legit, but we're certainly not wealthy. Starting a company is hard work. 60+ hour workweeks, paying yourself less than minimum wage for a year or more... No wonder Mr. Salcedo chose the "easy way out".
Some facts on this case (Score:3, Informative)
Unjust Punishment (Score:4, Insightful)
If Ken Lay is even given jail time, I doubt that he'll be doing 9 years. He'll probably get 1 year max at the place with the golf course and squash court.
I think much of the complaint is not how much time the hacker is getting, but how little time other people who take part in similar crimes but without the "hacking" element.
Try researching the story before posting it! (Score:3, Informative)
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/AnchorDesk/4520-7297_ 16-5511088.html [com.com]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/11/22/michigan_w ifi_hackers_try/ [theregister.co.uk]
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7438 [securityfocus.com]
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8835 [securityfocus.com]
http://www.netstumbler.org/showthread.php?t=11115 [netstumbler.org]
Some of the more interesting quotes for those too lazy to click on the links:
"In 2000, as a juvenile, Salcedo was one of the first to be charged under Michigan's state computer crime law, for allegedly hacking a local ISP."
"It was six months later - Botbyl allegedly admitted to agents - that Botbyl and his friend Salcedo hatched a plan to use the network to steal credit card numbers from the hardware chain"
"At some point in their wardriving experience, Timmins and Botbyl came upon a Lowe's hardware store with an open wireless network. Timmins later admitted to Kevin Poulsen of Security Focus that what he did next was technically illegal: he used the Lowe's network to check his e-mail. When he realized it was Lowe's private network, however, he says, he disconnected."
"That in itself might have been the end of the story. However, Lowe's became aware of the breach and contacted the FBI, who, after its investigation, charged Timmins with one count of unauthorized computer access. And that by itself would have been a significant story: Timmins's plea has been reported as the first instance of a wardriving conviction. I think the claim is an exaggeration, however. The charge would have been the same had he used a wired connection."
"But here's where the story gets interesting. Several months later, Botbyl returned to the Southfield, Michigan, Lowe's with a new friend, Brian Salcedo, now 21. Salcedo, it turned out, was in the final weeks of a three-year probation for an earlier computer crime."
"According to the indictment, the hackers used the wireless network to route through Lowe's corporate data center in North Carolina and connect to the local networks at stores around the country. At two of the stores - in Long Beach, California and Gainseville, Florida - they modified a proprietary piece of software called "tcpcredit" that Lowe's uses to process credit card transactions, building in a virtual wiretap that would store customer's credit card numbers where the hackers could retrieve them later."
"Brian Salcedo, 21, faces an a unusually harsh 12 to 15 year prison term under federal sentencing guidelines, based largely on a stipulation that the potential losses in the scheme exceeded $2.5 million."
"As for how it was computed here's one probable way: Maximum number of cards in the system at the time they could have captured, multiplied times the maximum credit limit on each. (So say Lowe's does an average of 2500 credit cards transactions nationally in a night, and each has a $1000 Credit Limit. That is $2,500,000 right there.)"
"They were not able to access nationwide credit card files or get into corporate systems," says Lowe's spokesperson Gina Balaya. "They did access six credit card transactions from one store."
"My initial reaction when I heard the charges was one of skepticism," says Karl Mozurkewich, founder of the Michigan software company Utropicmedia, and a member of the group. "Eighty percent of the people in the 2600 group in Michigan are more the c
The Most Important Lesson Here (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, perhaps they are trying to deter others (Score:3, Insightful)
I had a ridiculous conversation at a drinking party once, years ago. This guy I knew was blearily insisting that I needed to 'hack' a bank, because he was sure I could do it. I didn't know about that, I'm just a regular geek, scanning x.25 networks for outdials isn't the same as breaking into a bank. He was insisting it would definitely work. We could have it all planned out see, and, "Oh you could totally do it man, we should so do that!" I kept insisting that it was incredibly dangerous, and that I didn't know how ("Oh you can figure it out man, I know you can!"), and he just wasn't having any of my protests. Stealing, or for that matter almost anything that risks jail time, doesn't appeal to me anyway. Now imagine someone with his attitude and also the knowledge to follow buddy from the article. This sort of idea can become more widespread as technology reaches everyone, and is a scary thought for those with things to lose from it. People such as, well, any random person alive, could be you, could be me, could wreck a lot of lives.
Malware writers? Spammers? (Score:4, Interesting)
seriously malware programs are trojan horses and its cracking pure and simple. Many install themelves via buffer overflows in javascript just like a real worm. Many install keyboard loggers and backdoors just like a real worm. ALso many slow down computers just like real worms. So if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then what is it?
They are the true crooks here.
More information (Score:4, Informative)
Default Radio episode 23 part 1 [pig-monkey.com]
Fast forward to 22:30
I knew the third guy (Score:3, Interesting)
The 3rd guy, Adam Botbyl, used to live on the street behind mine. He's a couple years younger than me; my little brother knew him better than I did. (This article names him) [securityfocus.com]
This was probably 10 years ago (him and my brother would have been in 5th or 6th grade), but one interesting bit of trivia is that he was the butt of jokes by the other kids. A bunch of the neighbor kids were into collecting basketball cards. Some of the crueler ones would put common cards back into the pack and glue the top together, and they'd sell or trade them to Adam.
As I heard about this through my brother, it was portrayed that Adam was hella gullible. One pack had a card from the wrong brand in it (e.g. a Topps card in an Upper Deck pack); the other kids told him that it must be some error and might be more valuable. Whether the kid actually believed it or just went along to avert more bullshit is a question for him.
Stories like this were pretty common, and I wonder what that does to a kid, having no good friends around.
Now, I'm not saying that's an excuse; he's a total stupidass for what he did.
They left out an important fact (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/
(limited personal information cookie-filling-out required)
Boo hoo. He voilated the terms of his cake-walk probabtion. Have fun in prison.
Re:Great News (Score:5, Insightful)
Regards,
Steve
Re:Great News (Score:2)
Re:Great News (Score:3, Interesting)
How is sentencing a criminal to 9 years in prison for being a greedy fuck bent on stealing people's credit cards anti-life?
Just because you use a computer to commit a crime doesn't mean that you're some kind of hero.
Re:Great News (Score:4, Insightful)
I think you're missing the point.
Nine years in prison for a non-violent crime? For a non-violent crime that didn't benefit the criminal? It's excessive, especially when murderers and other violent criminals get substantially shorter sentences
I agree with you that he comitted a crime and should do some time and perhaps a fine to Lowes... but nine years is not justice.
Intent is an element of a crime, not success (Score:3, Insightful)
Intent is an element of a crime, not success. What does it matter that he criminal did not benefit?
Re:Great News (Score:4, Interesting)
I dunno, I'd rather lose my retirement fund then my retirement life. There's no question that computer crime is crime, but it doesn't hold a candle to violence.
Re:Great News (Score:5, Insightful)
These guys are theifs and should be prosecuted as such, plain and simple. Just like the guy who hacks into the neculear plant is comminting a crime aginst the state and should be charged with treason and fried. I don't care wether he used his Thinkpad or a UHALL filled with TNT its THE SAME CRIME or should be.
murder term too short, not hacking term too long (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes, a two year and three month murder sentence is way too short. Rediculously short, an aberration, and completely irrelevant to determining a proper sentence for computer crime.
Nomenclature (WAS:Great News) (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Great News (Score:3, Interesting)
Get a grip on reality. Breaking into a computer system is a non-violent crime. It involves monetary damages. Slap the bastard with heavy fines, hit him up with community service and make him pay it back.
You can't just throw everyone who inconveniences you, the poor system admin, into jail.
Re:Great News (Score:5, Funny)
You break into a computer and steal my money, and it's going to become a violent crime when I break into your face and cause some non-monetary damages. Go to jail, go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two-hundred dollars.
Re:Great News (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Great News (Score:5, Interesting)
This guy is going to Federal prison. There IS NO parole from Federal prison. You get what is called "supervised release" at the end of your sentence - which is effectively similar to parole, but is not the same thing.
Oh, yeah, you can get time off for "good behavior". But the Feds changed that a few years ago. Before, you used to get 53 days a year knocked off your sentence if you didn't get any incident reports. Once you got 53 days for a given year, you had it - they couldn't take it back if you got incident reports in the future.
Now you don't actually get your time off "vested" until the day you're actually due to be released based on whatever time you COULD get vested. This allows the Feds to hit you with more incident reports, take your good time, and keep you longer.
And since it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to do Federal time without incident reports of some kind, this means the Feds get to keep most people longer.
This allows them to increase the prison population, demand more prisons and more money for the Bureau Of Prisons, and increase both their job security and their career paths.
And THAT'S why it was done.
As for where this guy will be going, it depends on his "points", which in turn depends on the crime, the number of criminal charges they were indicted on, any violence, presence of firearms, the amount of any money involved, etc. If they had access to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of credit cards, they could get enough points to end up in a Federal Penitentiary (the second highest level in the Federal system - the first being a "Super-Max", the third being a Federal Correctional Institution, and the lowest being a Federal Camp.) He could easily end up in Leavenworth. After X years of his sentence with no incident reports, his points could be reduced enough to get down to an FCI, and eventually a Camp if he's lucky.
How he fares at a place like Leavenworth will depend on his smarts in dealing with people who are (presumably) much dumber (but more violent) than he is, as well as factors such as his physical presence, his attitude, his age, etc. I did four years at Leavenworth (after four years in other facilities), including two in "The Hole", and was never physically assaulted (by inmates, anyway - I was pushed around once by a correctional officer.)
Re:Great News (Score:3, Interesting)
This is no different than embezzlement (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is no different than embezzlement (Score:3, Informative)
They used the store's 802.11b network to access a computer on the inside. They studied that computer, found a program called "tcpauth", and wrote a program to sniff data from it, some of which was credit card information. That's real hacking.
Problem for these guys is that they were attempting to sniff data that could easily be used in the commission of theft. Had they tried to sniff the price database instead (perhaps to post to Froogle or whatever,) they probably would have ended
Re:Great News (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Great News (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Great News (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Great News (Score:4, Funny)
Brilliant idea, Einstien (Score:3, Interesting)
How about this, quit wasting time, money and prison space busting people for drugs by legalizing the stuff, and use all the space created in prisons for hackers, and other white collar criminals who commit 'nice crimes' where nobody gets 'h
Re:Great News (Score:5, Insightful)
Violent crimes effect an individual in a very drastic way, and such criminals should be punished harshly. However, non-violent crimes effect enourmous numbers of people, sometimes in minor ways, but often in profound ways. Violent crimes can destroy a life. Non-violent crimes tear at the fabric of society in a subtle but systemic fashion.
Is the person who dies because their healthcare fund was raided less dead, less of a victim, than someone killed with a gun? If you think so, I'd like to know where you've had your education-- that school system or university may need more funding.
Re:Great News (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The article isn't clear... (Score:3, Insightful)