Mumsnet hack update - police have charged someone

MamaMea I think you are underestimating this boys intelligence. I bet he knew exactly what he was doing. After opening the doors, I bet he sat sat back and thoroughly enjoyed the aftermath.

It's not a case of teenage high jinks. Don't you think he will have known full well that lots of people reuse passwords across websites and don't you think a high achieving lad like him will have known the possible consequences of publishing them?

As I understand it, there were dozens or hundreds of people involved with the aftermath of this. Once the usernames + passwords were made publicly available there's an inevitable race to the bottom.

E.g., the first person to gain access might merely decide to post a funny message, but eventually there's always someone who decides to go nuclear, so to speak.

This one.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2443082-On-the-spot-fines-for-street-harassment?pg=1&order=

Was it him that posted that awful thread about harassing women in the street? Thought that if you didn't respond to his 'compliments' with love and gratitude then you were uptight, and if he persisted and harassed you and you pushed him away, he could beat you into unconsciousness.

He hasn't been charged with those things but there was a site redirection to the twitter account. If he didn't do that, who did?

And I am utterly unapologetic about hoping it hangs around him like a bad smell. I haven't equated him with a rapist. I've said I hope his crime hangs around him, I didn't say the crimes were remotely equivalent.

"Of course it was misogynist. He redirected the site to a fake twitter account called DadSec. There was a SWAT attack on Justine and another poster's home?"

Is it really that hard to actually read the reports ? He didn't do those things.

What he did do was hack the site. He was not responsible for the swatting or whatever.

"This wasn't just hacking - it was malicious.

I really hope it fucks up his future. I hope this follows him round for the rest of his life like Ched Evans' rape does"

That's a bit much, equating a teenage boy hacking a website with a rapist. Fucking hell.

I don't know why that random question mark is in there

Of course it was misogynist. He redirected the site to a fake twitter account called DadSec. There was a SWAT attack on Justine and another poster's home?

This wasn't just hacking - it was malicious.

I really hope it fucks up his future. I hope this follows him round for the rest of his life like Ched Evans' rape does

He will get a suspended sentence, or community service. Not really any likelihood of prison.

At least He will be google'able for while.

The A Level results at his school are 80% A*/A, 25% go to Oxbridge, and he lives in a £1million+ house. I'm guessing he won't be affected too much.

mamamea I agree that there is no reason to conclude the hacker was motivated by hatred for women. You can probably conclude a few other things though..... I doubt he gave it much thought. It was there and it was hackable.

You have to wonder how this will effect his future.

Good point, cozie!!

"I doubt MN is a "security joke" they are one of the biggest sites in the UK."

It was hacked in 2014 as well.

Be careful, SDTG. 'Cruel and unusual punishment' and all!

I think he should be sentenced to do one household chore for each and every MN member. He can start by coming and tidying and cleaning my teenager's bedroom for me.

I doubt MN is a "secuiry joke" they are one of the biggest sites in the UK.

"Misogynistic little shit is right.
How does a 17 year old schoolboy develop such a hatred for women having a little corner of the Internet to chat in?
"

Misogynist because what? Hackers will hack anything. If he had hacked MoneySavingExpert it doesn't mean he hates money.

Mumsnet is home-made software riddled with security holes, therefore someone hacked it. It doesn't imply misogyny.

Mumsnet is a big site and hacking it is a pretty big thing from that perspective, though it looks like the hack was a relatively standard cross-site scripting attack.

At the time that he did this hack there were three public reports of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities on mumsnet, e.g., www.openbugbounty.org/incidents/46867/

And those reports showed that mumsnet's software failed to perform basic validation/sanitation of user import, which would have made hacking an enticing/easy prospect. It looks like Mumsnet it is written in PHP, which is a security joke, especially given that Mumsnet is a relatively older website and without being subject to proper security audit or open source scrutiny, would inherently be riddled with security holes.

"I love the fact that his school (Guildfords Royal Grammar School - £16k year) dealt with this with a three day suspension hmm shock. Gosh, imagine what you would have to do to get expelled. grin"

Read properly:

"The court heard while he was 16 and a half, he performed a "brute force attack" on the Guildford Royal Grammar School intranet, enabling him to secure usernames and passwords of students and staff."

"Ms Hummerstone said in relation to the Royal Grammar School incident, his school had already dealt with that matter by way of a three-day suspension."

That suspension had nothing to do with mumsnet.

Without specifics on the details of the school hacking, such attacks are common. Happened at my school 16 years ago.

Potentially trivially done by clicking a button.

It's a pity the aftermath wasn't reported more accurately: armed police raids which terrified Justine's au pair and some MNers and could have had a tragic outcome (police had been told armed man was holding family hostage).

Little shit.

He was even in a team that represented the school in a national robotics competition (they won!). That would have been after the charges.

Three days? Well that will deter anyone else at RGS from doing anything similar...

It must be a bit awkward for his parents and his school. I wonder what the sentence might be.

Good. Now MNHQ won't have to diligently police this thread deleting prejudicial posts - which I heartily applaud them for doing.

Pleasing to see that his name and street name have been published for the world to see though.

Hope the court gives him a longer sentence than his school did.