this hacker case

[southeastastra]

here

surely the pentagon (or whoever) should be snapping him up to work for them. isn't he the best person to plug the security holes for them?

i don't get it. and he was only looking for ufo files.

I actually know a relative of this man, and he is genuinely just interested in UFOs and is very talented with computers. Feel very sorry for him and his parents.

i don't understand this case at all.

The US government keeps classified info on the WWW? So that means any hacker could have got the information(and not been caught)?

He was just looking for info on UFOs?

And HOW did that cause thousands of $s worth of damage??

I think the 'damages' were just an invented figure really.

Perhaps they counted an experts time to go through changing all the passwords from silly ones like 'password' to something sensible

I'm not sure how classified these files were. They make it sound like the film War Games, but he might have been hacking into fairly ordinary computers used for routine work.

Surely they'd be better off prosecuting their own staff who were responsible for the security of their systems? After all, it's their failing...

LOL about changing "password" passwords!

The grounds for extradion between the US and UK are totally unfair, with us requiring a much higher level of proof.

The jail sentences would also be very different too, with about 5 years over here I would imagine, but probably a whole life term over there in some hideous hell hole. I feel sorry for him, even if he was a fool.

I heard on the news that he faces 70 years in a US jail.

My first thought was 'I bet a murderer or rapist wouldn't get as long!!'

Totally agree with south what better person to work for them.

...this saddens me.

I have an Aspergers's son, with a UFO obsession.

Can just picture this as being him...

Have these people no sense at all? He is plainly harmless.

it's up for judicial review

RG" apaprently as his As was diagnosed after the crime the US won't consider it.

there is petition somewhere about this, on the NAs website IIRC? Theya re certainly campaigning to help him.

Poor chap, as they say he will be in prison indefinitely (whole life sentence) for soemthing he could not possibly understand the ramifications of, and will be a severe suicide risk.

Talk about using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!!!

He is so obviously harmless and they want to sling him in some hell-hole for what could probably be the rest of his life!

Tis bloody stupid.

Hope the judicial review sees some sense

Surely they can see it was just a mistake, I mean he would not have used his own email address otherwise, surely.

I hope they see sense, however have read it is unlikely.

He was dx'd by the man baron-Cohen as well, so about as definite a DX as you could possibly receive.

I saw his Mum on GMTV this morning and I felt very sad that this has gone this far. As she said, he was on a dial up computer and got through the systems really easily so he is not really at fault, although he has done wrong, but how about the so called IT security staff. Very unfair indeed.

The National Autistic society campaign link

Thank you BonnieJoon

(I initially wrote your user name as an acronym, before blushingly re-typing)

...have joined in the campaign...

its a travesty of justice!

RG - people have called me BJ today - then cracked up laughing

I will go back to B&J after burns night me thinks

I think I quite like BJ - tis something to keep us snuurking to ourselves

thank for the link bonnie

My Dad is really a BJ you know

my first ever boyfriend said 'I got your number by looking in the yellow pages under your surname and picking interesting initials'.