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View Full Version : 'Geek' gets off the hook


fatcatfan
10-20-2003, 12:07 PM
http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/other/0,39020682,39117240,00.htm

My favorite quote from the article comes from the esteemed author of Linux.

"Should we blame the teenager? Sure, we can point the finger at him and say, 'Bad boy!' and slap him for it. Will that actually fix anything? No. The next geeky kid frustrated about not getting a date on Saturday night will come along and do the same thing without really understanding the consequences. So either we should make it a law that all geeks have dates -- I'd have supported such a law when I was a teenager -- or the blame is really on the companies who sell and install the systems that are quite that fragile."

Why isn't this guy running for Congress? :D
TheGeepster
10-20-2003, 12:56 PM
I don't know much about this case, and so I can't form any certain conclusions, but my gut tells me that this Trojan defense was smoke and mirrors which allowed a teen free from the harmful attack he pulled off, when the law enforcement officials had found evidence which strongly corroborated their suspicions.

Alas, one of the problems with new technology is that the legal system cannot keep up effectively with the nuances inherent in the new technology. This is doubly true of the constantly shifting nature of internet technology.
linkofzelda1
10-20-2003, 09:13 PM
Lol. I think they should get a new jury. If they are they retarded when it comes to computers of course he is going to go free.
cyberkiller6276
10-20-2003, 09:44 PM
" I spent most of the first week of the trial in the public gallery and found it didn't take long before the jury's eyes glazed over because the technical arguments sounded like a Russian version of Moby Dick that had been translated into English using Babelfish." My favorite quote.

No, this does not make sense at all. He hacks servers, mainframes and PCs just to get back at some guy who insulted his girlfriend? (whom he has never met) Obviously, he will go free because the jury is a bunch of dunderheads when it comes to this sort of thing.

300 posts. w00t w00t.
ShadowTiger
10-20-2003, 09:57 PM
Wow. I've got a friend or two who would love to see this. Thanks, Fatcatfan. :thumbsup:

And yes, I should have a date forced upon me, as should we all. ('Cause we're here, aren't we. ;) :rolleyes: )
cyberkiller6276
10-20-2003, 10:04 PM
Originally posted by Britannianhero4
And yes, I should have a date forced upon me, as should we all. ('Cause we're here, aren't we. ;) :rolleyes: )
A little off topic (just a little) but ever since my last g/f dumped me, I've noticed I'm spending more time here and on the computer and in front of the TV. Because now I have no life. :shrug:

On topic:
I should really present this article to my mock trial teacher. He would love it(extra credit ;)). Plus, he's a computer nerd too. I wonder where I can find an official case file...
TheGeepster
10-20-2003, 10:05 PM
Tis very sad, but in our legal system the following has become true.


The truth has lost its importance. The shaping of perception has replaced it.
Justice means nothing. Winning means everything.
Jurors aren't selected for their ability to discern the truth in evidence, and to think objectively. They are chosen by whether or not the two sides believe they will side with them.
The big picture is often lost in the flood of technical details.


That, anyways, is what I have gathered.
Paradox
10-20-2003, 10:50 PM
"If the defendant is using Windows, you must acquit!"
vegeta1215
10-20-2003, 11:51 PM
Originally posted by fatcatfan
Why isn't this guy running for Congress? :D

lol :D Linus is awesome!

He does bring up a good point, about the pointing finger and slap on the wrist. All the stuff the RIAA is doing by going after file swappers is similar. They're coming down on some, but overall they're not trying to fix the problem. Thankfully some companies like Apple and its iTunes music store are offering alternatives that are helping.
Slider Zero
10-21-2003, 03:04 PM
Unbelieveable. HE ACTUALLY GOT AWAY WITH IT?
*sigh* man oh man...i guess the jury wasn't picked from people who know about this kind of stuff (like me). It is impossible for any trojan Program to Transfer that kind of material onto a computer, Launch a DDos attack and then erase any record of it's existance PERIOD. you would see the transfer in progress, and just yank the phone cord/ power plug. if anything, the most you would lose is the log file. Another thought that comes to mind is that any trojan program even CAPABLE of pulling off something like that has to have a virus with it, otherwise it would get picked up by the virus scanner (and I KNOW he had one).

thusly, I have debunked the entire dismissal of the case against him in one simple paragraph. :lmao:
TheGeepster
10-21-2003, 03:07 PM
Couldn't you keep the program and data to launch a DDoS attack on a CD masked as a music CD? That way no evidence would exist on your computer after you shut it down, and you might be able to launch it again.

Just thinking aloud here.
fatcatfan
10-21-2003, 03:21 PM
Something like that, yeah. There are a number of Linux OS boot CDs (Windows and DOS too, for that matter) people have compiled that permit you to use a computer without ever installing anything on it. You couldn't "mask" it as a music CD, not if it is to be bootable, but you could easily destroy that single CD and thus all the evidence of what you had done. :shrug: But that isn't the issue here. It seems obvious he *is* guilty but the jury was too ignorant to be able to convict him.
Pablo
10-21-2003, 04:07 PM
Hmm, interesting. Especially the bit referring to Knoppix (at least, I think it's Knoppix :D)...

/me takes notes in preparation for his next major Internet attack - "Make sure to overload the case with lots and lots of big techy-sounding words, it's a SURE BET!"
Ich
10-21-2003, 04:57 PM
He's not guilty, it's the society that bred him that's guilty. Now really.
stormwatcheagle
10-21-2003, 05:06 PM
Originally posted by TheGeepster
Tis very sad, but in our legal system the following has become true.


The truth has lost its importance. The shaping of perception has replaced it.
Justice means nothing. Winning means everything.
Jurors aren't selected for their ability to discern the truth in evidence, and to think objectively. They are chosen by whether or not the two sides believe they will side with them.
The big picture is often lost in the flood of technical details.


That, anyways, is what I have gathered.

Become true? hasn't it always been like that?
TheGeepster
10-22-2003, 02:54 AM
It's been like that for a while, true, Swe.

Perhaps early in our nation's history, before laws became more complicated, there was a time when lawyers were generally honest, and sought after the truth. And perhaps I'm just wishing there too.

Colonial Massachusetts has laws which prevented litigants from paying their representation, probably to avoid this very sort of thing.