teekid

Yes, it’s that guy who got busted for releasing the B variant of Lovesan. Here’s the official FBI report. Hmm…looks like they are still using typewriters for these kind of thing…I love the way Special Agent David Farquhar says that the damage dealed to individuals and Microsoft “significantly exceeds $5000.00” with the 2 zeroes after the decimal point for emphasis perhaps? I mean $5000 really does not sound impressive. Ok, I can’t really blame them for saying that, according to Section 1030 of Title 18, ammended in 1996,

(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2)or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph, if-

(i) the offense was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;
(ii) the offense was committed in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State; or

(iii) the value of the information obtained exceeds $5,000;

(C) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), (a)(3) or (a)(6) of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; … …

So they HAD to mention specifically that the damage was more than $5000, even though it is probably a lot more and doesn’t sound as impressive. And I swear NEVER to become a lawyer, these laws are arranged and phrased soooo “thoughtfully” that I’m sure you can get cancer from reading it. Not to mention I had to wander dangerously around the Department of Justice website to find this stupid clause because they file their documents like geniuses. If you want to read the whole section 1030 yourself, here’s the archive.

On a related note, I noticed that www.isonews.com now linkes to cybercrime.gov instead of a Department of Justice statement about what stupid laws the original owner violated. I have to say, the CyberCrime department hires the WORST site layout planner in the whole world, possibly from some geocities website…