US Govt Pursue UK hacker

[Xiahou]

Actually, if there's no password protecting a computer system, it's generally considered to be free to visit for everyone, and it isn't an offense to do so.

Yeah right. Just like if you forget to lock your door when you go away your house is free for everyone to come inside, snoop around your personal records and release anything interesting they find to the public. Get real.

I dismissed your burglary argument because computers work entirely different. It's not immediately clear what is allowed and what isn't, sometimes you even need to "hack" around some bug which doesn't enable you to immediately show what you wanted to show.

He knew full well he wasnt supposed to be there- he's admitted to it. The analogy applies. Had he just wandered in, realized where he was and then quickly logged out- your argument might hold some water. But 2 yrs? I think not.

Interesting, I don't think we have anything even similar to that in the US. If a woman is wearing provacative clothing and is raped, we don't say "well you shouldn't have dressed like a slut" or "well you shouldn't have been walking down a dark alley drunk at 3 in the morning".

Beat me to that one too.

I hope they throw the book at this guy- he destructively hacked into DoD computers with the intent to steal national security secrets. Yes, it's shameful that the DoD had such lax security- but it doesnt excuse his crimes.