Autistic UK Hacker faces being shipped out to the US.

[Kiefer13]

To be honest, if a 43 year old nerd with Asperger's Syndrome can hack into American military files, I would be less concerned with the man in question, and more with the fact that it is possible for a 43 year old nerd with Asperger's Syndrome to hack government computers.

If anything they should be thanking this man. Imagine if a terrorist had hacked the system. By exposing this flaw in security he may have saved lives. He should be a hero to the American people. And they want to lock him up for 60 years?
Excessive much.

I couldn't agree more. This man is not a threat to anyone, and all he's done is basically to HELP the US find and fix holes in the security of their systems for free. You know, something people usually get PAID to do? He doesn't deserve punishment, he deserves a job.

 

[BigKingBob]

Legally, this is a cut and dry case. The man committed a crime, on American servers and therefore should be extradited, that's just how the system works.

If some French person had organised a bomb attack on the tower of London, even without stepping foot on UK soil then the result would be the same, extradition.

Whether he is mentally competent or committed the act with malicious intent is for the courts to decide, as is the length and harshness of his sentence.

I know American law may seem uneccessarily harsh but does anyone doubt he will get a fair trial? Does anyone think that American courts will be unfairly biased against the poor bloke?

No, he will be treated just as fairly as he would be in Britain.

He should be extradited, given a fair trial and if the jury returns a guilty verdict then he should be punished proportionately to his crime.

That's the rule of law kids, it may not be nice, it may seem harsh but it is there, it is fair and it holds us together.

Now, the lopsidedness of the extradition treaty between the UK and US should be sorted out first, but that's a different story...

 

[Gaycakes]

I feel really sorry for this guy, he's clearly not that dangerous - in fact the Americans are lucky in a way that it was a middle-aged man that had a penchant for aliens instead of say, an actual terrorist with serious malicious intent.

I am glad at least one person sees it this way. Everyone is acting like mental dissabilities don't do anything. Everyone google sysmptoms of Asperger's syndrome, hten you will see how stupid the stuff you are saying is. He didn't even do damage and you give him 60 years in prison. Get him some mental help and call it a day. Jesus.

Have a cookie by the way.

Spoiler

Thanks, I don't post often but it's nice to get a cookie when I do.

To be honest, if a 43 year old nerd with Asperger's Syndrome can hack into American military files, I would be less concerned with the man in question, and more with the fact that it is possible for a 43 year old nerd with Asperger's Syndrome to hack government computers.

Excessive much.

the guy is obviously a genius, someone hire him!

I remember reading that the guy actually just used easily downloaded software, so he's more of a script kiddie than an actual hacker - which is scarier considering, despite his background with computers, how ridiculously easy it was for him to do such a thing.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Also note that is says UP to 60 years, i strongly doubt he'll get even 10, if there's any prison at all...

Edit : Sensationalism for the lose.

I scrolled the first page and your the only one who seemed to acknowledge this. Maximum penalties are not usually used except in extreme circumstances.

This guy should be tried in the US I say, he committed a crime (though not too harmful) against the US. So why not? It works both ways to.(well should)

 

[TickleMeGaryG]

To be honest, if a 43 year old nerd with Asperger's Syndrome can hack into American military files, I would be less concerned with the man in question, and more with the fact that it is possible for a 43 year old nerd with Asperger's Syndrome to hack government computers.

If anything they should be thanking this man. Imagine if a terrorist had hacked the system. By exposing this flaw in security he may have saved lives. He should be a hero to the American people. And they want to lock him up for 60 years?
Excessive much.

I couldn't agree more. This man is not a threat to anyone, and all he's done is basically to HELP the US find and fix holes in the security of their systems for free. You know, something people usually get PAID to do? He doesn't deserve punishment, he deserves a job.

Thats not how America will see it. They're to embarrased to even consider getting this mans help.

 

[Timeforunleash]

He should start a private wow server. Would be amazing!

 

[barryween]

Mentally underdeveloped or not, he has no right to hack into the US governments computers, no matter what he was looking for. He could have dangerous files and be a threat to us and even if he DOES have Asperger's syndrome he should know better. So I think the US is doing something that needs to be done, I mean, he could have done some major damage had he wanted to.

Being mentally handicapped doesn't give someone the right to rob a bank, so why is looking at government documents any different?

yes Yes YES!!!
I agree. I hate when people try to claim it was the mental disabilities fault, not the persons fault. The laws the law, people!

Mental handicaps do not give anyone the right to break the law, but when that handicap causes them to not be able to stop, that is when it should be taken into consideration.

Well yeah, if they are doing something like attacking someone. But hacking the USA's computer? Who doesn't know that that's wrong.

 

[Amnestic]

I like the US mostly because of the rights.

*gigglesnort*

Edit so I don't get banned: Seriously? The rights? My dear, you're certainly wearing your rose tinted glasses a good workout tonight aren't you?

Nah, we just have the ability to own guns, so if OUR government goes nuts they'll die. Oh, and the whole free speech and free press is cool, too.

I'm in the middle of Thorim hardmode attempts in my Ulduar 10 raid at the moment so I'm only posting during wipe recovery so I can't really go into full elaboration here due to time restrictions.

Know that I am loling though, heartily.

Legally, this is a cut and dry case. The man committed a crime, on American servers and therefore should be extradited, that's just how the system works.

If some French person had organised a bomb attack on the tower of London, even without stepping foot on UK soil then the result would be the same, extradition.

Whether he is mentally competent or committed the act with malicious intent is for the courts to decide, as is the length and harshness of his sentence.

I know American law may seem uneccessarily harsh but does anyone doubt he will get a fair trial? Does anyone think that American courts will be unfairly biased against the poor bloke?

No, he will be treated just as fairly as he would be in Britain.

He should be extradited, given a fair trial and if the jury returns a guilty verdict then he should be punished proportionately to his crime.

That's the rule of law kids, it may not be nice, it may seem harsh but it is there, it is fair and it holds us together.

Now, the lopsidedness of the extradition treaty between the UK and US should be sorted out first, but that's a different story...

Do you actually have a law degree or are you another one of those internet lawlyers?

 

[FalloutJack]

Oh, this a load of freakin' horseshit. He's no terrorist and he's not some freakish liability to the world in general. The man isn't some evil-minded Saturday morning cartoon villain out to make the world a bitter place. What he is...is a bit too clever for his own good. Probably harmless, but very talented. What he did was make a mistake in judgement, which an autistic can do. Stupid people have done worse.

Fact is, this is like Mercury Rising. They're trying to bury him for an honest cock-up. His motives clearly lacked true malice, unless you've got a problem with an autistic chasing UFOs with the internet. Get Bruce Willis in here to sort these blame-happy SOBs in their place. If you create an accident of some sort, and it was an honest mistake, you're suppose to get some leniency.

Sixty years and they want to sue him for punitive damages? To hell with that! He SHOULD just get a slap on the wrist and be strictly warned never to do that again. Actually, I seem to recall the hacker protocol being that the computer is confiscated and a light sentence is given for first-offenders. That and the memories of this god-awful event should be enough reminder for any autistic or average person.

There's no REAL reason to stick him in a hole for sixty years except that America wants to feel big again, 'cause they were cyber-castrated and haven't got all the feeling downstairs back yet.

Well, here's what I think of the people out there who want 'im so bad. [http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m315/MagnusReaper/ftb.gif]

(NOTE: The above is not a flame directed at anyone at the board, but what you could call a political statement aimed at the people in government. Give the autistics a break, lads. It's a hard life being one.)

 

[TickleMeGaryG]

Mentally underdeveloped or not, he has no right to hack into the US governments computers, no matter what he was looking for. He could have dangerous files and be a threat to us and even if he DOES have Asperger's syndrome he should know better. So I think the US is doing something that needs to be done, I mean, he could have done some major damage had he wanted to.

Being mentally handicapped doesn't give someone the right to rob a bank, so why is looking at government documents any different?

yes Yes YES!!!
I agree. I hate when people try to claim it was the mental disabilities fault, not the persons fault. The laws the law, people!

Mental handicaps do not give anyone the right to break the law, but when that handicap causes them to not be able to stop, that is when it should be taken into consideration.

Well yeah, if they are doing something like attacking someone. But hacking the USA's computer? Who doesn't know that that's wrong.

He admited he was wrong, he also admited he wanted to get caught because he COULDN'T stop. Yes he deserves punishment, but the fact he couldn't stop should be taken into consideration. As should the fact that he didn't do harm and America have no right to punish him for being in the position to do damage and not doing it. If thats how it works then every human on Earth needs to be jailed for "possible murder"

 

[Nomad]

Err... Why not hire him to foolproof the systems instead? Why waste the talent?

Also, for neutrality purposes, he should totally be tried in Sweden!
Either that or, you know, the country in which he lives and in which he broke the law. Just a thought.

If thats how it works then every human on Earth needs to be jailed for "possible murder"

"Every man is a potential rapist"!

 

[scotth266]

While people keep making a big deal out of the 60 years thing, that is likely reserved for severe cases of cyberterrorism. Given the fact that the man has Asperger's, he would probably get a far lighter sentence. However, he ahould still get a decent amount of time (at least the 20 years the UK system offers): he hacked into extremely sensitive materials, after all.

 

[Dogstile]

America would rather lock this man away than benefit from what he knows?

How could we benefit from someone who knows the truth about aliens? I would want him to revel the truth, but still, why hire him? He can't control his impulses. That is not good.

are you seriously saying this?

America benefiting from what this man knows would be him telling them how to fix their security systems

in this thread you've been dismissing everyone else while acting stupid yourself, please make an effort to actually understand what people are saying before you speak will you?

Edit: quick note, if you americans want real security, run off a closed system, nothing wireless, thats the smart way to do it

 

[BigKingBob]

*snip*
Do you actually have a law degree or are you another one of those internet lawlyers?

Does it really matter which? I'm right.

This is the internet, you can find anything if you know where to look, in this case, a few legal transcripts found through google.

Also:

I'm in the middle of Thorim hardmode attempts in my Ulduar 10 raid at the moment so I'm only posting during wipe recovery so I can't really go into full elaboration here due to time restrictions.

Wha???

 

[Amnestic]

*snip*
Do you actually have a law degree or are you another one of those internet lawlyers?

Does it really matter which? I'm right.

This is the internet, you can find anything if you know where to look, in this case, a few legal transcripts found through google.

Also:

I'm in the middle of Thorim hardmode attempts in my Ulduar 10 raid at the moment so I'm only posting during wipe recovery so I can't really go into full elaboration here due to time restrictions.

Wha???

Yeah, I got the extradition treaty up and I'm trying to sift through it but like I said, I'm playing WoW and can't respond properly, or read properly.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

"Hey, US Government? Here's my middle finger."

He committed a crime in Britain, as a British citizen, as such he should be tried in Britain, as a British citizen

He commited a crime against America. Why wouldn't we punish him?

 

[EchetusXe]

If the US military can't prevent a middle-aged nutter (because of the UFO thing, not the Asperger syndrome) from hacking into their most sensitive and confidential computers systems then WHAT IS THE POINT IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BEING SPENT ON US DEFENCE?!

Essentially, as a nation, the United States lacks the balls to admit 'yes, our computer protection was shit, we owe our citizens better protection for their dollar'. Instead they have said to the world: 'Hi, if you can read this, you can probably hack our top secret shit'.