Kids, Computers, and the Law

[tikiboy]

What these kids are experiencing is nothing new. People who hack into computer systems "for fun" or to even showcase a system vulnerablities are always punished harshly.

Ask Dan Farmer, the creator of SATAN -- Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks. He'd run the SATAN tool on business' networks, then go to them saying, "Here's why your security sucks." And he got in a lot of trouble for it.

The kids in this case should be punished - though not to the extent the school district is asking for. They could have done a lot of damage at a time where school districts don't have a lot of $$ to pay computer folks to restore thier systems. On the other hand, I'll be the school didn't empasize the point enough how much damage can be done. They never do....

Hacking into a system is no different than breaking into a brick and mortar storefront. Unfortunatly young kids these days aren't being taught that.

Now I'll delve into history that would cause my wife to just walk away:

==================================

Hackers are just that: Hacks. Back in the day people broke into systems and wrote viruses to soothe their unaccomplished egos. Writing a computer virus requires very few smarts, but a lame-o is going to think he's cool or "smart." That's why everyone else calls them hackers.

People who can act as computer security specialists are referred to as "crackers." Though I'm sure that term is not used as frequently today as such. I ususally hear it when riding the Blue line in LA, "Hey Cracker! Give it up!!," Which translated to "Excuse me sir? Would you mind extending a charitible contribution?"