This kid needs to be fined at least double what he stole and put in jail for a very significant amount of time as a warning to others (maybe out when he’s 30, if he’s good), with lifetime restrictions on financial and internet access. I doubt any of that will happen, so we’ll be revisiting either him or people like him again and again.
Strong financial disincentives and lengthy jail terms worked very effectively to cut down on drunk driving. I think they would be equally effective on financial hacking and scams of this nature.
He’s 17; he’s still basically a kid. Your requirements for punishment would likely make a stupid impulse teenager into a hardened criminal. Corporations get away with worse shit constantly and none of them go to prison.
Congratulations on demonstrating one of the major fails in the US justice system and the messed-up ideologies that make it what it is.
“Kids” as young as 11 or 12 commit murder all the time in this country. Enough with the “he’s just a kid” twaddle. He’s already a hardened criminal and should be punished accordingly.
I'm angrier at the idiot employees at Twitter who handed over employee credentials (not that I'm a Twitter user). They should have known better. Kids make stupid mistakes. I'm not sure serious prison time is really warranted, but I'll admit to not knowing what an appropriate punishment should be.
My first thoughts, too. How can "technically savvy" people be so stupid? Who the hell just hands over their credentials to someone on the phone? Have they been living under a rock?
As for punishment, I'm at a loss there, too. My buddies and I did some pretty wild punk stuff back in the day, the least of which was prank calling tons of people and businesses and never spent a minute in jail. But we never stole anything "worthwhile" let alone even being able to IMAGINE stealing $100k! This was circa 1994, so there wasn't much to the internet back then, but still. We were crazy teenagers at one point, too. I say the first move is to fire those employees involved.
I'm angrier at the idiot employees at Twitter who handed over employee credentials (not that I'm a Twitter user). They should have known better. Kids make stupid mistakes. I'm not sure serious prison time is really warranted, but I'll admit to not knowing what an appropriate punishment should be.
My first thoughts, too. How can "technically savvy" people be so stupid? Who the hell just hands over their credentials to someone on the phone? Have they been living under a rock?
As for punishment, I'm at a loss there, too. My buddies and I did some pretty wild punk stuff back in the day, the least of which was prank calling tons of people and businesses and never spent a minute in jail. But we never stole anything "worthwhile" let alone even being able to IMAGINE stealing $100k! This was circa 1994, so there wasn't much to the internet back then, but still. We were crazy teenagers at one point, too. I say the first move is to fire those employees involved.
Yes! And, as I've said: how did a high school kid who's likely never worked a day in his life know what to say to scam these professionals out of critical, highly sensitive and highly secret information? (And then know how to take advantage of those keys to maneuver through a system they had never before seen!)
For me, it fails the stink test. It just doesn't sound plausible. Few of even the experienced geeks on this site would be able to pull it off.
Yes! And, as I've said: how did a high school kid who's likely never worked a day in his life know what to say to scam these professionals out of critical, highly sensitive and highly secret information? (And then know how to take advantage of those keys to maneuver through a system they had never before seen!)
For me, it fails the stink test. It just doesn't sound plausible. Few of even the experienced geeks on this site would be able to pull it off.
Exactly! This kid actually sounds pretty smart. Now, what he does with those smarts is huge. Either he's going to continue this type of behavior for his own gain at the expense of others, in which case, yes, he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law or he could become an EH/Pen tester and use his skills for good like corporate training. Get in there and train these people how to spot these types of attacks and move quickly to stop them. I hope he follows the latter path. He can make a hell of a lot more than $100k (legally) going that route without risking his freedom.
Personally, I think there is a LOT more behind this story -- particularly since Twitter had recently angered a certain political party by blocking their fake news and conspiracy theories.
What are you talking about? Democrats are still posting their fake news and conspiracy theories all day long.
Personally, I think there is a LOT more behind this story -- particularly since Twitter had recently angered a certain political party by blocking their fake news and conspiracy theories.
What are you talking about? Democrats are still posting their fake news and conspiracy theories all day long.
Yeh! But only if you're fool enough to believe Don the Con.
These kids deserve a medal. How dumb do the people at twitter have to be to give a couple of common teenage pranksters access to the keys to the house?
Comments
“Kids” as young as 11 or 12 commit murder all the time in this country. Enough with the “he’s just a kid” twaddle. He’s already a hardened criminal and should be punished accordingly.
As for punishment, I'm at a loss there, too. My buddies and I did some pretty wild punk stuff back in the day, the least of which was prank calling tons of people and businesses and never spent a minute in jail. But we never stole anything "worthwhile" let alone even being able to IMAGINE stealing $100k! This was circa 1994, so there wasn't much to the internet back then, but still. We were crazy teenagers at one point, too. I say the first move is to fire those employees involved.
Yes! And, as I've said: how did a high school kid who's likely never worked a day in his life know what to say to scam these professionals out of critical, highly sensitive and highly secret information? (And then know how to take advantage of those keys to maneuver through a system they had never before seen!)
For me, it fails the stink test. It just doesn't sound plausible. Few of even the experienced geeks on this site would be able to pull it off.
Yeh! But only if you're fool enough to believe Don the Con.