Make The Punishment Fit The Cybercrime
from the punishment,-yes,-but-reasonable... dept
It seems that today’s theme is “fair punishment”. Here’s an article talking about how various law enforcement officials seem to want to “make an example” out of the two people caught so far for making variant on the MSBlaster worm. In both cases, these are young guys who simply adapted the worm that was out there (and did so in a stupid way, revealing who they were). Basically, these guys aren’t the real problem, and punishing them harshly just to make a point doesn’t do anyone any good. No one denies that certain actions deserve punishment of some sort – but politicians who don’t understand (and therefore fear) the computer world have set up laws that make the punishment guidelines for cybercrimes well out of line with the actual seriousness of the crime.
Comments on “Make The Punishment Fit The Cybercrime”
I don't agree
I think they do need to be punished sharply. Yes, someone else made virus, but these people passed in on with intent to cause harm. They are old enough to know better.
There’s a difference between a 6 year old finding a gun and shooting it and an 18 year old doing the same thing. These aren’t “kids”.