muller@xyzzy.UUCP (Woody Muller) (02/18/89)
From US News and World Report's "Washington Whispers," Feb 20, 1989: _Prank and Punishment_. Odds are that Robert T. Morris, the 23-year-old Cornell University hacker whose virus hobbled 6000 computers last November, will be forced to stand trial as a consequence of his prank that cost an estimated $96 million in repairs and downtime. While the local federal authorities have asked for Justice Department permission to let Morris plead guilty to a misdemeanor, Justice hard-liners are pressing for felony counts and will probably get them. They argue that going easy on Morris would encourage the security of critical computer networks, while stiff punishment would set legal precedent and make hackers think twice before writing even more ingenious virus programs. -- Woody Muller muller@dg-rtp.dg.com <pick'em>!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!muller
muller@xyzzy.UUCP (Woody Muller) (02/18/89)
[Sorry for the repost: I missed a few important words and can't cancel the previous posting.] From US News and World Report's "Washington Whispers," Feb 20, 1989: "_Prank and Punishment_. Odds are that Robert T. Morris, the 23-year-old Cornell University hacker whose virus hobbled 6000 computers last November, will be forced to stand trial as a consequence of his prank that cost an estimated $96 million in repairs and downtime. While the local federal authorities have asked for Justice Department permission to let Morris plead guilty to a misdemeanor, Justice hard-liners are pressing for felony counts and will probably get them. They argue that going easy on Morris would encourage others to challenge the security of critical computer networks, while stiff punishment would set legal precedent and make hackers think twice before writing even more ingenious virus programs." -- Woody Muller muller@dg-rtp.dg.com <pick'em>!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!muller
patrick@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson) (02/18/89)
In article <3503@xyzzy.UUCP> muller@dg-rtp.dg.com (Woody Muller) writes: >From US News and World Report's "Washington Whispers," Feb 20, 1989: (story about Robert Morris, and his virus program. Government intends to prosecute, etc) >-- > Woody Muller muller@dg-rtp.dg.com <pick'em>!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!muller Rather than cross-post a lengthy (99 line) article here, I call your attention to my lead story in [TELECOM Digest] for Friday, February 17. It appears in comp.dcom.telecom under v#9 issue#65 message#1. "Chicago Phreak Gets Prison Term" is the story of 18 year old Robert Zinn of Chicago, who was found guilty in federal court here last month of making unauthorized intrusions into computer systems, in violation of the Computer Fraud act of 1986. On Tuesday last, Judge Plunkett stuck it to him but good. It should be in your comp.dcom.telecom area at the present time. Patrick -- Patrick Townson patrick@chinet.chi.il.us / US Mail: 60690-1570 (personal zip code) FIDO: 115/743 / AT&T Mail: 529-6378 (!ptownson) / MCI Mail: 222-4956