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A Blaster Writer Blasted as Example
Posted by Rebecca Bolin on Thursday, August 12 @ 14:06:13 EDT Computer Crime
A 19-year-old Minnesotan has pleaded guity to writing and distributing a version of the Blaster worm. He will be sentenced to 18 to 37 months in prison and potentially millions in fines. The writer of the original Blaster worm is still at large, and at this point it is unlikely he will be found at all.

And so a bored, technically proficient kid who just graduated from high school is slammed with the beefed up hacker laws as a deterrent to future computer criminals. This policy choice of massive fines and long prison sentences is directed at a very small group of people, even smaller considering they must be in the U.S. Is a 37 month sentence really that much more deterrent than, say, 6 months--or for that matter just massive fines? The "Blastermaster" deserves to be punished, and his behavior was certainly harmful. That said, does 37 months feel too harsh to anyone else?

 
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Re: A Blaster Writer Blasted as Example (Score: 1)
by magister on Monday, August 16 @ 14:54:11 EDT
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Catchy title. While I find myself agreeing with you in general, I look at the potential for damage that these viruses represent and I also empathize with Declan McCullough who chimed in on this same subject here [news.com.com].


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