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The Computer Owner - Guilty or Not Guilty?
Von-at-Infosec_Writers asks: "It is relatively easy to trace a hack back to a particular computer, but proving that a specific person committed the crime could become much more difficult especially since, as a recent CNN.com article stated, a hacker's legal defense can be: it wasn't me but my hijacked computer that committed the crime. 'In some cases, I do suspect there are people whose computer is taken
over by third parties. It's also a clever defense to exculpate your client,' says Michael Allison of the Internet Crimes Group.What are possibilities to overcome this problem; to prove that the computer owner, without a doubt, is in fact responsible or not responsible for the crime?" As computers become more and more prevalent in our infrastructure, the consequences for computer crime become that much more serious. How much responsibility does the owner of an Internet-connected computer have for crimes committed using their equipment, and what are ways we can best determine their involvement, or lack of it, in said crimes?
"Hey Mr. FBI, I don't even know what a DDOS thingy is. I only have AOL, does the DDOS cost extra?"
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Just as irrigation is the lifeblood of the Southwest, lifeblood is the soup of cannibals. -- Jack Handy
goatse goatse goatse.
dont mod me down. i didn't post this.
goatse goatse goatse.
i've been hijacked.............. don't mod me down......
MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
"It sets a precedent now in the judicial system where a hacker can just claim somebody took over his computer, the program vanished and he's free and clear," he said
...
Right. So if you want to do something illegal, install the version of Windows that's currently most targetted by viruses and worms (XP these days I presume), be very careful *not* to install any service patch, and commit all your crimes with the default Windows telnet client. If you're caught, pretend your computer was hacked and it'll be very plausible. To complete the picture and look even more innocent, pepper a couple of letters to Grandpa, checking account spreadsheets and windows_tips.doc files in your "My Documents" folder.
Of course, don't get caught doing your deeds on a *nix box or your fake computer-loser attitude will appear a lot more suspicious in court
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
If my auto-downloader gets the Linux kernel,
then a Microsot Word macro virus alters it,
then an Outlook worm sends it everywhere,
who exactly is liable for infringement on SCO?
--Fesh
Kill -9 'em all, let root@localhost sort 'em out.
Yes, I think we can all agree that saying "AOL" will be a "get out of jail free" card.
http://jesus.everdense.com/
So if you are planning a big hack, the best way is doing it through the system of a CS student. It shouldn't be to difficult to find one that doesn't have his system properly secured...
I'm sure Microsoft will save the day. They'll integrate a keystroke logger, packet sniffer, and disk imager into the Longhorn kernel, with an added feature that it sends all data gathered back to a centralized Microsoft database (running on BSD of course) every hour. That way there will always be a pristine, completely unadulterated record of everything everyone did on their computers, in case the courts need to get involved. And politicians who look at kiddie porn can have that part erased from their data for a small (infinitely recurring) fee.
Flying is easy, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. -Douglas Adams
Prison is not an adequate punishment.
Or, at least 700 free hours in the first month.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
"Yes, I think we can all agree that saying "AOL" will be a "get out of jail free" card."
But a 1-month sentence would take 4 years, and you still wouldn't be able to get out...