Death Penalty For Hackers?

EMIce writes "The New York Times Op-Ed page has a piece entitled Worse Than Death (Obnoxious but free registration required) that calls for harsher 'hacker' penalties as a deterrent, quoting one academic as recommending even well, the death penalty - as a deterrent for the likes of Sasser author Sven Jaschan. Let's face it, businesses are becoming more dependent on their computers but they continue to be a point of failure, and subsequently, frustration through lost profits. Perpetrated breakdowns are now pushing that aggravation towards an edge. The author suggests commuting the idea of a death sentence into a lifetime of servitude doing viral cleanup. What role should enforcement play in such cases and is this too harsh, even considering the billions in damage that is sometimes caused?"

Comments

his bio isn't hard to find

[bobalu]

He's NOT a computer professional, he's an Op-Ed columnist. That would be why his opinion is on the NYT Op-Ed page. He has a background in science writing among other things.

Here's the oh-so-hard-to-find bio for you savvy computer professionals:

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/tierney-bio.htm l

Personally I think cutting off one hand would help quite a bit. It'd slow 'em down at least the next time.

Re:The death penalty is dubious as it is

[14erCleaner]

1. New York Times calls for death penalty for hacking. 2. Phrack ceases publication after 20 years. Coincidence?