Slashdot Mirror
Felony For Refreshing a Web Page?
therandomw writes "An 18 year-old boy was recently arrested in Ohio for telling fellow students to refresh the schools web page in order to slow down the server. He is being charged with a felony and is currently being held in jail. According to Canton City Prosecutor Frank Forchione 'This new technology has created a whole wave of crimes, and we're just trying to find ways to solve them.'"
AFAIK this barely even brushes up against being a felony, but let the school officials have their fun! Had they just ignored this and let it go (maybe take the kid aside and dress him down a bit), this would have slipped off the radar in half a day. As it is, they've loaded, locked, and are about to fire, aiming right at their own feet.
BTW, I'm just wondering who the first brave soul in slashdot is who will actually post the schools URL. (Also, BTW, it's pretty easily found in Google: Lake High School Uniontown Ohio, duh).
Fark!
I just commited 7 felonies waiting for this story to appear.
Who will guard the guards?
This school must have a pretty bad webserver if simply clicking on refresh brings the server to its knees. I mean, it's not like they were generating millions of hits.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
... after all the /. readers held down F5 to see if it really worked
It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well. - Rene Descartes (1637)
Sounds like a distributed denial of service attack. He just left out the automation.
Logically, the only thing that distinguishes a DoS from the Slashdot Effect is intent. If your intent is to spread awareness of the material that appears on a server, and the server can't handle it, well, that's tough for the server, but that's how the Internet works. If your intent is to take the server down, that's illegal.
Up until now, most deliberate attacks were automated, making it easy to separate overwhelming legit traffic from attacks -- but that's only really as accurate as trying to separate legitimate city traffic from criminals by assuming that anyone on foot is a burglar.
Of course, when you get down to the level of intent, you get to his contention that "Help me crash my school's server" was a joke, and that he wasn't actually trying to get people to follow through. And things get murky.
This problem can be solved through software already -- the school didn't take necessary means to avoid such a simple "DoS" style attack.
Even so, it seems crazy to me to waste taxpayer dollars chasing down this citizen and even more dollars prosecuting him. While the law is supposed to be around to protect property, I don't see how this is a felony. He didn't do the refreshing, did he? He used his right to speak freely.
I'm sure I'll hear the standard arguments about how speech can be regulated and I repudiate all of them. Crying fire in a theatre is private property -- the Constitution protects nothing on private property and the theatre owner is responsible for setting the standards of speech. Telling someone how to make a bomb is also free expression/speech -- you're not making the bomb. In this case, if clicking excessively is a crime (I can't believe it would be), the people who did the act should be indicted.
I'd love to see what real crimes are happening right now in Canton City -- murders, rapes, thefts. Speeding tickets and telling people to refresh a website repeatedly are nothing compared to real property crime. The last quote about trying to solve them reads more to me like they're "trying to find ways to exploit them."
For the school -- they can now expect this to happen more often. The publicity in charging this guy is going to be mostly negative in the minds of the students. All we need now is to get the link visible on slashdot, right?
and you've got a new way to fill the jails!
Lake High School
http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/ was offline before I could even find its url in Google.
But one that's rather easy to defend against with server side scripting- just deny the "from" source....
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
I love the complete bullshit way this article frames the situation. He didn't put a link, he "created a website, which connected to the school's system." ooo.. sinister.. yeah...
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
New, only on Slashdot, the Outrage-O-Matic!!
Simply take the bare facts of a story, throw in some out-of-context quotes and counter-factual insinuations, and that boring story about some punk's criminal mischief is suddenly about the Man's insane overreaction to a harmless prank!
It's fun for the whole family! Get yours today!
The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer. - Albert Einstein
I don't know about a felony, but it's definitely a crime. I't a DDoS attack. A little crude, but it does the job.
End transmission.
Slashdot is in a heap of trouble.
I read the internet for the articles.
In other news...
The use of the F5 key has been banned.
The dude clearly was wanting to disrupt the schools website
Asking folks in an Internet chat room to help crash his high school's computer
My personal website gets charged strictly for bandwidth and storage. If someone had a grudge against me and did this it would COST rather then just slow it down.
Candle burns its brightest in the dark
sleep, then they wouldnt have caused such an uproar. i forsee now thousands upon hundreds of thousands of new blogs about to be created so the webmaster can take down their favorite(or not so favorite) web site by having everyone hit F5.
.. Canton City just got their first set of traffic lights installed.
:-
Frank Forchione was quoted as saying
"Hot Diggidy, this new fangled technology sure is mighty fine !, but it's created a whole wave of crimes, and we'll just have to find ways to solve them."
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
At 18, he should have known better. C'mon, he was actively telling others to actively disrupt his school's server. It might seem small, but in effect, he was asking people to participate in a distributed denial of service attack.
If someone DDoS'd your site, wouldn't you get the police involved if you couldn't stop it?
Not to mention that he was dumb enough to actually put it in writing on his own website. Why wouldn't he just tell people in person to do that?
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
Here's a link to a video newstory that provides some more details: http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=18650&si d=45721&bw=
This story has been up on Digg.com for a few hours, the school's website has been down most of the day
it's not a "public service" so it's legal!
And Frank Forchione should be prosecuted for his crimes against intelligence.
Maybe, but this sounds like the prosecutors are manufacturing a whole wave of criminals and trying to find crimes for them to be guilty of.
i think we should bring a class action lawsuit against all companies that make keyboards, they are manufacturing unsafe products that encourage criminal behavior in america's youth by their continued inclusion of the button 'F5'
vodka, straight up, thank you!
Since the school's site is already DDoS'd, here is the Canton Law Dept. Let's see how fast we can take the prosecutor down.
If he's not, he should end up on everyone's shitlist. Punishing the kid for telling everybody to press F5, come on... Does the defence have anyone who knows what Internet is?
Xatrix Security - Computer Security news portal
This is their webpage.
It's dead, predictably. Once again some morons in authority have demonstrated their complete lack of understanding of internet culture. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge of the way people like us think would have dealt with this as quietly as possible so as not to incur the wrath of the entire world. Instead, they thought they'd be smart and "show what they do about this kind of joke", or whatever it was they said.
They shall pay the price for their lack of vision...
Many human actions are only damaging if done en mass. It is a crime to incite individuals to violence, or to disrupt the peace. While this is surely not a violent crime, instructing individuals to perform a DDoS is an attack, whether performed in cyberspace (via browser refresh or other methods) or in real life (say, inciting a flash mob to take all the paper numbers in a waiting line, and leave).
While I'm not certain felony charges are warranted in this instance, inciting detrimental group behavior is far from a new thing, and should be punished.
Than Slashdot should have been in jail long ago. Isn't that exactly what this website is good for?
A local man was recently reported as attempting suicide when he was found gagging on the floor of a Burger King because he had drank his soda too fast...
This perpetrator thought he could evade the Canton City police department, but no one gets away from the law, not this time, not ever.
I'm a rabbit startled by the headlights of life
http://www.cityofcanton.com/
This is the Canton City prosecutor Frank Forchione cyber digs. Nothing on the website about sending the stormtroopers after the kid yet.
In Soviet Russia, I ruled you
According to the folks at Fark, who got to it before the slashdotting, it only had about 900 hits total. Come on, they crashed the server in NINE HUNDRED HITS?!
http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/
The site is actually down, which is a shame; it would have been a nice oppurtunity to see if we could get Zonk thrown in jail for posting it on the Slashdot front page.
My 3D Texturing Skinning work (under construction)
"18 year old man arrested for DDoSing his schools website by encouraging other students to quickly click refresh. In retaliation for his incarciration, he used his telephone call to call his freind Stevie, whom he told to post to /. and all the schools servers were /.ed."
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
This doesn't make any sense, at all.
- If a boy tells his friend to reload a webpage, he gets thrown into jail and gets felony charges.
- A lone spammer gets $11 billion in fines.
- If joe sixpack downloads a movie he gets huge fines.
Yet, if a medium to large corporation sell/delete customer records, infect consumers computers with spyware or the like, they only get a slap on the wrist?
When did corporations get more freedoms than individuals?
He arranged a Denial of Service attack. Think of his "fellow students" as zombies and him as a script kiddie, then pretend you're the admin or legit user of this site. Now tell me you wouldn't be a wee bit perturbed. This is akin to willfull destruction of property and saying he's only guilt of refreshing a browser is like saying a car thief is only guilt of moving your car.
A felony is a bit harsh though. Perhaps there were significant damages involved. Or the cops are out of control.
Wow. They even give you his street address, in case you wanna walk up and punch him in the face. He's no longer safe from the school bullies! ...Provided he ever gets out of jail.
OK everyone pass it along at exacty 2:30 everyone start clapping!
Don't forget to call an 18 year old a child "18 year-old boy".. cause we all know that 18 year olds are children.
MABASPLOOM!
Last year, an article on the WEWS Channel 5 website had this gem of a quote:
"School officials are not sure they [know] what has caused so many pregnancies..."
Someone needs to get these people a clue-bat.
Well that server is down now. Its fallen prey to Slashdotters around the world I guess. Or are just trying to not repair it to say; "It took us N hours to fix it" But who knows...
if i break your arm because i didn't see you standing behind me while i was moving a heavy piece of furniture, then there should be mild repercussions
if i break your arm by taking it, looking dead in your eye, and twisting it as hard as i can, then there should be severe repercussions
the whole issue is one of intent
intent matters in this world, and any opinion that ignores intent, about this kid, or a whole range of modern problems in this world, is not a useful or valid opinion
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
As a concerned user of fully patched Gentoo, I have tested the "F5 causes excessive reloading" vulnerability. It works on Konqueror, Mozilla and Firefox, with all patches installed, including hardened kernel. Local access to the machine is NOT required; the F5 vulnerability can be triggered when opening a web browser through, e.g., SSH forwarded X connections.
I hope there will be a patch soon!
This new technology has created a whole wave of crimes
Behold the refresh button, the wonder of modern technology.
[sig]
Good thing he didn't tell them to hit the back button.
Well, there's obviously only one punishment approrpriate for this sort of behavior: chemical castration.
That said, come on, what kind of headline is that. "Felony For Refreshing a Web Page?" The crime wasn't refreshing the webpage, the crime was trying to DDoS the school's site. You might as well have written a headline that says "Death Penalty for Swinging a Baseball Bat?" for a story about a psycho who bashes in little old ladies' heads with a Louisville Slugger getting the chair. The crime wasn't swinging the bat, the crime was killing little old ladies.
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
We used to have a rule at school not to steal track balls out of mice. Apparently it was a big problem. Personally, I can't really think of a reason someone would want to steal a bunch of track balls. But I am not sure.
Cmdrtaco & Drew Curtis should be on death row!
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
The man who refreshed!
Kids used to do a DOS on toilets. They'd arrange for all of the
toilets in a school to be flushed at once. Maybe they got suspended.
But DOS-ing a school web site results in a felony charge? Jail?
Dropping an M-80 bomb into the trash can inside the restrooms was a decent way of getting into trouble back in the 1980s. If you do that today, the armed security guard would probably cap you before you strike the match. Future Terrorists of the World start young and die young these days.
You don't need much hardware at all to handle hundreds of requests per second with apache (unless you're doing uncached database queries or other braindead things with scripts).
If this kid can get that many strangers to load up the server that hard for enough hours that the school administrators took notice (in my experience, this can take days), call someone in to poke around, and for him/her to notice what's going on, the school's already out of its league.
The article's a bit thin on details, but it looks like the message wasn't "going here and pressing F5 a lot will slow down my school's computer" (which is informative, and strictly legal) but rather an inducement to commit a crime (possibly - it'd be hard to prove intent to do harm on the part of the folks that actually helped DDOS the machine), which is itself illegal.
So, we have a kid doing something dumb, amusing, actually sort of impressive, and possibly illegal. Yep, sounds like high school.
High-speed Road Trip (18.000KPH)
Sounds like homeland security needs to get handle on these pesky refreshers. They could damage the internet.
Enjoy.
It's just the normal noises in here.
Yes, it's a low-tech sort of DDoS attack but it's not automated. He didn't actually do it himself. It involved the willful cooperation of other individuals. That makes it more like a "grassroots movement".
What if he had said, "Send an info request letter to my school, to swamp the mail-room," hmm?? That's the hardcopy version of what he did. Would he get thrown in jail for that?
I can understand that people wouldn't be pleased by this kid inciting a bit of social disruption, but calling it a felony and throwing him in jail is far too extreme.
who wants to take bets the idiot prosecutor and the school beauracracy blame this poor kid for the slashdotting it receives that DID in fact shut down the server, when the kid's lame attempt probably NEVER had a chace to. I say the ADA should indict himself. I think he should indict a ham sandwich while he's at it.
swanker than you
Once upon a time, I actually attended Lake Highschool and let me say that this does not surprise me that they'd over-react like this. No one in that school knows their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to technology; at least not when I was there some 7-8 years ago. Hell, 90% of the town is owned by the Amish and Mennonite and there's still horse and buggies going to church on Sunday mornings if that tells you anything.
I can just imagine the principal (if it's still the same one), who talks like Elmer Fudd, coming over the PA:
"XXXX, would you pwwweaaaase come to the office, you are in vewy vewy much trouble!"
Back on topic, this is hardly a felony. Back in those highschool days, I had a few friends make fake IDs via scanners (not in school either). The cops were brought into school and talked to everyone and instead of going to court, they were told to do X hours of community service which none of them bothered to do. I wouldn't be surprised if this guy just got community service.
Holy cow... lately it seems that Ohio has been vying to unseat Florida for the capital of dubious distinctions. All we need is some OHP officers tasering some people's genitals and they'll probably take the crown.
The new DDos Tool. I remember when Homer used it to do his automated work for him in one epsiode of the Simpsons.
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
There was a time when we made an important distinction between types of crimes. Misdemeanors were "minor crimes" annoyances that can be cleared up easily enough and are a) not worth making permanent and b) best forgotten once the problems is solved. A classic example is littering, or spraypainting something on a park bench. The former is solved by making the littebug pick up their garbage (and mabye some other peoples') and the latter by having the offendor repaint the bench brown. In both cases the offence can be "fixed" and the individual can learn form a simple dressing down. In most juristictions misdemeanors are not even recorded (or didn't used to be) and never ever became part of someone's permanent criminal record (especially a minor). Moreover misdemeanors aren't liable for jail time above and beyond "time served" (in the drunk tank).
Felonies are major or "permanent" crimes such as theft, maim, and murder. They connotate crimes that cannot be simply "cleaned up", crimes that cannot be undone in any meaningful sense and crimes that may signal permanent problems for the individual in question. Felonies attatch much stiffer penalties (for both juveniles and adults) as well as "permanence". In some states felons lose the right to vote permanently. This is politely known as "Civil Disenfranchisement". In Midevil times it was associated with the term "Civil Death". Felons are also forbidden from obtaining some jobs (in government), and have to tell all other employers of their status. They are also often forbidden from obtaining some scholarships and grants. While not all of these attatch automatically to juvenile felons many of them do. Increasing numbers of states are making no distinction between juvenile felonies and adult felonies. Unlike midsdemeanor crimes felons are truly marked for life.
The basic upshot of this is that this kid could be harmed for life for what is, in essence, a nothing crime. He encouraged people to visit a website and thereby caused a server to run slow, not stop, not crash, not burst into flames, just run slow. This is a temporary problem, a fixable problem, and one that doesn't even require two coats of paint.
This is a dangerous, vicious overreaction on the part of the city prosecutor, and the school officials. They are abusing their power and risk punishing a kid for life for something that should be handled by a stern talking to and no dessert.
Some ex convicts carry around a felony conviction that prevents them from re-entering society or impairs them in some way thus encouraging a return to crime. How much worse is that when the conviction is for something less-damaging than littering.
On another note, I wonder when the prosecutor's up for reelection?
...otherwise, he'd've never gotten an article about it on slashdot, thus the school's website wouldn't get slashdotted -- which is really what he wanted, right?!
If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
"inciting detrimental group behavior is far from a new thing, and should be punished."
So I suppose you are for punishing Ghandi? Or Martin Luther King, Jr? Or any one of many other civil disobedians.
I realize this isn't civil disobedience but my point is this: punishment is not always the best answer.
you are looking for certainty where there never was certainty and and never will be any certainty: issues of trust in how humans present themselves
in every interpersonal relationship that ever existed and ever will, all the way from the tiniest: how you relate to your girlfriend, all the way up to the largest: treaties countries establish with each other, is all based on best guesses and faith
so welcome to reality, stop looking for certainty where there is none
lack of certainty doesn't stop people from acting on establishing intent and trust on the most reasonable of judgments, nor should it stop people from establishing best guesses on intent and trust
this world is not black and white, there are many greys
you will never make it black and white and simple, nor should you try, unless you are a simpleminded fundamentalist dooming yourself to failure by trying (of which there are many kinds, not just religious)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
What new technology? Refreshing web pages? Wow..... talk about misinformed :)
*goes into liberal mode*
We need to look at why he was doing this. The web page must have harmed him at some time.
He must be having a bad child hood. Perhaps he had a bad experience with computers.
*wakes up from liberal mode*
Wow. That was scary.
Charles Wyble System Engineer
From the article:
So violating other peoples' privacy and altering your grades is a misdemeanor but slowing down a webserver is a felony? Now that is stupid.
all wonderful, wonderful words and concepts that matter exactly as you say ;-)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
When they contributed big money to Senators and Congressmen to get their business models enshrined in dubious legislation.
. --- If you're looking for free e-mail you won't find it here! http://www.noemailhere.com
the web site developer for ripping of the tax payers with such lousy software that 900 hits brought the thing down.
What was the slashdot response? To continue the same DOS attack. And I think it's incredibly appropriate. Hopefully no script kiddies are automating it. That defeats the purpose. Show the will of the people by showing that this is a valid way to show defiance. We need this sort of free speech, so long as it is not automated, available online as an act of public defiance.
America,
For the last 25 years you have been voting for a Police State. And now that's exactly what you have. Congratulations, Democracy really works.
Now shut up, bend over and take it like a man.
-S
my email 5 sec ago: ---------- Dear Sirs, I am the evil mastermind behind an international crime organization... our name is .... "THE REFRESHERS".
By looking at your webpage constantly we will slow it down until nobody will be able to load it.
I hope you don't mind.
If you want to sue me send me an email and I'll provide you with my correct adress in europe.
yours,
F.XXXX
*an infinite number of monkeys wrote this sig
"Civil disobedience is still disobedience"
Shouldnt we be arrested for Slashdotting the page? Along w/ fark, digg and the numerous other sites that have carried the story and links to the Schools page? Cause i sure as shit know i clicked on the link to their web page just to be evil.
See Sig! See Sig Zig! Zig Sig Zig!!!!!
I could have got the death penalty for some of the things I did on the computers in highschool. ping!
Stone..... The man they call Stone... He clicked refresh And his friends clicked it more Stood up to the school Gave their server what for Our love for him now Ain't hard to explain The Hero of Canton The man they call...err...Stone...
The laws of probability forbid it!
How times have changed. Pranks that would have gotten you a session with the principal are now felonies. Children of all ages do dumb things. It's why records are normally expunged at 18 so they don't carry the stimga of a childhood prank throughout their lives. Schools now have a zero tolerance to any misbehavior and expulsion seems to be the least of a kids worries. The stunt was a modern version of getting everyone to flush all the toliets at once. Fine, suspend him for a week to make a point but a felony? When I was growing up back in the 60s and 70s even in a small midwestern town there was several bomb threats called in. It was a dumb thing to do and would have gotten them expelled but in today's climate they would have been convicted of a felony and jailed for multiple years with the record possibly carrying over into their perminate record and ruining their lives. Is it really making us safer or is the intolerance ripping society apart? After the Columbine shootings it was found social outcasts that had been targeted by bullies were at fault. Who got targeted? The bullies that abused outcasts? No the outcast victims became targets in every school further victimizing them and possibly leading to school shootings that have occured in the years since. The iron fist approach tends to make things worst not better. Prison tends to make criminals. Is it serving society better to throw a kid in prison for a dumb prank and turn him into a career criminal or punish him for the prank by suspending him for a time then giving him a chance to redeem himself and his life?
The school is pulling a prank on them..
Oh how classy.
Proof by very large bribes. QED.
Hm. That's weird. I hold down F5, and all that happens is the little beveled, transparent "speaker volume" window appears and cranks to maximum.
Well, if the kid's exploit doesn't work, I guess the prosecutor has no case.
Take care,
Mark
There is a solution...
The one who does the trampling should be found guilty of murder, especially if they ran with no obvious signs of fire
Well, now you're just being an ass.
Out of curiosity, how does your take on the 1st amendment take into account other forms of fraud (beyond deceiving people in a public place into thinking that they're about to lose their lives)? So, if a doctor maliciously tells you you only have 24 hours to live... is he just having a little 1st amendment fun? How about if I call you on the phone and tell you that if you don't do [whatever] in the next 5 minutes, that I'll kill one of your family members - someone who is not in your sight at the moment. Ah, freedom of speech!
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
You fail logic. Unless of course it was your intention to imply that Ghandi's and King's actions were "detrimental". I've always thought of them as positive actions.
And you fail philosophy and politics. Did you think the people Ghandi and King were acting against thought their actions were positive? I'm pretty sure the British Government, and many US State governments (as well as many people of the time) didn't hold your view that these were positive actions. These are also the people with the power to prosecute. Get it?
AccountKiller
Consider that he had the intent, but not the skills, to take down the server. If he could, he would have done worse.
I'd do it again!
(click)
BAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
...we called it a prank.
I mean, let's get serious. This guy crashed the Web server of a high school. Not a bank. Not a military research base. This is no threat to "homeland security." It's a kid goofing off. You want to slap him with a felony conviction for that?
Sure it was the wrong thing to do. Sure he should be punished. But it seems to me that there was a time in this country where somebody who did something like this would get suspended from school for two weeks and the real punishment would come from Dad's belt.
Have we as a people become so emasculated that we really need to have the government step in, call out the cops, and throw felony charges at a teenage kid for the digital equivalent of toilet papering a house?
Breakfast served all day!
But, Officer, it's just a flash motorcade?!
Seriously, though, I've seen funeral processions that should have been crimes, and I was stuck behind one today, for almost 30 minutes! It's asinine. I think that sometimes the poor bastard who kicked the bucket wants to punish people who are just trying to get around... And that's why I'm going to offer free food and booze, and maybe a concert or something for any and every moocher who attends my service, which will last approximately one week. I will bring the city to its knees with my cold dead body! MUHAHAHAHAHA!
Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
Actually, thanks to subsidies from Apple, most public schools in the USA run on Macintoshes.
I used to be a nighttime tech for a datacenter (www.forest.net) that was a largely Macintosh facility, and it was there that I learned about the perils of Mac-based web hosting. This was back in '02, when OSX was still "kinda new" and a lot of the machines in the DC still ran OS9 with Webstar as their web server software. Webstar had this "quirk" where, if it put a dialog on the screen, the machine stopped listening for incoming connection requests. It turns out though that this "quirk" isn't actually due to Webstar, but is actually the fault of MacOS 9.x and prior, because they're single-threaded operating systems and any time any application put a dialog onscreen, the entire system would halt pending the dismissal of the dialog box.
So when you hit the connection limit and a dialog appeared onscreen notifying you of such, guess what happened if nobody was there to dismiss the dialog? Yes that's right, it appeared as if the machine had completely vanished from the internet. Kind of like that school district machine has done, on a friday, after school hours, with nobody around to dismiss the dialog.
Hmmmm....
If I were a bettin' man, my money would be on Macintosh in this instance.
Reinvent the wheel only at either a lower cost, greater effectiveness, or your own personal enrichment and satisfaction.
The Corporation tries to answer this question. Pretty cool documentary. It's slightly left-leaning but it does show the opinions of both righties and lefties as well as ex and current CEO's from various huge multinational corporations. Very interesting.
If you don't want to purchase or rent it, you can find a torrent on Sweden's favourite torrent site. :)
Feel the power, /.
WTF? I mean what are they gonna do?
arrest us all???
---- "Logoff! That cookie shit makes me nervous!" - A. Soprano
I can't load the web site ( http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/hs/ )! I keep hitting F5 to re-submit my request but I keep getting a browser error (not even an HTTP 500 error). I don't get it. I guess I'll just keep hitting F5 until the page loads. :D
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
HTTP Status 500 -
t .java:743)t .java:856)
----------
type Exception report
message
description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.
exception
java.lang.NullPointerException
OrdinanceGet2.doGet(OrdinanceGet2.java:43)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServle
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServle
note The full stack trace of the root cause is available in the Tomcat logs.
----------
Apache Tomcat/5.0.19
Yeah, I hate it when I break that ordinance...
Reinvent the wheel only at either a lower cost, greater effectiveness, or your own personal enrichment and satisfaction.
This offense is put in the same level as aggravated assault, arson, burglary, murder, and rape. That seems like a clearly wrong classification since I would assume felonies carry a stronger sentence in court. The sentence will be disproportionate to the crime.
-Mattman
http://OneBillion.blogspot.com
Digg reported this before /.. So three DDoS events. :)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
the HS and Prosecutor's office why not the jail? http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/serv02.htm
HA! An overloaded server is damage? Tremendous?
I think this guy is trying to turn an overloaded school website (like anyone visits that anyway) into a mini-9/11.
Tremendous Damage is essentially reserved for 9/11, Oklahoma City, type damage.
IMHO that's borderline slander since it's extremely unlike for any true damage, forget about "Tremendous".
Those are just words to get in the paper, at the expense of someone else's reputation.
If I were that kids parents, I'd consider a lawsuit. Then again, nobody ever wins a lawsuit against a prosecutor.
Pranking kids, you say?
I thought that at 18 you became an adult in the eyes of the law. It's when you register for selective service and also when you become legally responsible for your actions (instead of your parents, who were responsible from 0 to 17).
There were no kids involved here, just an adult who did something stupid.
Reinvent the wheel only at either a lower cost, greater effectiveness, or your own personal enrichment and satisfaction.
It's all gonna kick off when they realise he masterminded this whole thing to get the site famous and have the entier population of the internet bring it to it's knees.
I can't wait for the Slashback on this story :o)
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Caution liberal/liberitarian/green content (rant) ahead!
For some reason I feel like I should have seen something like this coming. Frankly the criminal justice system in the United States is absolutly ill-equiped to deal with technology crime. In general, it is a system that has morphed into a plea-bargain machine that charges people with the most henious crime they can make fit and then work on reaching a "equitable sentence" through a plea-bargain. Ultimately the student will be allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge (it this case, probably a misdemenor).
There are a few things about this system that are GROSSLY UNJUST!
First, there are no rules that allow both sides to play the game evenly. The prosicutor makes them up as he goes along and changes them when and if he wants.
If you can't afford an attorney (and what eighteen year-old high school student can?) you will probably be appointed a public defender who is over-worked, under-paid and probably only a couple years out of law-school. He (or she) will consider it a victory if they can get the plea-bargain down to a misdemenor (even if no crime was committed).
If the kid's parents can afford a (good) private-practice lawyer they will have to pay thousands if not tens of thousands for the defense. There are a couple of reasons for this, one is that the lawyer knows they can get that kind of money from those kinds of people. Another reason is that the lawyer will have to hire experts that can educate him about the technology just so he can get an idea of what the charges really are about. Finally, if it makes it to court, there will have to be money to pay the experts to come in to court and testify. Naturally, the lawyer will want all of this money up front.
On the other side of the table, you may be facing a lawyer who wants to make a name for himself. He is aware of the failures of the system and knows how to exploit them to achieve his goals (personal or political). If the defendant gets a public defender he knows to prey on the over-worked defender and will offer a bad-deal that is just good enough to make the public defender sell it to the defendant. He also knows that the public defender has very little money for expert witnesses. If he faces a private practice lawyer, he will fight a delaying action, not offering much of a deal knowing that the cost-to-fight will soon bankrupt most people. He too can play the expert-game, only he has a county IS geek as a professional witness (so it costs him very little).
Don't forget, the state's attorney is graded on his conviction rate (not on if justice was served). His raises and promotions depend on a good record with a high conviction rate.
This is a system that is so broken it deserves to be tore completely down and rebuilt. You don't have to be an innocent man on death row to feel the injustice. Criminal Justice deserves two sides that are equally capable, equally funded, and fair for people of every income level. A CEO of a Fortune 500 company deserves the exact same treatment that a homeless windo deserves. Justice needs to be blind to status, race, gender, faith, orientation, or anything else (other than justice). It is the United States greatest failure as a country (although the health care system comes damned close).
Well, maybe it wasn't earlier. . . ;)
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
"An 18 year-old boy was recently arrested...."
Am I the only one who finds this statement disturbing? What does it say about our society when an 18 year old can be described as a child and no one thinks it's strange?
I'm sorry, but anyone old enough to join the military and kill our enemies overseas is NOT a child.
Lee
Muslim community leaders warn of backlash from tomorrow morning's terrorist attack.
Don't know if anyone has posted this yet, but here are the contact details for the city of Canton officials. I hope you all voice your disgust by sending them an email. http://www.cityofcanton.com/reachus.html
the kid at the center- or those who listened to his sermon?
he's not believed to be personably responsible for the refreshing, only the reccomendation to others that they do so.
kinda like printing the anarchists cookbook? no?
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The student encouraged others to refresh a web page. Not a felony, AFAIK.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
This guys attitude helps nthing, stops nothing, and shows exactly how stupid someone can be when confronted with a 'computer problem'
Felony? this is rediculous. Just stupid beyong belief.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Please people... this is just politics at it's worst. Apparently having more then 3 or 4 people now hitting F5 while on a website is now a felony? Maybe it should be a felony to charge students with technological knowlegde. If a server can be crashed that easily, it wasn't well maintain, didn't have enough bandwidth, and shouldn't have been running in the first place. As for this kid or adult, whatever he is, it'll be pitiful if he's convicted of a felony. I think the IT guy who maintains the server should be fired for not completing his duties. This kid didn't spread a virus, or a worm. He didn't hack anything. He just refreshed a freeking website. Perhaps Yahoo will come after me if I refresh their website too many times saying that I'm tying up bandwidth and trying to crash their server. Nothing malicious was done, just a vulnerabilty exposed in crappy hardware. Move on and drop the charges.
Give me a productive error over a boring, mundane and unproductive fact any day. ~Anon
Theft!
He is making them steal MEGAHERTZ!
The Lake Local School District is hosting a new web site this year. The new "official" district web site is http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/.
When appropriate, visitors will be linked back to the former district site http://www.lakelocal.org/
Or this site http://lakelocal.oh.schoolwebpages.com/
"School officials are not sure they [know] what has caused so many pregnancies..."
... beat the hell out of them with it and then take
it with you. That way, the police won't have the murder weapon and you'll be free to apply
a free cluing-in to some other imbecile. Besides, if said officials are unaware of what
causes pregancies then odds are they will not be reproducing, so hopefully the next
generation will have fewer idiots in charge of their education.
Don't just give them a cluebat
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
is more interested in solving crimes then preventing them.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Problem is, we still got a heck of a lot of crime for a Police State. If we are going to live in a country where the police intimidate and harrass people, could they at least harrass the criminals too?
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It would take a helluva a lot of refreshing of a helluva lot of web pages to slow even a slow webserver down. Seems like refreshing pages is a drop in the bucket as far as web servers go.
Register the editry.
In the 60s, when I was growing up, only real bad offenses were deemed felonies. Murder, Rape, Arson, Armed Robbery and other stuff like that. Then along comes a new breed of careerist prosecutors and grandstanding politicians, all one-uping each other to see who could be toughest on crime. They're ratcheted damn near everything up to felony status. Are there any misdimeanors anymore?
In my state and others, many drug offenses carry longer mandatory minimum sentences than violent crimes. I was buying ammo recently at a gun shop. There was a sticker beside the register which warned of a 10 year sentence for buying a firearm for someone who shouldn't have one. Well, there ought to be a serious penalty for that but Armed Bank Robbery carries a 7 year penalty. Either the illegal gun purchase should carry a shorter penalty or the violent robbery should carry more. It's nuts.
These officials who slapped the HS kid with a felony say they're doing it to send a message. This is zero tolerance run amuk. All this felonizing of picayune offenses reminds me of something Deep Purple Ian Gilliam joked about on the Made In Japan album, "Make everything louder than everthing else."
Wansu, th' chinese sailor
http://www.lakelocal.k12.oh.us/lhshome.htm
Lets see how my school district reacts.
http://www.oasd.k12.wi.us/
Excuse me for pointing this out, but where exactly are the damages that relate to this felony. If this kid finds a lawyer with even an ounce of brains, the court case should last thirty seconds.
Lawyer: Why do you have a web site?
School: So the public can access it.
Lawyer: So, is the same machine running it today?
School: Yes.
Lawyer: Does it run on the same connection?
School: Yes.
Lawyer: And it runs the same software, with the same data?
School: Yes.
Lawyer: So, in fact, nothing was erased or altered on the machine in any way? Correct?
School: Yes.
Lawyer: Did your service provider charge you with any extra fees?
School: No.
Lawyer: So, apart from a handful of extra traffic, which you admit slowed down but did not stop, damage, or destroy hardware, software, or data, and which did not cost you any extra money, you had not other damages?
School: Uhm, well, I guess that's correct.
Lawyer: Tell me, do you sue the driver in front of you if he slows down, or charge the slow walking grandmother holding up the line with a felony?
School: Uhm, no.
Lawyer: Tell me, if all the phone lines are in use at the school because people are calling them, is that a felony? Are prank calls a felony?
School: Er, no.
Lawyer: So, your basis for the "damage" in this case is that a student basically asked his friends to "call-up" the computer until you had a busy signal.
School: Yes.
Lawyer: In fact, your entire web site listed less than 900 hits before it was Slashdotted into oblivion. Tell me, have you started legal proceedings against the news agency that took the story national, or Zonk for posting it on Slashdot?
School: Erm, no.
Lawyer: So, you're only willing to harrass young children? To send a child to prison for what amounts to no more than a phone call where they hang up? Is that what you feel is acceptable? Is that, in fact, what you view as teaching our children?
School: Er, do I have to answer that?
Lawyer: Well, you are making me wait, keeping me busy, I might have to file a felony suit against you for that...
Life, the Universe, and Everything... in my image.
I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!
That Lake High School is just outside of Toledo, OH. The Lake High School in question is near Canton, in the East.
Fnord.
This makes Lavrenty Beria's Soviet Russia look like Heaven. Just how do such dumb people get into these petty official positions, and then proceed to make the US the Number One laughing stock on the world's stage. Do please explain, because, looking in from another country, I'd be splitting my sides if it wasn't so tragic.
This is beside all of the ethical/moral/constitutional issues everyone else is bringing up.
BTW, if anyone from the Canton school district is reading this and needs an admin that can keep your webserver up, let me know. I'd be glad to do some remote consulting for you.
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Anybody not old enough to buy a whiskey in a bar cannot be a man, so he has to be a boy.
Nice country you have, where killing is ok for the young, but booze or boobs are a no-no.
HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
The Texas Duck Hunt A big city lawyer went duck hunting in rural Texas. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing. The litigator responded, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it." The old farmer replied, "This is my property, and you are not coming over here." The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in the United States and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own. The old farmer smiled and said," Apparently, you don't know how we settle disputes in Texas. We settle small disagreements like this with the "Three Kick Rule." The lawyer asked, "What is the Three Kick Rule?" The Farmer replied, "Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up." The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom. The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel toed work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff then made the lawyer loose his early morning breakfast. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer's third kick to his rear end sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie. The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, "Okay, Now it's my turn." The old farmer smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck."
According to Canton City Prosecutor Frank Forchione 'This new technology has created a whole wave of crimes, and we're just trying to find ways to solve them.'"
It's because of dickheads like this that I choose NOT to live in North America... I don't know how the yanks can sing their national anthem with a straight face anymore.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
So why does it surprise anyone that corporations are treated as people? Any rights the people that are part of the corporation have are effectively rights the corporation has.
Take one trivial example: do corporations have freedom of speech? Let's assume the answer is no, and perform reductio ad absurdum: How would a corporation "speak" anyway? Well, it would have one of it's spokespersons (or webmasters, or advertising executives, or whatever) go out and say something on behalf of the corporation. That's an actual real, live, person we're talking about here. That person has the right to free speech. If they choose to exercise that right in exchange for renumeration from someone else, that doesn't strip them of their right to free speech. Hence, the corporation can "say" anything that any of its members can say. If corporations don't have freedom of speech, neither do the people that make them up.
Q.E.D.
The real tragedy (assuming there is one here) is that groups of people are inherently difficult to hold accountable for something, especially if they stand together. That's powerful and beneficial when it's a matter of civil disobedience, but it's a kind of power that single individuals don't have. It's not a right, though, just a power.
Since when do harmless pranks get you sent to jail?!
And yes it was a harmless prank, the server didn't even come down. And even if it had it would have come back up at what, the end of the class period?
I can remember getting in trouble for making various projectile devices ranging from spitwads to a pen crossbow (that would put a chopstick into a wall....ok that was kinda dangerous) and I never got freaking arrested.
Schools are ridiculous these days. Let kids be kids.
Question everything
So, if he wanted everyone to holding down the f5 key to break my arm (his intent) then that would be grounds for an assult charge?
yes, if your arm broke
His intent was to crash a server which apparently the f5 key couldn't do. So even though the intent was a crash, it didn't happen because I say it shouldn't happen with good code (no more that hitting the f10 key once can crash a server, which it could with bad server code but shouldn't)
i said intent matters, i didn't say it overrules the actual effects. if you do something bad, your intent is evaluated in determining punishment. if you didn't do anything bad, i don't see how you can be punished. no one knows what you did, and no one was hurt, so it's like nothing happened. intent only comes into question for determining punishment for your action that actually resulted in damage
And btw, if I'm standing around heaving furniture being moved I can expect the slight possibility of an arm being broken. That makes me, the risk taker, more at fault for the broken arm than you, the furniture mover.
that's basically what i said
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Good going, you political hack. You think a couple dozen hits is a felony? You've just opened up that server to millions of hits. I might just take a few dozen shots at it myself. Thanks to that idiot, that school will never have an operational server again.
And are WE felons now? Golly gosh.
I'm thinking that Ohio is possibly the stupidest, most corrupt state in the U.S. Poor Ohio. Scandals and Diebold and creationism, oh my.
perspective, scale, context, intent
all of them words and concepts that should be used together in determining punishment for a crime, minor or major
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
From my experience, high school admins are usually the very bottom-of-the-barrel when it comes to computer ops. Mine was an english major turned high school english teacher turned highschool sysadmin. He suspended me for for three days just for running a network scan on the servers.
According to Netcraft, the site is running:
Apache/1.3.33 (Darwin) mod_jk/1.2.6 DAV/1.0.3 mod_ssl/2.8.24 OpenSSL/0.9.7i PHP/4.3.11
That exact version string seems to suggest Mac OS X 10.3. Who knows what hardware it's running on, especially in a high school. I've seen 10.3 running on an original tray-load 1998 CRT iMac G3 -- 233 MHz, 64 MB, it isn't pretty. Slow as XP on an original Pentium. You pretty much need a blue&white G3 minitower or a slot-load 2000 CRT iMac G3 (350+MHz) to run Mac OS X 10.3/10.4 with decent performance. Versions 10.0 - 10.2 were even slower.
Why the server actually crashed is a good question for the Apache and Darwin/OSX gurus.
BTW, I'm not aware of any Apple subsidies for schools. Sometimes Apple will make low bid, but nothing too different from what Dell does. I *wish* Apple subsidized their hardware, then maybe my high school and college would have had semi-modern machines rather than their 10-year-old Macs and 5-year-old PCs.
*Refresh*Refresh*Ref...oh, uh...*looks up and then hides his hand's behind his back and stares at the ceiling*
This is a stupendous development. Now we have Digg to take down sites for us. So we no longer have to bother with TFA anymore.
On with the comments!
Asking people to think is like asking them to buy you a new car
This was on Fark Lastnight, and Digg this morning. FARK AND DIGG PWN /.
"THE ISSUE:
Almost 4 million Americans, or 1 in 50 American adults, are not allowed to vote because they have been convicted of a felony, regardless of the nature or seriousness of the offense. Three fourths of these Americans are no longer in jail. 13% of African American males - 1.4 million - are prohibited from voting.
Furthermore, state laws vary when it comes to defining a felony and in determining if people who are no longer incarcerated can vote. Thus it is possible that in some states, a person can lose their right to vote forever if he or she writes one bad check. Furthermore, the process to regain one's right to vote in any state is often difficult and cumbersome. Most states require specific gubernatorial action, and in 16 states federal ex-felons need a presidential pardon to regain their voting rights."
Above quote was take from the following PDF the NAACP created April 13 2005.
NAACP Supports Voter Renfranchisement For Rehabilitated Felony Offenders
According to Netcraft the machine is running Apache 1.3.33 on what is probably Mac OS X 10.3.
Regarding classic mac os and WebStar, I have used versions 1.0 thru 3.0 on Macs and Mac clones in my high school on Mac OS 7.6 thru 9.1. Prior to WebStar we used MacHTTPd and even NSCA HTTPd on a NeXTstation.
What you said about a modal dialog box locking the system is somewhat true, however it generally is triggered by other applications. There were only a few very early versions of WebStar that would actually freeze themselves with their own dialog boxes. More common was a modal dialog box from another application that did the deed. On our servers (Mac IIci, Mac Quadra 605, PowerComputing Mac clone) we ran WebStar (WWW), Rumpus (FTP), Eudora Internet Mail Server (POP+SMTP), QuickDNSpro (DNS), FileMakerPro (DB), Lasso (FileMaker web CGi interface), Timbuktu (sort of like VNC), and a variety of scripts for log analysis and web searching. Over the first year we had a couple freeze-ups of the server, so we dove into the software to see what we could do. Turns out that simply updating the apps to their latest patch/bugfix release solved most of the problems. Also Mac OS 8.6 and newer were based on an updated kernel with updated threading support and solved even more issues. (Of course by the time 8.6 shipped we were already trying out FreeBSD and Mac OS X) For insurance we bought a watchdog dongle that plugged into the ADB (apple desktop bus -- keyboard/mouse) port and would force a restart if the software ever halted. In the 2 years after our overhaul I think we had one crash and the dongle successfully rebooted the server in a matter of minutes.
Maybe we were lucky, or maybe we just took the time to read the manuals to avoid the gotchas. I have no regrets in using Classic Mac OS as a server. Today I like Mac OS X for the desktop, but it's Solaris and FreeBSD that I run on my servers.
...what kind of brainless idiot can charge a 18y/o boy for a felony for such a stupid thing. Probably someone that knows *nothing* about technology but just wants his/her name on the newspapers.
You should see the amount of cops and fire fighters that show up when a hot chick is stuck in handcuffs or found bound in the trunk of a car as part of a kinky game ;)
1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcf
"Michael said it was a joke," Forchione said. "We showed him how we deal with this kind of joke."
Being 18, they showed him, indeed, considering he will have a felony in the database tracking him for the rest of his life. In lieu of a job, I guess he can get a book from Loompanics on how to cook meth and be a drug dealer.
But I suppose they had to balance the ethical issues to reach a wise decision. I mean, it's hard to imagine the horror of school web sites crashing around the country. That would send a signal that we're weak on terra.
The more the idea takes hold in my mind, the easier it is to see examples of what cowardly bullies Americans are. Yup, the Canton police really showed this kid what happens when you mess with the school web site. "Take that computer-using high school kid!"
Maybe Kevin Mitnick can get him gigs speaking at the high school circuit?
Lets ALL travel down there and mill about!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
The news stated he blogged and pointed people to a link to a page he made on the school's server. Is it possible this page he made used a known Windows vulnerability (yeah, I hear there are a few of them) and in order to trigger the page's effect the user had to hit F5? (playing the odds at least one person would do it, if not more)
/. and I don't recall an article earlier on this).
If that's the case, its not a simple DoS attack. Its a malicious page that he created with the intent to take down the server.
If that is true, then the story needs updating and the kid needs to go to jail.
If its a simple "refresh the page thing" hoping that thousands of his loyal blog fans simulataneously hit F5 at the same time in order to create a mini-DoS, then he needs to wake up early and get to detention for the rest of the school year.
To me that's kinda like winning the lottery (unless his blog is
Funny that when I checked a few minutes after this story hit, the oh.us server was down. The whole server itself couldn't handle anything apparently. Must have been an old, unpatched NT server in a back corner of a Municipal building somewhere.
Its any wonder it was up long enough for him to pull off anything on it.
I dont mean to be a bad boy, but they still alive
http://www.lakelocal.k12.oh.us/lhshome.htm
-- "Freedom comes in small packages, usually TCP/IP"
I always thought that this method could be used as a very legal form of protest. It doesn't do any damage to the server, only makes the intent of the party to be seen. He is simply an organizer of a public group- and they have every right to protest against whatever they like- and since loading a web page is not illegal- a group of individuals doing this can not be seen as any sort of criminal behavior, even if this was their form of protest.
http://www.lakelocal.k12.oh.us/lhshome.htm I know its a dupe post but this is the right link the other link it just a bad link.
OMG Ponies!!! with Glitter!!!! I miss Pink
http://www.bittorent.com/
No Sigs!
No person shall knowingly use any computer, computer system, computer network, telecommunications device, or other electronic device or system or the internet so as to disrupt....
Note that the kid only used his mouth, *not* a computer to do his "crime". Loophole City!
That is unless the prosecuter argues that the mouth is a "telecommunications device".
Table-ized A.I.
Isn't it illegal to incite mischief and crime?
I'd say that owning a web server that crashes after 900 hits, and letting it be known, is endeavouring to incite mischief and crime. It could be argued that the kid is the victim here...
If you can get a fine for leaving for car door unlocked, why wouldn't leaving a server badly protected not qualify?
That has actually come up as one of the major arguments aginst such laws. As the page I referenced noted the practice of "Civil Death" goes back (at least) to the Romans. But it isn't practiced as much in the U.S. precisely because of that argument. Other arguments marshalled against it include the notion of Cruel and Unusual punishment (for a minor felony a life punishment is too much) and the notion of Double Joepardy. If the Jail Time is the punishment then what is the virtue of extending ti forever, etc.
Ultimately it all comes down to the stigma of the crime.
Being from Ohio, I'd like to defend the state or whatever. But I really can't. Dumbasses abound. The entire government of the state is a joke. Top to bottom bullshit.
That *was* engrossing, but personally I found this 7.2MB pdf on Zone Change Procedures to be even more informative:
e s/zonechangesample.pdf
http://www.cityofcanton.com/safetyservice/bldgcod
Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others. -Groucho Marx
Back in the days of the PET we tried a DoS on our School's plumbing System by running all the water and flushing all the toilets at the same time.
Alas, it was all for not.
Good thing they did not call the cops.
http://lakelocal.oh.schoolwebpages.com/education/s chool/school.php?sectionid=2
Peace, Drak
The Stark county Sheriff's office had some outdated information in the previous post-- Sherriff W. Bruce Umpleby died several years ago-- here's the updated info: 4500 Atlantic Blvd. NE Canton, OH 44705 Phone: 330-430-3850 Fax: 330-430-3839 Sherriff Tim Swanson I was actually *referred* to the prosecutor to find details on how to donate for the kids' legal fees, though Frank didn't seem to know. The number I was forwarded for the county prosecutor (Frank Forchione) was 330-305-0084 if you wish to contact him for details on the case, and or find out what the heck he's thinking. As a director that deals with *real* security issues regularly, setting this kind of legal precedent is quite dangerous, and would be terrible for the internet community. If there's any EFF types reading this, please post information on how to open a donation fund for the defendant's legal costs, or how to contribute to an existing one.
Canton Muncipal Court -- Criminal Division
2006 CRA 00060 MICHAEL WAYNE STONE
Birth Date: 11-16-1987
13634 MOGADORE AVE NW UNIONTOWN OH 44685
Judge:
2909.04 F4-DISRUPTING PUBLIC SERVICES
Docket Entry
01-06-2006 COPIES OF COMPLAINT SERVED ON DEFENDANT AND DEFENDANT APPEARRED AND ADVISED OF CHARGES PRELIMINARY HEARING SET FOR 01-12-2006 @ 3:15 PM
01-06-2006 ON THIS DAY THE DEFENDANT APPEARED WITH 20850-JOHN GIUA ATTORNEY OF RECORD
01-05-2006 BOND POSTED $2,500.00 UNSECURED WITH SUPERVISION OF PTS DUE TO EMERGENCY RELEASE ON 01-04-2006
01-05-2006 ARRAIGNMENT SET FOR 01-06-2006 @ 9:00 AM
01-05-2006 DEFENDANT ARRESTED ON WARRANT 01-04-2006. TRANSFERRED TO STARK COUNTY JAIL IN LIEU BOND. FORM 8 FILED
01-04-2006 PROBABLE CAUSE FOUND. REFER TO BOND SCHEDULE FOR BOND INFORMATION BY JUDGE RICHARD J. KUBILUS
01-04-2006 DEFENDANT'S PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION FORM FILED AND ISSUED
01-04-2006 WARRANT ISSUED ON 01/04/2006; (UNTWN)
01-04-2006 2909.04 (F4) - DISRUPTING PUBLIC SERVICES COMPLAINT FILED
Source: http://www.starkcountycjis.org/cjis2/docket/main.h tml
-----
2909.04. Disrupting public services.
(A) No person, purposely by any means or knowingly by damaging or tampering with any property, shall do any of the following:
(1) Interrupt or impair television, radio, telephone, telegraph, or other mass communications service; police, fire, or other public service communications; radar, loran, radio, or other electronic aids to air or marine navigation or communications; or amateur or citizens band radio communications being used for public service or emergency communications;
(2) Interrupt or impair public transportation, including without limitation school bus transportation, or water supply, gas, power, or other utility service to the public;
(3) Substantially impair the ability of law enforcement officers, firefighters, rescue personnel, emergency medical services personnel, or emergency facility personnel to respond to an emergency or to protect and preserve any person or property from serious physical harm.
(B) No person shall knowingly use any computer, computer system, computer network, telecommunications device, or other electronic device or system or the internet so as to disrupt, interrupt, or impair the functions of any police, fire, educational, commercial, or governmental operations.
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of disrupting public services, a felony of the fourth degree.
(D) As used in this section:
(1) "Emergency medical services personnel" has the same meaning as in section 2133.21 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Emergency facility personnel" means any of the following:
(a) Any of the following individuals who perform services in the ordinary course of their professions in an emergency facility:
(i) Physicians authorized under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery;
(ii) Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses licensed under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code;
(iii) Physician assistants authorized to practice under Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code;
(iv) Health care workers;
(v) Clerical staffs.
(b) Any individual who is a security officer performing security services in an emergency facility;
(c) Any individual who is present in an emergency facility, who was summoned to the facility by an individual identified in division (D)(2)(a) or (b) of this section.
(3) "Emergency facility" means a hospital emergency department or any other facility that provides emergency medical services.
(4) "Hospital" has the same meaning as in section 3727.01 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Health care worker" means an i
That's why I'm a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
They only can work if people donate.
Thanks.
Cool! Amazing Toys.
Call the FBI.
From Internet Explorer:
The page cannot be displayed
The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. The Web site might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to adjust your browser settings.
------
Please try the following:
Click the Refresh button, or try again later.
- It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
That's not him. I think that's his parents or something-- don't bug them.
In this case, he probably cops a plea to a misdemeanor creating a public nuisance, malicious mischief or somesuch and spend some time on probabation & community service.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Not only has this killed the High School's website, but it seems other schools (and stuff) were hosted on at the same place:
p hp
o bjectives.php
e x.php
i ndex.html
Lake High School http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/hs/
Lake Middle School http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/ms/
Lake Elementary http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/le/
Hartville Elementary http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/he/
Uniontown Elementary http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/ue/
Lake County District http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/
Staff Login http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/login.php
Athletics http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/athletics
News http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/news/news.php
Help Desk Login http://staff.lake.stark.k12.oh.us/helpdesk/login.
Mr. Wood's Homepage http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/~wooddave/compsciiii-
AP Calculus http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/~erbdave/Calculus/ind
Mr. Erb's Homepage http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/~erbdave/main.php
Jester Labs http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/~wooddave/jesterlabs/
BTW: According to Google's cached version of their site from Jan 1, 2006 03:32:05 GMT:
"This page has been viewed 580 times! Powered by CMS Made Simple 0.10.4"Heh heh heh... IF it ever recovers from the /.ing it'll read "This page has been viewed 7.2*10^36. Please see Mr. Erb for conversion details."
This one gang kept wanting me to join cause I'm pretty good with a bo staff.
People modded you as funny, but if you read the actual law, then yes, pushing all the buttons in an elevator could, in fact, be a felony:
... electronic device or system ... so as to disrupt, interrupt, or impair the functions of any ... commercial ... operations.
SB 146, Sec 2909.04:
(B) No person shall knowingly use any
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of disrupting public services, a felony of the fourth degree.
(Law snippet borrowed from previous poster...)
That's not really funny at all.
WWJD?
JWRTFM!
...him making sure that criminals are properly punished!
From a Google Search of "Frank Forchione, Canoton, Ohio"....
Forchione Frank G Atty - 0.1 miles E - National City Bank B, Canton, 44702 - (330) 453-7676
Forchione, Frank G Atty: Res - 3.5 miles N - 4601 Logan Ave NW, Canton, 44709 - (330) 305-0084
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
Use f5, Go to Jail
Someone has to make a shirt for these kids!
-Peter
while true; do wget http://lake.stark.k12.oh.us/hs/ &> /dev/null; done;
Regards,
Steve
And since it's a felony, if he does this twice more they'll sentence him to life in prison.
This space available.
Just a matter of time until this terroristic crime brings the CIA to each and every one of our homes. In fact, they're already watching and listening to us without court permission because we are SUSPECTED of PLANNING the heinous crime of refreshing a web page.
Lurking in the desert
...if he'd told all his friends to mail a bunch of letters right around Dec. 25 in order to bog down the postal service! Denial of Service!
Got some facts to back up your description of said "punk"? I did not find any useful information in the article other than these accusations (bare, but not quite facts):
The reaction was for Canton City Prosecutor Frank Forchione to charge the student as a felon and throw him in jail saying, "Michael said it was a joke. We showed him how we deal with this kind of joke."
If the accusations and reaction are correct, we have petty mischief and a serious over reaction. The article also has the same prosecuter talking about a more serious violation that was treated as a misdemeanor.
I'm not sure what's out of context in the story summary either. How about some details, punk?
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
The problem is, I haven't been around for 25 years to do the voting (nor have many people in this country), and the one time I have voted (the last presidential election) ended with the person I did not want to win in power. Try not to blame the direction this country is going on 'Americans' in general, but rather the misinformed peoples who have unfortunatly brought things like this, ID in classrooms, and a shrubbery for a President. (Bias warning: I am a firm supporter of evolution, and though I'm not a Democrat, I really don't like the current administration)
So, I suppose, technically this kid has committed a crime. Fair enough. But I don't think he deserves something criminal. A short term suspension, at worst, would be the better route. It is sad to see resources going to waste on this sort of stuff when you know there are far bigger fish out there that need a good frying.
the war on servers in this country is appalling!!
Imagine that!
Ok, so If I invite 100,000 of my friends to sit in front of a restaurant, am I a felon? No, its called non violent protesting. Of course, the restaurant could argue that not being able to attend customers is a "damange", but if my friends don't start braking windows you can't jail me for instilling violent actions. Now there is another half of this story we aren't being told, and that is, why are students so willing to DDOS the school's site? This is the behavior of an unhappy alumnae. Now the funny thing is that physicaly invading the school's servers room is punished less harshly than doing so virtually. Welcome to the land of free shutting down public speech. The next step is getting the students to protest in front of the jail. Oops now I am a felon too...
But... the future refused to change.
The felony is likely for inciting a DoS attack...
Fucking slashdot editors....
the submitter... or all of us who loaded that page who are responsible?
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
Comparing a slashdotting to manual DOS by some high schoolers is like comparing... oh, I don't know... this one to this one.
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
IRA
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
How is this different (in terms of bandwidth utilization) from having interesting or desirable content? Imagine if parents are involved in their kids' learning experience. Imagine if the teachers/administration/parents/students actually decide to use the available technology to build a community supporting quality education. The school should be grateful for the opportunity to learn just how lame their infrastructure is.
To survive cruel-and-unusual scrutiny, you'd need to limit the corporate death penalty to crimes that normally get the death penalty.
I suppose you could get something equivalent to corporate imprisonment by requiring that for the term of imprisonment: all liquid assets must be converted to cash for non-interest escrow with the government, and non-liquid assets may only be transferred by Takings or sale for escrow; escrow may be tapped only for payment of extant debts or taxes; and possibly the corporation is prohibited from entering new contracts for the term.
NeverGonnaHappen.
//Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
Here's a picture of the idiot.
The guy looks real tough... :(
From the original page (GOOGLE-CACHED):
Which brings me to my other point. Even if your entire post is serious... the internet has its own culture, and its own set of norms, customs, and courtesies. Which makes it kind of like a foreign country, to people who've never visited before. So, if you come visit... please take the time to learn the lingo, learn how to hail a cab, and avoid being a n00b. Thank you very much.
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
Or how about helping someone learn to print on an Apple II, and that someone later prints an insult about the teacher?
I got suspended in middle school for that middle school (a LONG time ago). Really.
It was slightly upsetting at the time, but in retrospect very funny.
Nothing else to say, eh?
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
Lessee..as of 1AM Saturday, eastern time, the school, the Law Office and the City Services pages are all down. I think I'll just keep checking until that boy is let out of jail.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
Is this City Prosecutor going to sue everyone that does a "refresh" on webpages? Becose this is the most stupid thing i have ever heard and i am used to read about alot of stupid things. This just topped the list.
I wonder if he is going to sue all the world. After all, we all did just click on the school webpage and did refresh or load a new webpage.
It seems to me that if he told the other students to hit the school web page to slow the server down, then every student was a willing participant. So why not arrest every student involved as accessories to a felony crime? kidding btw
So if I called for people to bring kerosene and matches to the school's server room and set it on fire, and they did it, the entirity of the blame falls squarely on me.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Tluin natha Linux xxizzuss uriu olt bwael mon'tun.
http://www.xanga.com/haxorest seems "owned" too
"haxorest's site has been shut down by its owner..."
There are two types of people in the world: those who divide people into two types and those who don't.
from google cache of the site
: Lake High School
1025 Lake Center Street
Uniontown, Ohio 44685-9462
Office (330) 877-4282
Attendance (330) 877-4762
Fax (330) 877-0853
Office hours when school is in session: 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. All visitors must enter Door #1 and sign in at the main office.
Lake High School is located in Stark County, Ohio. A total of 1220 students in grades nine through twelve make up the student body.
Powered by CMS Made Simple 0.10.4
Think you've found a bug? Report it.
Think we should report a bug...?
I love humanity, it is people I hate
In meat-space, there are laws that let people be charged with misdemeanors like "Creating a nuisance." You might get charged with this if you got 20 people to go into a department store and hold relay races in the isles. Isn't this guy's behavior more in line with this, than "computer crime?"
Mmm, the sweet smell of corruption.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Using your brake pedal on the highways can cause traffic congestion, and can be illegal too, but is hardly a felony. So the fact that I said that it could happen, must be close to a felony, right?
--SuperBug
The other ones look plain creepy. The Fark should do a photoshop contest on some of those people.
How many of us are there? How many people now think Canton is a crap hole place because of this? The mayor must be loving all this negative attention. http://www.cityofcanton.com/ loads ok. but links inside the site seem a big slow like this one doesn't seem to want to load http://www.cityofcanton.com/reachus.html Hey email the mayor and tell her what you think of her leadership.
OMG Ponies!!! with Glitter!!!! I miss Pink
A slashjob. Abbreviated as /job
Should we extend the same sympathy to those who "encourage" zombied machines to "visit" various websites by flooding them with numerous requests with the intent of slowing them down? Packet flooders don't seem to rank very high on the food chain, but this kid gets our undying support. Yes, I realize he probably couldn't cause a great deal of damage this way, but this was one incident. What was his motive? What greater purpose did he hope to accomplish by abusing school resources in this way? This wasn't some case of innocent exploring that's getting blown out of proportion, this is a case of blatent intent to create a denial of service. And more importantly, should we let him take this to the next logical step, which would be packetflooding said servers, only doing so anonymously so we don't even know who's door to knock on to make it stop?
Personally, I don't think he should be charged with anything, just discipline him within the school system and be done with it. As others have said, it would probably be considered a waste of public resources to prosecute him. Then again, it might be worth it in the long run to not let him off easy this time. Just a thought.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
Use opera browser. rightclick>reload after every 5 seconds....... bliss for the server. let the revolt be unchained.
"Prosecutor Frank Forchione (said) "This new technology has created a whole wave of crimes, and we're just trying to find ways to solve them."
I'm sorry, what crime?
It isn't as if he just linked the website on slashdot; he told people to go there and press F5 in an attempt to slow down or halt the computer system. That's malicious, and a lesson that this guy needs to learn is that malicious intent is what defines the difference between a prank and a crime. If he had just linked the website and told people to refresh the page over and over because they're going to be posting some hot news item or something, that would be totally fine and wouldn't be getting him into trouble. But that isn't what he did, so he's in trouble.
Reinvent the wheel only at either a lower cost, greater effectiveness, or your own personal enrichment and satisfaction.
Guess the server is down... Wanted to check out this school for educational purposes :P
Amazing the power of a slashdotting....
There's actually modifiers to that, even.
Say for example, the person in question that is told to leave has a Service Animal and is Handicapped
and walks into a public place you run (And, this includes any business or governmental agency-
technically, the USPS signs saying that only Seeing Eye Dogs are allowed in the building is in
violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act...).
1) Yes, you can make them leave, but you're in violation of the law if you're running anything other
than something like a private club. If it's public, you're legally required to allow them in
unless the animal or the person is actually disruptive to your operations or to the people present.
And, better yet, if you call the cops, in most cases you will be the one receiving a ticket, etc.
for a false call- if they did nothing else but bring the animal in, it's technically NOT trespass
if you're a public business as the law is explicit; if you're handicapped and it's a service animal
they HAVE to let you in unless the animal or yourself is in danger and you're not causing any issues
otherwise (And this does NOT mean patrons being upset about a "pet" being in the place...)
2) The very act in question opens you up to a Civil Rights suit in a Federal Court which can amount to a
lot of money on your part in court costs and damages if it's proven that they did nothing other than walk
into your establishment.
Choose carefully what all you do- the law is NOT what most people actually think it is.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
No! The URL is correct indeed. Watch the clip and check out the Google cache.
:-D
As of January 1st this year, it proudly reads:
"This page has been viewed 580 times!"
unders_core is the new one.
-gjr
reveals that this guy also is prosecuting parents whose kids are truant
= 209513&r=2
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=15&ID
sounds like a great guy to have for a neighbor . . .
Ask Me About... The 80's!
Online & Feelin' Fine
I emailed my comments on this article to the mayor of Canton, Janet Creighton - email jwc@ci.canton.oh.us
She promptly responded with the following reply:
"Your comments should be directed to Law Director Joe Martuccio or Criminal Prosecutor Frank Forchione. This is a legal problem and not one that the Executive branch of city governments get involved with. The student, as I recall, is from a township. "
I think that response illustrates how this series of events was allowed to play out as it has.
Along with the demand to drop the felony charges, the petition also calls for the resignation or termination of the prosecutor, Mr. Frank Forchione.
People, charging an 18yo kid with a felony for posting a "call to action" on a blog is criminal in and of itself. Telling people to "hit F5" and refresh a site's content is by no means a DoS, or an attempted DoS. It's stupid, and at the absolute most harassment. Anyone who thinks that this kid's actions constitute an attempted DoS obviously doesn't have a clue what a DoS is or how it works. As usual, there are opinions on both sides. However in this case, the opinion that this was an attempted DoS is technically and factually incorrect.
The bottom line is that Michael Stone is facing the possibility of wearing the badge of "Convicted Felon" for the rest of his life because he told readers of his blog to "hit F5" and reload the school's web page. And despite the ludicrous statements made by the prosecutor and the blatantly false "technical" information broadcast by the top-notch local news team, Michael didn't cause any damage to any hardware, software, or service. If a bunch of kids refreshing the web site was enough to slow it down, maybe the school should consider upgrading from their 56K dial-up connection. In the end, I think we all know that the intent of the prosecutor was to teach Michael a lesson and send a message to the vicious hacker underworld that has overrun the quaint lil' town of Canton. And if that's the case - that the prosecutor's plan was to give Mike a felony scare and accept a plea to a lesser charge, then that is nothing short of reckless and malicious prosecution which calls for the termination of Canton's tough-as-nails prosecutor.
I ask that you all consider the lunacy and malice of the prosecution's case and add your name to the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/mwstone/petition.htm l.
technically, the USPS signs saying that only Seeing Eye Dogs are allowed in the building is in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Only because it specifies dogs as the only animals allowed. It's perfectly legal to have signs allowing only service animals, but it's a little ignorant (by accident, I think, in this case) to say "dogs" because there are all kinds of other animals that help the disabled. I've even seen photos of a trained monkey assisting a wheelchair-bound person by pushing their foot back onto a footrest. I've also heard of ferrets used by the epileptic, since many animals are able to detect (somehow; we don't know how yet) impending seizures and signal the person to lie down and protect their head.
i am a soviet space shuttle
the KIDS were truant, the PARENTS get busted
as they say, why not go out and stop some REAL crime . . .
Ask Me About... The 80's!
Equating a script kiddie to Ghandi and MLK Jr. is a stretch. The latter had visions of social, political, and economic reform. The former just wanted to "Ha ha" like that kid on the Simpsons.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
A friend of mine worked at walmart. The way they're so rich is because of their logistics abilities. They run on a 24 clock for warehouse materials. If a truck is late 5 minutes or less, then it is sent back and not accepted.
They also take their profits and instead of paying their suppliers first, they take that money and put it to short term investments. They're definitely bullying other corporations as well.
On the contrary, this is precisely where democracy fails. Two party systems and "package deals" (ala "platforms") force us to take the bad with the good. You pick the issue most important to you and swallow the rest of the bitterness.
So, in my example, if the current administration manages to blow a hole in (and the sink) the assinine Social Security program and/or Medicare/Medicaid/Welfare while they're at it, I'll consider the restricted freedoms a decent trade for all my wasted money. Then I'll vote for a democrat to get the freedoms back, and pray they don't go gungho on Communistic programs again.
Alas, such is life.
I remember hacking my professor's website, and replacing his personal image with a morph of him and a chimp... Sticking first person shooters on every one of the PCs, and figuring out how to hack them. Making a Java space-shooter applet, where I replaced every one of the stars with pictures of his head--- and it was all encouraged! This is, obviously, a rather remedial type of exploration and nusance--- but the basic childish need to annoy your elders can be a strong driving force to learn, and my CS teacher understood that, and had a sense of humor. What's happened?
I'm sure people have tried doing this to other sites. I'm just curious as to why we have to wait for a HS student to do this, and get slapped with a felony.
http://restart.webdapper.com/
-=[ place
This one - http://lakelocal.oh.schoolwebpages.com/education/s chool/school.php?sectiondetailid=10 which says that they're moving their site.
ROFL!
2 cents,
Queen B
HDGary secures my bank