US Bot Herder Admits Infecting 250K Machines

AceCaseOR writes "In Los Angeles criminal court, security consultant John Schiefer, 26, has admitted infecting the systems of his clients with viruses to form a botnet containing a maximum of 250,000 systems. Schiefer used his zombies to steal users' PayPal usernames and passwords to make unauthorized purchases, as well as to install adware on their computers without their consent. Schiefer agreed to plead guilty to four felony charges of accessing protected computers to commit fraud, disclosing illegally intercepted electronic communications, wire fraud, and bank fraud. He will be sentenced Dec. 3 and faces up to 60 years in prison and a fine of $1.75 million."

Comments

Oh God

[The MAZZTer]

The first poster must've been a victim too, his post is GONE!

Re:what should happen

[rts008]

"The first rational thing he'd do is to jump off of a bridge."

Uhmm...so what? Hell, I will sell him a bridge to jump from for this type of offense-AND take an IOU from him just to see justice served.

IMO, asshats like this deserve no sympathy. He violated a trusted position to fuck up other people's lives, credit,computers, and finances.

We don't really grasp or hear of the 'collateral damage' inflicted on all of his victims in these stories, usually some blurb about 'some had their lives ruined, etc.' Have any of his victims committed suicide as a result of financial ruin?...who knows, as it's not followed up here.(Yes, this is an extreme knee-jerk reaction here, but plausible...with 'lesser damage' also more plausible.)

The whole 'every human life is precious' mentality that has become mainstream now days is 180 degrees from the way the world/mother nature/etc. actually work. It's a human mental construct that goes against the grain of the real world, like which is imposed on society by so called civilizations.

We (humans) can do this because we have decided we know best, we think the most, and are above the rest of the fellow animals we share this planet with. It may be true, it may not...I'm not smart enough to even think about answering that one!
But, I do seem to share the experience of the general consensus that humans are at least at the top of the food chain in general. (worded that way to discourage the pedants-think average[hell! even above average like Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, etc.-insert your own here] human [no, I did not say /.er!] against say a tiger, or a grizzly bear,a cape buffalo, an elephant defending it's herd/young, or a rabid penguin defending *nix on /.!) Us humans seem to be able to think ourselves out of dire situations to at least a level that has allowed us to progress past caves and stone tools.

"Why then did you, a taxpayer, housed and fed him for most of his life?" See above. He should be heinously taken out of society and the gene pool after a reasonable period after conviction to allow for appeals in case he is is not guilty.*heh!heh! He admitted to it.* (say 5 years tops)

But wait a minute...he claimed guilty, so screw the appeals and the 5 years- if found guilty, have the bailiff shoot him in the center of the forehead when the jury and judge decide he is guilty. A .45 ACP round only costs 25-30 cents (USA), or as a reload only about 15 cents. Cleanup crew costs would also be inexpensive.
Hell, for that matter, let him dig his own grave and execute him right there in the cometary, roll him in the ole pine box and bury his worthless ass...no fuss, no muss.

Yeah, I'm old school, and getting old as dirt. But this I can guarantee you...steal my PC (zombie on a botnet), steal my 'identity' and use it for profit at my expense, invade my domain(virtual or my home), and laws be damned- I will 'break medieval on your ass'(love that line in Pulp Fiction re:Vingh Rhames!), do anatomically improbable things to you(like tie your scrotum in a square knot behinds your ears, then jerk your anal sphincter up around you Adam's Apple, and then step on your head to shove you up your own ass-then I will get mean and vindictive to ending your life).

My point is this: if you are a detriment to society, civilization, and mankind- why is your life valuable? Just because you're a human being?!?! WTF? Off his ass, there are others just as talented but with a more beneficent minset. Ya gotta cull the herd!

I used to raise Quarter Horses.
My wife and I had 38 broodmares and 3 stallions. A lot of stallions have a reputation as being 'hard to handle' or 'vicious 1200 pound killing/breeding' animals managed by a 200 pound man or 125 pound woman.
Here's the newsflash: you don't have to put up with this shit! There are too many excellent bloodlines in the QH world to put up with this type of behavior.
When it is too easy to acquire semen/stud service from calm, easy to work with stallions, why even think about introducing this crap into your stable?!?!

This is all Darwin's List stuff- real basic.(Have you ever heard the phrase "Kill it before it breeds!"? (think about it.)