Slashdot Mirror
Hack a Million Systems and Earn a Job
An anonymous reader writes "It has been a number of years since the fantasy that hackers will be offered a job by those who they hacked was even a potential reality, but this might still be the case in New Zealand. An 18-year-old hacker responsible for writing a number of applications used by an online group called 'the A-Team' that allowed the creation of a million-plus machine botnet and a range of credit card fraud activities to take place, has walked free from court sans conviction despite pleading guilty. And to top it all off, the NZ police force were interested in talking to the hacker about working for them, and 'several computer programming companies' were also chasing him for his skills."
As a New Zealander, I can assure you that, despite what has been represented in the media, it is not illegal to smack your child here. What happened was that the defence of 'reasonable force' was removed from the crime of child abuse. What that means is that you can smack you child, but you can not beat the crap out of your child and then claim you were just disciplining them.
fyi: I heard a policeman say on the radio yesterday that he definitely has *not* been offered a job at this stage. dunno why all the news stories are running that one.
Rubbish he pleaded guilty and was then discharged without conviction. That is deemed to be an acquittal, but it doesn't mean he didn't intentionally break the law. The judge just gave him another chance. Note he was ordered to pay a large amount of compensation for his wrongs.
Aspergers isn't a personality disorder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder#List_of_personality_disorders_defined_in_ICD-10_.28F60-F69.29
It's a neurobiological disorder.
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aswhatisit.html
We are all, of course, ultimately responsible for our actions. ... Except that some neuro-atypical people may not be. But I think the judge had the right idea here.
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Firstly, we don't have mortgage crisis. We've had a few high-risk property investment companies collapsing, sure. But it's a long way from a crisis yet. And to compare our woes with what the US is experiencing is to really underestimate their situation.
As for our "third world" power generation, two thirds of our power is generated from renewable sources (mostly hydro and geothermal). Which means, sure, we have times (like now) when the water in our hydro lakes is getting a little low, and we have to conserve. On the other hand, it means that we're that much less reliant on oil, a power source that's going to become more expensive, rapidly.
Oh, and the rise of youth crime is a myth. A pervasive one, sure. But in reality, crime rates have been falling for twelve years now, and youth crime as a percentage of offending has stayed steady across the same period. Combine that with an increasing population (which you'd expect to see raise per-capita crime rates), and the rise of cellphones and associated crime reporting levels, and we're looking pretty damn low on crime at the moment.
=w=