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Feds Bust Cable Modem Hacker
Several readers noted the indictment of hardware hacker Ryan Harris, known as DerEngel. Harris wrote the 2006 book Hacking the Cable Modem, explaining how to get upgraded speed or even free Internet service by bypassing the firmware locks on Motorola Surfboard modems. He has run a profitable business at tcniso.net since 2003, selling unlocked cable modems. (The site is now offline.) Harris has been charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting computer intrusion, and wire fraud. Wired quotes Harris's reaction: "I read the indictment — it's complete bull****. I'll tell you right now I'm not going to plead guilty."
Now when are they going to get around to catching Osama?
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
Probably as soon as he tries to steal broadband lol. That or if he changes his name to Osama Bin Hackin.
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
Not to mention the second amendment. Its kind of part of the bill of rights.
It's called "padding the charges to try to force a plea deal", and it's one of the reasons our justice system is so fucked up.
Thousands of people plead guilty to shit they didn't do each year, because they're offered the "reasonable" alternative - accept a jail sentence of X amount, OR get 5x the time and financially ruined and never be able to work again because they had the "temerity" to protest their innocence.
Welcome to America. "Justice" means jack shit here.
Who cares? The powers our government have assumed for themselves in the name of "fighting the War on Terrorism" won't be given up even if they catch "Terrorist #1" Osama.
Osama is more useful to power-hungry US politicians when he is free to roam than dead or captured.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
Also, they have guns.
That might have worked, if he wasn't actually selling the hacked modems.
I did RTFA. His biggest misstep that brought attention to his actions was running a company that sold uncapped and hardware modded modems. He sold a couple to undercover feds. That was a Bad Idea. Selling hacked equipment that is designed to overcome preset bandwidth limits or provide unauthorized (free) service by cloning mac addresses of other authorized modems seems like "aiding and abetting". Running uncapped modems on Comcast's network would also seem like wire fraud (fraudulent activity involving electronic equipemnt) to me.
Comcast owns their network and sells you access based on bandwidth. More bandwidth costs more. If you find a way to circumvent their bandwidth limits, you are breaking your agreement with them (as well as violating the DMCA). Modding your own cable modem and running it on your own cable network is ok. Running it on someone elses is not.
Hacking to gain knowledge/enlightenment is one thing. Using that knowledge to steal service is uncool.
What has the DMCA got to do with this case?
Fran
:):):)
1st 1st Poster of the new Millennium!
Not to mention the second amendment. Its kind of part of the bill of rights.
If you look at the role of guns in the formation of the US as a democracy, you might see that computers are the modern-day equivalent.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
He admits he went there to steal the item.
Petting theft just turned into Felony Commercial Burglary (Burglary being defined in California Penal Code as entering a premises with the intent to commit larceny).
Will it get pled down? Now he HAS to plea it down and take whatever they offer to avoid a felony record.
Saw this exact scenario play out when a college student was busted stealing a $20 CD.
And that's a great example of why you should never talk to the cops. EVER.
It's not their job to be fair. It's their job to get you to say something incriminating. Functionally, it's the cops' job to "aid and abet" the prosecutors' office in getting innocent people convicted.
Anyone who says different, is a clueless idealistic moron. You have the 5th amendment right to keep your mouth shut for a reason: NEVER say anything to the cops.
He says that the telcos bought some of his hacked modems to use as test/diagnostic equipment. If he has invoices and receipts, then he may have a legit defense.
Why would they (service personnel) want hacked modems? Maybe to be able to alter the MAC on the test machine at will to clone a client's modesm's MAC address so they can determine that the clients' modems' MAC address is routable from the customer's location, and that maybe the clients' modem is defective after all ...
Instructions on how to use (or modify) a tool are instructions on how to use or modify a tool. Nothing more.
"Illegal" (e.g. not-street-legal) modifications to a car? Done for racing, confined to racing tracks, A-OK. Same thing taken to the street? Not ok. How about utilities that can help you repair your own X-box if it has a dead hard drive? Also plausibly able to "softmod" it, but repairing your own things is a legit use. Should it be illegal?
Criminalizing the dissemination of information is ridiculous no matter what.
This may come as a shocker but the body armor police use wont stop most rifle rounds. "Cop Killer" bullets are a myth.
Modifying equipment to get a higher level of service than was paid for is, in fact, stealing. Morally and legally.
Uh, no. Modifying equipment is not stealing, especially when its your own damn property.
Using that equipment to steal is stealing.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
More accurately:
Car analogy.
You go to the gas station. You go inside and pay for $20 in gas. You go back to the pump, and modify it to give you $40 in gas instead.
Utility analogy.
The water company installs a meter at your house, to keep track of the water you use and charge you for it. You modify the meter to only report half of what you use.
Really, if you're going to use bad analogies, at least try to make them remotely accurate.
RTFA. He ceased criminal activities long ago and now simply sells the unlocked routers. They got him on conspiracy and aiding and abetting computer intrusion and wire fraud because someone bought a router from his group's site and used it to get unlawful access to internet. The biggest piece of evidence beside all that is a post he made on his forum asking for a valid MAC address. Supposedly, just because he (allegedly) asked for the MAC add, he committed all 6 crimes he was convicted of. That's bullshit, he's fighting it and I would too. Definitely a "your rights' issue.
The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
I agree with the spirit of what you say, but I'm blown back by what you actually said.
It's bad for civilians to prepare themselves to kill cops.
If cops prepare to kill civilians, well, that's ok.
Modding me -1 troll doesn't make me wrong.
Not to my knowledge. If you know someone is planning a crime, then sure, you are obligated not to help them, but in the general case, you have no duty to report it. Here's some random internet discussion on the subject: link link. Nothing I could find mentions mere knowledge of planned felonies - all refs required concealment or aiding in commission of the crime.
"We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
It's nice to see that street thugs these days are keeping up on their Agatha Christie.
The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
That is the worst car analogy ever!
I want to shoot the messenger!
It's this sort of blinkered, ignorant thinking that got us the whole "Twitter can save Iran!" thing. How did the whole "turning your web page green in sympathy" thing work out? Who prevailed in the end, people with computers or people with firearms? Modern-day equivalent, my ass.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
If anyone starts looking for these, keep in mind that there are two types of license-plate obscuring devices: those that are illegal, and those that don't work.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Apparently you've never seen AP or teflon(illgeal in 90% of places) coated rounds.
Teflon has nothing to do with bullets' armor piercing capabilities or lack thereof. The reason some AP bullets are coated in Teflon is because they have very hard jackets and the Teflon reduces wear on the gun barrel.
Teflon coatings are not illegal under federal law; the federal anti-AP ammunition statutes focus on the jacket and core composition, not on coatings. There are a handful of states which ban the coatings.
for awhile the talons were very popular until they were outlawed as well.
The Winchester Black Talons are not and were not armor piercing. They were pretty normal jacketed hollowpoints, coated with Lubalox (not Teflon) which gave them the black color. Black Talons were voluntarily removed from the market by Winchester, but have never been banned in any jurisdiction. Winchester replaced them with the very similar Ranger SXT round, which doesn't include the Lubalox coating. Winchester does use the coating on some rifle rounds.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
For a more accurate analogy however, if your alterations somehow caused you to stop paying taxes for the roads, then yes, that would too be illegal.
There was a guy here in central Illinois last year that was making his own biodeisel out of used cooking oil he collected from local restaraunts. They didn't have to pay for disposal of the oil and he didn't have to buy fuel.
He got in trouble for not paying the state's motor vehicle tax, which is collected at the pump.
So your analogy is 100% correct; it's happened.
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