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Man Charged With Stealing Code From Federal Reserve Bank
wiredmikey writes "A Chinese computer programmer was arrested by U.S. authorities in New York on Wednesday, on charges that he stole proprietary source code while working on a project at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The man arrested, Bo Zhang of New York, worked as a contract employee developing a specific portion of the GWA's (Government-Wide Accounting and Reporting Program) source code at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where the code is maintained. The complaint alleges that in the summer of 2011, Zhang stole the GWA code, something he admitted to in July 2011. Zhang said that he used the GWA Code in connection with a private business he ran training individuals in computer programming."
The people who run the Fed are largely appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate
Zhang said that he used the GWA Code in connection with a private business he ran training individuals in computer programming.
Correctly edited version: Zhang said that he used the GWA Code in connection with a private business he ran training Chinese Hackers in Reserve Bank Code.
Silence is a state of mime.
Initech has had trouble finding people who can write bank software lately, especially after their building burned down.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
The Federal Reserve does not print or issue money. Never have and hopefully never will. Those bills are printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the coinage is minted by the United States Mint.
The Federal Reserve only puts them into circulation when the Board of Governors authorizes it to do so. It is a bit complicated, but the Federal Reserve itself is a private entity that happens to have a board of publicly appointed figures.
Holy f#ck people are racist on here.
The dude was using some code he wrote to train people. Can we assume guilt of something *after guilt has been proven*? Pretty please?
In addition to your comment, the source code was never available for sale to any other party. It wasn't "infringement" in that it cost the Fed lost sales, it lost them exclusive access to sensitive data that they only wanted a limited number of people to have access to. The financial loss isn't related to lost sales, but in potential security implications. Apples and Oranges.
In this case, it was more like theft because the Fed lost exclusive use of the software, something that can't be given back once it is in the wild. Piracy is completely different, where 100 copies of a file can cost lost sales of 1 or 2 actual copies, but no loss of use or security is involved, only revenue. With music and movies, you WANT many people to have access to the product, but at a cost. With exclusive software, you want NO ONE to have a copy. Neither is ideal if you own the "property", but they aren't the same.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
So if the Federal Reserve doesn't "issue money" can you explain the word issue in:
- US Code, Title 12 Chapter 3 Subchapter XII Section 411 - http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/12/411.html
Or are you just sticking to a technically that the Board isn't the Fed, so the Microsoft Board of Directors doesn't count as Microsoft for example.
Or that having the power to direct something to be done isn't the same as doing it - so that whole gulf oil thing a while back has isn't BHPs problem after all they just told their contractors and employees to do it.