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Florida Teen Charged With Felony Hacking For Changing Desktop Wallpaper
colinneagle writes: A 14-year-old middle school student in Holiday, Florida, was arrested this week and charged with "an offense against a computer system and unauthorized access," which is a felony. The student reportedly used an administrator password to log into a teacher's computer and change the background image to a photo of two men kissing.
The student also revealed his secrets after he was caught – the password was the teacher's last name, and the teacher had typed it in in full view of the students. The student said many other students used these administrators' passwords (their teachers' last names) so they can screen-share and video chat with other students. The student was briefly held in a nearby detention center, and the county Sheriff warned that other teenagers caught doing the same thing will "face the same consequences."
The student also revealed his secrets after he was caught – the password was the teacher's last name, and the teacher had typed it in in full view of the students. The student said many other students used these administrators' passwords (their teachers' last names) so they can screen-share and video chat with other students. The student was briefly held in a nearby detention center, and the county Sheriff warned that other teenagers caught doing the same thing will "face the same consequences."
when I was a kid
the things I might have done....
picking the mimeograph of the test out of the trash if its in public isn't even a criminal offense...
Justice system is retarded.
The question every person in authority should be in the habit of asking is: "Am I using the least amount of my authority possible to accomplish my immediate goals?"
To get a peace officer badge, A Clockwork Orange should be mandatory viewing with a discussion to follow, and an arrest for not understanding it. I think peace officers who don't understand the point of that movie are at least as likely to commit serious crimes as 8th graders who tamper with screen savers. I'm willing to be proven wrong.
Especially because he put GAY GUYS on the computer, the horrors. If he had changed the wallpaper to a cat picture this would not have happened I guarantee it.
It's rare that a jury should exercise "jury nullification" but cases like these, where the punishment does not fit the crime, are one of them.
Acquitting a guilty person when the charge is over-the-top for the circumstances sends a loud message to prosecutors to dial-it-back to something sane the next time around.
If there wasn't a history of other students doing the same thing, filing misdemeanor criminal charges in juvenile court with a pre-arranged deal where they charges would be dismissed and the arrest expunged within 1-2 years would not be inappropriate.
Because there is such a history, even this is too much. This should have been handled as an internal disciplinary and/or re-training matter for the student and, in parallel, for the faculty so this kind of thing doesn't happen again.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Obviously, he should have set it to a photo of two women kissing. Then the teacher wouldn't have been so mad!
More serious than misdemeanor manslaughter.
Finally, we are teaching our children that justice is truly blind. It cannot see that we are charging the child, a 14 year-old, with a felony that will last the rest of his life. Never mind any jobs that the kid may try to get in the future. He is now a felon and shall be treated as such.
Seriously though. He is just a child. I believe in making sure it is shown that what he did was wrong, but treating him as a full blown felon? Disgraceful.
Most acceptable use policies would require the teacher to understand that actions taken with his credentials are his responsibility. As the teachers own password was used, he or she should bear the responsibilities of the action.
But really, there are some pretty loud crickets when the state gets a hardon for arresting/harrassing children.
If you obviously don't understand what the kid did, they how do you expect people to believe that your judgment is fair?
Its clear in this situation the kid is the only one who knows that a computer isn't a magic box with pretty lights.
Its not my fault, someone put a wall in my way.
Sometimes you have to look at how these laws are being applied, and fight back the overwhelming urge to slap the stupid from the people who pursue these charges. And it might take a lot of slapping.
This is a high school prank, nothing more.
Honestly, the people who are filing felony charges of complete morons.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I live in Florida and this embarrasses me.
However, I think giving Florida back to Spain might fix the problem. I don't think this is a Florida problem as much as a U.S. problem. In this country, we criminalize everything and take common sense out of the picture.
Help! Help! I'm being repressed!
THE problem is a lack of consequences when government officials act like asshats ... unless one of them shoots a guy in the back 8 times.
Since states are now legalizing POT, the numbers are starting to Drop. So they've made the bar way lower on computer mucking!
We gotta do something to keep the damn prisons filled!
I take no responsibility for what I say. Even though I'm never wrong
As a sysadmin this brings me to tears of anger because this isnt the kids fault and instead of learning about the system or security, theyre just learning what it feels like to be incarcerated without due process.
a competent IT department for the education system has likely determined a best-practices for passwords but been overruled by administrators and staff citing computers, their difficulty, and their ironic unwillingness to themselves learn. Result: easy passwords. Instead of paperwork, meetings with staff, meetings with IT, and a documented record of a potential lapse in workplace best practises the educators have decided to railroad some poor kid into a trial offer of the prison pipeline and continue with school, business as usual.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Was a simple, after-school detention not an option for some reason? I mean, really? You called the police? Did da big bad hacker scare you wif his eweet skills? Jumping Jesus on a pogostick! They're kids, mischievous by nature. Give the kid a detention, and institute a sane fucking password policy!
If I were a parent of a child in this school, I'd be outraged. I'm outraged right now, and I don't live anywhere near Florida!
I'm sorry, but your opinion seems to be wrong.
Because a 14 year old that did the equivalent or pray-painting graffiti is a much safer "collar" that stopping real criminals out on the street....
THe story is another example of why America is a laughing-stock...
Kids need to learn the consequences of embarrassing powerful people. That is one of the golden rules of modern society; thou shalt not embarrass thy superiors. Snowden forgot that, and this little punk forgot that.
You respect your betters, or you get tossed in a cage. That's the law. Ingrain that into your kid's brains before puberty hits, or they will wind up in a cage too.
Yes, and trespassing (in the real world) is a misdemeanor, generally speaking. Not a felony, a misdemeanor. Why should the equivalent on a computer be any different?
That said, I doubt most prosecutors would bother if someone reported that someone else had trespassed to leave a photo. They'd probably tell you to lock your door.
Personally I think the kid did him a favor. If someone with ill intent had the password I'm thinking a lot more problems than wallpaper changes could have occurred. It is definitely the teacher's fault that this happened.
So how does changing a wall paper (which could easlily be switched back) equate to FELONY which is supposed to mean "serious crime", right up there with murder, rape, bank robery, kid napping, and a number of others.
It doesn't, but that was not the crime. That was one of the byproducts of the crime. The crime was hacking into the computer. Even if you know the password, if you the authorized user for the account used, then that is hacking. If you don't like the law, there are two things you can do. Either 1. Don't break the law. or 2. Appeal to your congresscritter to get the law changed.
That being said, changing desktop wallpaper or other configuration on someone else's computer is extremely rude and not befitting of a member of society.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
How old are you? There's this thing called "perspective" that gets applied to crimes... usually. See, if we put everything through your black/white strainer, then the toddler who takes an extra candy at the teller window is effectively committing bank robbery. Do you understand how absurd that is, or would you like to stick to your guns and start putting toddlers in prison?
Justice system is retarded.
This kid's parents aren't too bright either. Parents have a responsibility to ensure that their kids understand their legal and constitutional rights. I have a teenage daughter, and I have taught her that if she is questioned by the police, she should say exactly four words:
1. I
2. want
3. my
4. parents.
Then she should say NOTHING else, until I am there. The police have no right to interrogate a kid without a parent or guardian present. I also made sure my kids watched this video: Never talk to the police. The kid is TFA is in trouble because he mouthed off, and made the authorities look stupid.
Adults should keep the exact same strategy in mind, with one minor substitution. Replace parents with lawyer.