Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB...
by tastroder on Friday April 19, 2019 @05:55AM
(#19698224)
That highly depends on the jurisdiction you're operating in / selling to.
While I'm not aware if anybody has ever been convicted for weirdly defined laws like that we for example have a "hacking paragraph" in Germany that outlaws software for the sole purpose of computer crimes. I'd imagine the UK has similar legal areas in lieu of their recent "kitchen knives are dangerous weapons, sometimes" controversy. It's not that hard to imagine somebody going after the manufacturer of such hardware and that blurb (or the ever famous "for educational purposes only") give them something to reasonably distance themselves from a user's actions.
Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB...
by simias on Friday April 19, 2019 @09:42AM
(#19699514)
It's easy to come up with a legitimate use case for destroying pavement, not so much for USB ports. Testing the ESD resistance of computer equipment on the other hand might be a legit use case.
Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB...
by cannonedhamster on Friday April 19, 2019 @11:46AM
(#19700486)
Secure destruction of equipment you're discarding is a valid use case. Depends on how much of the board actually gets fried.
Re:Former student destroys 59 university computers using USB...
by jelder on Friday April 19, 2019 @01:21PM
(#19701260)
Everyone recognizes that jackhammers are necessary for the built environment that supports our civilization. The understanding that “hacking tools” and the like are necessary for our online civilization is less common.
Why would that be necessary?
Jackhammers are tools to destroy pavement. But nobody sells jackhammers as "ground strength testing tools".
These are tools to destroy computers. Both are completely legal as long as you are not destroying someone else's property without permission.