Feds visit artist behind People Staring at Computers, confiscate laptop

Re:Feds visit artist behind People Staring at Computers, con... by sorbus on Thursday July 07, 2011 @11:26PM (#2741184)

Apply the same logic to using computers in an Apple store to launch a DDOS. You hardly have to change your argument, and yet it reveals how absurd it is.

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Re:Feds visit artist behind People Staring at Computers, con... by guelo on Thursday July 07, 2011 @11:32PM (#2741189)

There are specific laws against launching a DDOS. What law are you suggesting he violated?

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Re:Feds visit artist behind People Staring at Computers, con... by tptacek on Friday July 08, 2011 @12:06AM (#2741257)

What law are you referring to?

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Re:Feds visit artist behind People Staring at Computers, con... by guelo on Friday July 08, 2011 @01:23AM (#2741378)

DDOS attackers are charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. They charged one of the kids from the Anonymous DDOS on Scientology with "unauthorized impairment of a protected computer in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (a) (5) (A) (i), (B) (i)." http://secretdox.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/usa-v-guzner-plea-...

I realize this is the same statute that they are going to come after this guy but they couldn't get him for impairment of a protected computer. They would have to try charging him for unauthorized access, but my point is that Apple is implicitly authorizing everyone in their stores to access their computers.

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Re:Feds visit artist behind People Staring at Computers, con... by sorbus on Thursday July 07, 2011 @11:37PM (#2741200)

Neither of us are lawyers; we are not qualified to have a discussion of which laws he violated. I am pointing out that - ignoring the legality of what he did (I suspect the response might involve suspicions of keyloggers present in the his code, because I'm a bit paranoid) - your argument makes no sense.

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