>>> "A crime that possibly merits a £2000 fine and some community service (and firing the people responsible for securing those systems)."
I guess this is probably the rub. When you trespass into your neighbors backyard to jump in their pool at night and you get caught, that could be a fine and community service. When you trespass on military property, let's say you hop a fence or sneak your way into a government building... That's kind of a big deal.
When you work your way into government servers and delete data... That's not just community service. That's kind of a big deal.
>When you trespass on military property, let's say you hop a fence or sneak your way into a government building... That's kind of a big deal.
No, it's really not. If someone wandered onto an unsecured Government facility in the UK, they'd probably be picked up and questioned...and then released with a stern warning not to do it again.
> When you work your way into government servers and delete data
Did he delete data? I though he just poked around and left some messages? Anyway, he hardly worked his way into them; they were wide open. I just don't see it as a big deal.
Here's what I don't get about you though...you're a US taxpayer, right? That means you paid some people to secure those machines. And they completely failed in their job, right?
If you hire someone who then completely fails to do what you hired them to do, why don't you want them fired?
[edit: I missed this question before...]
> If an American circumvented security measures against servers on Downing Street and deleted information, would the US not extradite him for prosecution in the UK?
Nope, the extradition treaty is one-way. That's another thing that sticks in people's craw...
I guess this is probably the rub. When you trespass into your neighbors backyard to jump in their pool at night and you get caught, that could be a fine and community service. When you trespass on military property, let's say you hop a fence or sneak your way into a government building... That's kind of a big deal.
When you work your way into government servers and delete data... That's not just community service. That's kind of a big deal.