back to article Police charge Scottish teen over Soca attack

UK police have charged an 18-year-old with hacking the Serious Organised Crime Agency's (Soca) website as part of an ongoing investigation into the infamous LulzSec and Anonymous hacktivist crews. Jake Davis, who allegedly used the online nickname Topiary and acted as a spokesman for the groups, will face five computer hacking …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    sentence

    The sentence for vandalising a website should be equivalent to the sentence for spray painting a shop window or at worst putting a brick through it.

    No chance of that though

    1. Arrrggghh-otron

      Proportionality goes out the window...

      People seem to think hacking is the worst of all evils and the sentencing seems to reflect this.

      I can't understand it myself, participating in a DDoS, without masking your IP address is a bit silly, but I can't equate it to anything more heinous than a good old fashioned sit in. Sure there were often arrests at sit in's, but few were ever charged, even fewer did time.

    2. Gav

      Not a vandal

      But he's not being charged with "vandalising a website". He's being charged with hacking it..

      Your example spray paint is more like someone adding "Lol pwned!" to a Wikipedia page.

      A better metaphor should be; breaking into the shop overnight and wrecking the window display. The end result of ruining the view of the shop from the pavement may be much the same as spray painting, but there's still the small matter of breaking and entering along the way.

    3. Sir Cosmo Bonsor

      I agree

      But then I strongly believe that the "sentence for spray painting a shop window" should be a painful death in the town square.

  2. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    Having difficulty resolving this...

    ...after this :http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/28/topiary_arrest_rumor/

    Hmmmm...

    1. Owen Carter
      Trollface

      A thought.

      My thinking on this is that the supposed 'real' identity that the DOX'ers came up with, of a 23 year old Swede, could in fact be a 18 year old Shetlander who studies in Sweden and has been building a false persona there. (studying in Scandinavia might result in easier travel compared to the mainland)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    I thought

    he was supposed to be the wrong guy now?

    1. Falanx
      Flame

      Re: I thought he was supposed to be the wrong guy now?

      When has that *ever* stopped the Met?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Title

        Somebody says it's the wrong guy, but how do you know that that isn't just an attempt to get the right guy off the hook?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I thought he was supposed to be the wrong guy now?

      Police tend to use more than just an Internet rumour when deciding to charge people, something called "evidence" last time I checked.

      If they are charging him then they must have enough on him to do so. As for the whole "wrong guy" thing, I think someone is blowing smoke up everyone's backsides with that rumour. The only way to prove they have the wrong guy is for the twitter feed to come alive again.

      1. MarkieMark1
        Black Helicopters

        the twitter feed

        well no, unless he were being held incommunicado, unusual for non-terrorists, it's quite straightforward for him to tell someone his twitter password;

        the usual standard is that unless there's someone reasonably well identifiable who fits the moniker better, then the shetlander *is* topiary for current purposes

        1. That Steve Guy

          RE: the twitter feed

          if the police raided his home they undoubtedly have all of his computer equipment and any passwords contained within shouldn't be considered safe and it can always be gathered from that or his email account.

          Plus under the lovely RIPA he would get an automatic prison sentence for refusing to hand over his password to the cops and chances are high that he would start co-operating with the police to avoid extended jail time and get the best sentence possible.

          The conditions of his bail today are to wear an electronic tag and being banned from operating a computer or internet connected device, and if he and his hacker friends shared non-internet contact information with each other then they all deserved to get caught, as if one gets arrested and squeals it compromises all of them.

          If he had access to the feed chances are the police control the access since the arrest, they have the man and his equipment and have had plenty of time to obtain that password.

  4. Winkypop Silver badge
    Big Brother

    Imagine not having net access

    It would be horrible being in custody.

    No internet is punishment enough!

  5. Is it me?

    If you poke a bear

    You should expect it to react with claws.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      or.....

      Do not pull the tail of the tiger at breakfast,

      unless you desire to join him at dinner.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Topiary get cut down to size!

    See what I did there.....Topiary....cut....Oh never mind.

    /get's coat

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      or...

      perhaps the MET are not sure if he is the right person but are just hedging their bets..

      /get's coat also.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    defacing and spray painting

    Spray painting is vandalism, not art as some people like to try tell us, I have paid good money to clean "art" from my shop walls, it was never asked permission nor did I agree to have "art" put there. Vandalism is still vandalism under any premise.

    If they break into my shop and deface the windows, it's criminal damage and trespass, or breaking and entering with intent to damage property on top of the vandalism and criminal damage.

    Artists paint on whatever medium with the owners consent, not just "because i felt like it"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      +1

      Who asked these kiddies to stand up for our rights? Who asked them to take down sites on our behalf? Who asked them to run botnets?

      Not in my name!

      Anon, because I may not be clever, but I'm not stupid either.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    He's been bailed

    which IIRC means he can walk out of the courtroom. In central London

    On the basis of the presumption of innocence, does he get a travel warrant or something to get back to bonnie Scotland?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Nah

      There's a bedroom spare at Cleary's house just up the road.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Terms

      That would depend on the terms of his bail. He may have been bailed on the understanding that he does not leave London and has to report to a particular police station daily. Or he may have been bailed and allowed to return home. If the latter is the case then the police will generally take him back to where they found him. If, however, he doesn't live where he was arrested then the police are under no obligation to take him home.

  9. Shagbag

    Now let's wait for the CPS...

    ... to see if it does its usual thing and drops the charges announcing "a low prospect of securing a conviction".

  10. markr555
    WTF?

    LulzBoiz are out again!

    Once again we have the LulzBoiz talking about how criminal offences are just a bit of fun. Grow up you idiots, these little shits are intentionally damaging businesses and government organisations, all because they watched a little too much 'spy kids' and thought it was fine for them to just 'have some lulz'. They are cocky little criminals who need severe exemplary punishment. If you are impressed by them, LulzBoiz, you should maybe take a look at yourselves!

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Criminal offences are not just a bit of fun

    But neither is getting your identity stolen when a major organisation gets pwned by far nastier hackers than LulzSec.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like