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
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 …
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.
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.
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)
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.
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
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.
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"
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.
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!