Three People Charged in Twitter Bitcoin Hack [Updated]

[Freida]

So let me get this straight!

He didn't force anyone to give him money. He just put a post that was enticing for stupid people. Anyone these days should now be immune to this so this is not a novelty of any kind. We get these emails and scams every week to our emails so I'm sure we have learnt.
Anyway, he posted something and he deserves a life sentence? You also use a 1st degree murder as an illustrative point for this? How twisted this is that a kid that didn't kill anyone, didn't force anyone with a gun to do anything and essentially all he did was put a tweet that people could willingly do and yet people here feel that it warrants a life sentence?
I'm baffled how cruel some of you are.

Punishment ALWAYS has to fit the crime. You don't end kids life for a scammy tweet!

I would all love to see those that say that he deserves a life sentence if you still feel the same if it was your own kid.

Lol, he wasn't even old enough to drink in USA (which is bizarre and topic for another lengthy discussion but maybe another time) and yet he should end rest of his life in prison? Totally twisted minds here. So disappointing

Kids do stupid stuff like shoplift a chocolate bar or buy weed and booze. When you hack into corporations and defraud people out of $100,000's, that's not 'kids doing stupid stuff'. That's a person acting with sophisticated intent and working knowledge of the consequences of their actions.

Deserve all the punishment they get. And the idiot employees of Twitter who provided user credentials/access (you can't just telnet in - you'd need VPN credentials, server credentials, database credentials etc.) should all be fired.

If this 17 year old 'kid' committed 1st degree murder, somehow I don't think you'd be so quick to dismiss it as kids doing stupid stuff. Not comparing the crimes, but the intent and knowledge of the consequences were all in place.

This isn't due to a lack of maturity.

 

[Delta-NC]

Deleted.

 

[Freida]

Yeah, exactly. That is truly the sad reality. This thread actually proves it how bad the situation is.

It's not just the police. Look at the mob justice so many in this thread alone are advocating for.

Americans have forgotten (or perhaps never learned) that a mere accusation does not imply guilt, and have largely given up on rehabilitation even once guilt has been established, seeking instead only to punish at an incredible cost to all parties involved (except for the private prisons, of course).

 

[Apple_Robert]

45 years!!!!! in prison? Bloody hell, American justice system is truly messed up.

Jesus, 45 years is insanely excessive. Oh well, glad I don't live in good ol' USA! The police state with minimal freedom

Btw, not saying that hackers should be free to do this, not at all. Its just in general. USA claims to be country of freedom but its actually the opposite. All you need to do to realise how messed up it is is to know that they have PRIVATE prisons (profit organisations). Ha, insane!

People shouldn’t do the crime if they can’t do the time.

 

[nylonsteel]

""... Twitter employees were targeted in a "phone spear phishing attack," ...""
classic kevin mitnick "social engineering" - the more old school term which is classic and better
scary that 17yo can do it though - but not surprising
fbi should have used his hack skills when fbi tried to crack the iphone lock

 

[Chaos215bar2]

People shouldn’t do the crime if they can’t do the time.

That's a complete non-statement, and it presumes guilt where none has yet been proven.

What's the benefit to society of locking this kid up for 45 years? Does that outweigh the very real cost? Is it morally appropriate given the severity of the crime and the circumstances of this kid's life?

Let's remember, also, that the regions of the brain responsible for higher reasoning aren't even fully developed until around age 24. (In other words, the same reasons we — hopefully — wouldn't dream of sentencing an 8 year old to life in prison still apply to a lesser extent here.)

 

[tridley68]

He got caught by using a "private" VPN service. Which, wasn't so private against the government after all.

Guess not as smart as he thought after all

 

[itsmilo]

GOOD. Put his ass under the jail. This way hackers will learn that the nonsense they do has consequences, and they’ll stop acting like comic book super-villains.

nah they will be hired by something like the CIA or NSA instead

 

[Chaos215bar2]

Guess not as smart as he thought after all

Honestly, the facts of the case make me doubt that this guy was actually the mastermind of anything.

Smart enough to hack over 100 high profile accounts, and yet stupid enough to do so using a traceable VPN? Either this just speaks further to Twitter's incompetence, or prosecutors are just crowing about the few people they actually managed to track down. It's kind of a weird announcement on the whole.

 

[displaced]

Given the UK’s self-inflicted desperation to secure a trade deal with the US now that you’ve left the EU, I suspect your Government will indeed get right on it. Do you honestly see Boris Johnson and Priti Patel standing up to the US?

Honestly? No. Bunch of asshats, the lot of ‘em.

 

[kironin]

They got in with social engineering not with any clever hacker coding skills. In other words, the same skill set of old-time real world con men.

Lock'em up for 10.

 

[Apple_Robert]

That's a complete non-statement, and it presumes guilt where none has yet been proven.

What's the benefit to society of locking this kid up for 45 years? Does that outweigh the very real cost? Is it morally appropriate given the severity of the crime and the circumstances of this kid's life?

Let's remember, also, that the regions of the brain responsible for higher reasoning aren't even fully developed until around age 24. (In other words, the same reasons we — hopefully — wouldn't dream of sentencing an 8 year old to life in prison still apply to a lesser extent here.)

My post did not state absolute guilt with each and every person. However, for the sake of clarity, if a person commits a crime and is convicted of the crime, said person needs to do the time.

In regards to brain development, you are correct. However, I don’t believe that young age should be used as some kind of rationalized slap on the proverbial wrist.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

My post did not state absolute guilt with each and every person. However, for the sake of clarity, if a person commits a crime and is convicted of the crime, said person needs to do the time.

It's not as if they have much choice.

That's still a much more nuanced issue than you're allowing with that statement, though. Crimes come with minimum and maximum sentences as well as sentencing guidelines, but things are rarely set in stone. There's usually a lot of leeway built into the system to allow for circumstances. And even when there isn't, the law is ultimately just a legal document written by whoever was in power at the time. There's plenty of room to argue whether a particular law and its associated punishment are reasonable, or moral. Sometimes a law can even be illegal, strange as that sounds.

All I'm saying is, don't pass judgement without the facts, and even when the legal system arrives at a particular conclusion regarding guilt and punishment, that doesn't automatically make it either right or correct. It's important to err on the side of caution and skepticism. Remember, every time someone received a disproportionate punishment, or worse, is sentenced for a crime they did not commit, next time it could be you.

In regards to brain development, you are correct. However, I don’t believe that young age should be used as some kind of rationalized slap on the proverbial wrist.

This really gets at the questions of intent and potential for rehabilitation. If someone, for instance, is going out and killing people, for money, in a completely rational state of mind, because they simply don't care, that's completely different from someone killing people while in a mental state where they're literally incapable of rational thought.

 

[Freida]

Absolutely agree with you and yet look at all these down votes and hate around this. People are absolutely crazy to think that 45 years (or life) is appropriate punishment for this.
What world do we live in?
Glad I'm not alone thinking this otherwise I would really feel misplaced

That's a complete non-statement, and it presumes guilt where none has yet been proven.

What's the benefit to society of locking this kid up for 45 years? Does that outweigh the very real cost? Is it morally appropriate given the severity of the crime and the circumstances of this kid's life?

Let's remember, also, that the regions of the brain responsible for higher reasoning aren't even fully developed until around age 24. (In other words, the same reasons we — hopefully — wouldn't dream of sentencing an 8 year old to life in prison still apply to a lesser extent here.)

 

[Freida]

Sad sad response. Read what Chaos215 wrote. Spot on.

And please, rethink your stance as this is truly not the right way to go.

To illustrate it a bit better. Next time you cross red light as a pedestrian etc. - do you want to get 2 years in prison? Because clearly if this deserves 45 years or a life sentence then crossing the red light on a crossing should get you 1-2 years, right?
Sooner or later everyone will be in prison. Don't you understand that that is not the right approach?
How about mild speeding? 1-2 years in prison for that - would you like that?
Or parking where you are not meant to - 1 year for that.

Because posting a scam post that is punished 45x more than bad parking is adequate, right? So yeah, all bad parking = PRISON for 1 YEAR!
Lets all fill USA with prisoners! Hahahhahaha

People are nuts!

People shouldn’t do the crime if they can’t do the time.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Sad sad response. Read what Chaos215 wrote. Spot on.

And please, rethink your stance as this is truly not the right way to go.

To illustrate it a bit better. Next time you cross red light as a pedestrian etc. - do you want to get 2 years in prison? Because clearly if this deserves 45 years or a life sentence then crossing the red light on a crossing should get you 1-2 years, right?
Sooner or later everyone will be in prison. Don't you understand that that is not the right approach?
How about mild speeding? 1-2 years in prison for that - would you like that?
Or parking where you are not meant to - 1 year for that.

Because posting a scam post that is punished 45x more than bad parking is adequate, right? So yeah, all bad parking = PRISON for 1 YEAR!
Lets all fill USA with prisoners! Hahahhahaha

People are nuts!

He is facing 30 different felony charges, not one single charge. That is why he is facing 45 years.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

Absolutely agree with you and yet look at all these down votes and hate around this. People are absolutely crazy to think that 45 years (or life) is appropriate punishment for this.
What world do we live in?
Glad I'm not alone thinking this otherwise I would really feel misplaced

I think part of the issue at least is that people try to attach too much intentionality to actions without really understanding the mental states involved.

The mind is not some special enclave separate from a person's physical state, and the brain can suffer from harm or disfunction just like any other part of the body. It's certainly possible to commit a crime in a completely rational state of mind, but when we see that happen, verifiably, more often than not the person receives relatively little punishment. And that makes sense. If you're going to commit a crime intentionally and rationally, the payoff must by definition justify it.

Look at the situation here in comparison to, for instance, some of the massive financial crimes we've seen take place in recent decades. You have at least three people collectively risking decades in prison for… about $110,000. Education and adequate mental health care alone could likely have prevented this crime even if the punishment was a fraction of the 45 years allowable under the law.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

He is facing 30 different felony charges, not one single charge. That is why he is facing 45 years.

You're arguing technicalities. How the law arrives at the potential 45 year sentence is not relevant to its appropriateness.

The facts of the crime that lead to those 30 charges obviously matter, but the fact alone that there are 30 charges doesn't.

 

[deputy_doofy]

I wonder if the "garbage" file was stashed away somewhere.

It's in that place where I put that thing that time!

 

[Analog Kid]

Get this kid a job.

Barnum and Bailey closed down a few years ago... Seems parting fools from their money is a commodity business these days and the talent is easy to find.

 

[JGIGS]

Stop with the give him a job stuff. People shouldn't be rewarded for breaking the law and robing people.

 

[yossi]

How on earth can twitter employee people who fall for phishing attempts and then hand over key internal systems??

 

[rgeneral]

45 years!!!!! in prison? Bloody hell, American justice system is truly messed up.

Jesus, 45 years is insanely excessive. Oh well, glad I don't live in good ol' USA! The police state with minimal freedom

Btw, not saying that hackers should be free to do this, not at all. Its just in general. USA claims to be country of freedom but its actually the opposite. All you need to do to realise how messed up it is is to know that they have PRIVATE prisons (profit organisations). Ha, insane!

yes 45 years a bit too much. The bankers that caused the 2008 meltdown didn't get a day.

 

[matrix07]

17...he's going to get a job offer some where. Probably going to end up working for the government.

I hope. Otherwise someone like Russia (or Isarael) will recruit them.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

Stop with the give him a job stuff. People shouldn't be rewarded for breaking the law and robing people.

This I agree with, despite everything I've said above.

I do hope the punishment fits the crime and that it doesn't end any hope of society benefiting from the skills used in this attack, but a crime cannot simply be rewarded with a job offer.