Forwarded From: Nicholas Charles Brawn <ncb05@uow.edu.au>
[If this goes through, I pity you guys in the states... :\
Perhaps if certain key people were to be convinced that many of these
teenagers are a resource, rather than a threat... - Nick]
Teen hackers may be tried as adults
UPn 18-08-1998 19:23
By MIKE BILLINGTON
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Concerned about threats to national
security and angry at the amount of time and money teenage computer
hackers cost the government, some federal lawmakers want new laws to
prosecute them as adults.
"This is a serious crime and we need to seriously bring the hammer down
on them," Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said during a House National Security
Committee hearing.
But not everyone agrees that prosecuting cyberspace delinquents as
adults is a good idea. Local prosecutors worry that if Congress passes a
law elevating computer hacking to an adult crime, they'll have to add new
staff and spend more time building cases against junior high school
students. That, they say, will drive their budgets up.
"The bulk of the cases will fall on local prosecutors and most are not
equipped to deal with this at this point," said James Pauley, a spokesman
for the National District Attorneys Association.
Child advocates also worry that prosecuting teenage hackers as adults
could create societal problems later on when they try to get jobs despite
having a permanent criminal record.
"We do try kids as adults when there is a heinous crime committed,"
said Leonard Nuara, a former New Jersey prosecutor who now specializes in
computer law. "I just don't think this rises to that level."
Although he opposes new legislation aimed at bringing teenage hackers
to adult courtrooms, Nuara says hacking is a serious problem that must be
dealt with.
Michael Yamaguchi, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of
California, agrees. His office prosecuted two teens who broke into
government computers in January and February -- at the height of the
military confrontation between the United States and Iraq. Both teens pled
guilty late last month. Sentencing will be held later this year.
In their cases, the teens not only broke into sensitive government
computers -- including Air Force and the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory systems -- but also erased files in an effort to conceal their
tracks.
Yamaguchi said that compromised the integrity of the computer systems
and could have disrupted military communications worldwide at a time when
the United States was on the verge of going to war.
Cracking the case required an extensive, and expensive, investigation
by the FBI with help from NASA and Defense Department criminal
investigations units.
Nuara and Yamaguchi are among those who want parents and teachers to
take the lead role in combatting teenage hacking.
But congressional patience may not last long enough for parents and
teachers to do that. Weldon's comments drew immediate support from Rep.
Herbert Bateman, R-Va., who agreed it's time to get tough with cyberspace
delinquents.
"These kids need to know that this is not some kind of game," he said.
-o-
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Received on Wed Aug 19 09:41:28 1998