Worm suspect speaks

[sMiLeYz]

?I am extremely concerned that the government is trying to make an example of me,? Parson said. ?I understand that the government needs to catch someone for these crimes. I?m not the one they need to get!?
Parson?s parents said they believe the federal government, specifically Attorney General John Ashcroft, have trampled on their son?s rights in order to address America?s frustrations with cyber terrorism and hold him accountable for someone else?s crime. Bob and Rita Parson said they understand why examples need to be made, but that this example could cost them their son.

Parson said he first met with investigators from the Secret Service and the FBI about two weeks ago.
?They told me that they needed my help in catching the author of Blaster, and knew that I had sent a variant of the virus out. We had at least four meetings with investigators and they were really nice and hospitable. I didn?t think that I had done anything serious.?

The agents never read him his Miranda rights and investigators told him that if he cooperated fully, things would be much easier on him, Parson said.
?They told me I didn?t need a lawyer, and they kept on asking me to help, so I did, completely.?
When asked about Parson?s allegations that he was never asked if he wanted a lawyer and never read his rights, a representative of the U.S. Attorney?s office where Parson was charged told NBC News, ?no comment?.
....
It was then that Bob Parson heard the news on the radio. ?I heard they were arresting an 18 year old in Hopkins. I woke Jeff up and said, ?I think they?re coming after you.??
Parson grabbed his ?Big Daddy? T-shirt, the one clean shirt he could find in a hurry, and a pair of shorts as investigators knocked on his door to execute the arrest. His family now regrets that wardrobe, as they fear it didn?t help his public image. Parson said that when he was arrested one of the agents involved in the case said ?I?m sorry we?re doing this, but it comes down from the very top.?

Worm suspect says case is exagerated...

Welcome to Americana, citizen. You are under the careful watch of Big Ashcroft.

I didn't finish reading it, I felt too disgusted to go on.

 

[sMiLeYz]

I also like how the government and the media tried to portray Parson as the creator of the virus, when it first appeared on the news.

 

[rchiu]

What a pathetic display of the ugliness of media and American justice system.

 

[kaizersose]

are you guys actually sympathetic to this guy? he wasted people's time and money and heaped loads of stress upon thousands of network admins. how many parents had to stay late at work to handle the virus when they could have been home with their kids? how many corporations lost money that could have gone into profit sharing or bonuses? i know the entire UCLA LAN was clogged for the better part of a day from what happened. it may not all have been him, but he certainly helped it move along.

nothing has happened to this guy yet, but i hope something serious does. he never bothered to think how what he was doing actually affected people.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: kaizersose
are you guys actually sympathetic to this guy? he wasted people's time and money and heaped loads of stress upon thousands of network admins. how many parents had to stay late at work to handle the virus when they could have been home with their kids? how many corporations lost money that could have gone into profit sharing or bonuses? i know the entire UCLA LAN was clogged for the better part of a day from what happened. it may not all have been him, but he certainly helped it move along.

nothing has happened to this guy yet, but i hope something serious does. he never bothered to think how what he was doing actually affected people.

"but i hope something serious does. he never bothered to think how what he was doing actually affected people".

I have to agree.

This idiot actually set out with the 'INTENT" of writing and sending out a program that will cause harm.
That is the key and he must be held accountable for it.

It is entirely different from my personal experience. I did not write anything, no intent to cause harm (in fact if there was any "intent", it was good intent) and did not cause any harm. Yet I spent time in jail and was facing 120 years prison time with 7 Felonies and nearly a Million dollars in fines and restitution. Who did I kill? Did I bring down the world of Computers with a vile Virus? No, installed a Distributed Computing screensaver type program.

The punishment has to fit the crime which in just about every Computer related crime has not been working out yet.
If intent and harm is proven then I agree that it should be a Felony but still not on par with a rapist or Murderer unless Emergency life & death Computing equipment is directly affected by the actions. Otherwise Misdemeanors but with heavy fines, probation and Community service is more appropriate.

 

[Bigdude]

He should get 20 years for every computer infected!

 

[PatboyX]

i thought he sent out a varient, not the initial.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: PatboyX
i thought he sent out a varient, not the initial.

Exactly. But besides for you and I, no one else seems to be able to tell the difference. The fact that he sent out a varient, and not the original, sets up an interesting case: what should his punishment be, considering that the infected machines would have been hit by A anyhow? Computer crimes are a tricky area that hasn't been completely worked out yet; but in this case, it seems like the issue is going to be ignored, and he'll be treated as the original author.

 

[ZaneNBK]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: PatboyX
i thought he sent out a varient, not the initial.

Exactly. But besides for you and I, no one else seems to be able to tell the difference. The fact that he sent out a varient, and not the original, sets up an interesting case: what should his punishment be, considering that the infected machines would have been hit by A anyhow? Computer crimes are a tricky area that hasn't been completely worked out yet; but in this case, it seems like the issue is going to be ignored, and he'll be treated as the original author.

That line of reasoning doesn't make much sense. If person A knows person B _IS_ going to kill person C and person A decides to kill person C first, should person A recieve a lesser punishment? Obviously the crimes in question are much worse but I believe the logic is the same.

I don't support severe punishment for computer crimes (unless they can be proven to actually cause death) BTW.

 

[kaizersose]

Originally posted by: ZaneNBK

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: PatboyX
i thought he sent out a varient, not the initial.

Exactly. But besides for you and I, no one else seems to be able to tell the difference. The fact that he sent out a varient, and not the original, sets up an interesting case: what should his punishment be, considering that the infected machines would have been hit by A anyhow? Computer crimes are a tricky area that hasn't been completely worked out yet; but in this case, it seems like the issue is going to be ignored, and he'll be treated as the original author.

That line of reasoning doesn't make much sense. If person A knows person B _IS_ going to kill person C and person A decides to kill person C first, should person A recieve a lesser punishment? Obviously the crimes in question are much worse but I believe the logic is the same.

I don't support severe punishment for computer crimes (unless they can be proven to actually cause death) BTW.

exactly. he is just like a copycat killer. it doesnt matter that someone else did it first, he still committed the crime. i know he didnt kill anyone, i am just showing the comparison between similar crimes.

 

[rjain]

And then if they're going to prosecute this guy severely, what's stopping them from prosecting the person who modified SoBig.F to install the patch? It's still a "computer crime" and a "terrorist act".

 

[kaizersose]

Originally posted by: rjain
And then if they're going to prosecute this guy severely, what's stopping them from prosecting the person who modified SoBig.F to install the patch? It's still a "computer crime" and a "terrorist act".

no, the modified version saved people time and protected their computer. it might not have been the right way to go about doing it though. i would equate the 'good virus' to someone going around and trying everyone's front door at night to see if they are open, then locking the one's that are. he is doing a service for people even though they might not appreciate him doing it

 

[sMiLeYz]

The point, which most of you completely missed and is that his civil liberties has been violated. He is a citizen of the United states of America, and he should be treated accordingly. The government wrongly asked for his help and than decieved him, now they are trying to use him as a scapegoat.

I'm in utter shock, that no one else sees what's wrong with this picture. I believe in fair and equal justice for all, the day that changes is the day this is no longer America.

Keep in mind this is a just a teenager, he didn't kill anyone. All he did was cost alot of network adminstrators headaches, and he wasn't even the creator of the virus. Not an terrorist.