Shooting the messenger?
Edit: Found more information.
The Register writes in this story:
A Houston computer security analyst has been charged with hacking after demonstrating the insecurity of a county courts wireless LAN.
He's accused of accessing the system March 8 in an alleged intrusion that cost the county a reported $5,000 to clean up.
This type of case could set a very dangerous precedent. Based on the content of the article, this "hacker" didn't actually do anything other than show the insecurity in their wireless lan.. Why is he being charged at all? Why *can* he be charged? Isn't that a bit like charging someone with murder after they showed you how easily you could be choked?
I must be missing something in this story....If all he did was show insecurity.. where did the $5000 cost come from? This? :
District Clerk Charles Bacarisse told the paper that no confidential information was disclosed but the alleged intrusion eventually resulted in the county closing its wireless LAN only a month after it was activated.
.. and this is not the fault of the incompetent admin who set this up for them but the fault of the guy who showed them they have a problem.. They should have taken that $5000 and invested in a decent security expert.. perhaps the one that showed their vulnerabilities in the first place.
Further proof: government and computers don't mix.. they should just stick to using a pad and pencil, we'll all be better off..