21–30 of 361 posts
Life in prison for non-violent crime clearly sounds like revenge and sour grapes. The big guys clearly don't appreciate having their insecurity being exposed this way (keep in mind none of these hacks required any significant technical skills), and too many people would lose face. Something had to be done, so here it is. The disparity of this punishment compared to what is usually given out for similar crimes (in the…
> indefinite hospital order does this actually mean life?
You can try reading the article: "He will remain at a secure hospital for life unless doctors deem him no longer a danger."
Life in prison for non-violent crime clearly sounds like revenge and sour grapes. The big guys clearly don't appreciate having their insecurity being exposed this way (keep in mind none of these hacks required any significant technical skills), and too many people would lose face. Something had to be done, so here it is. The disparity of this punishment compared to what is usually given out for similar crimes (in the…
He’s being confined to a mental institution due to severe autism. It’s unlikely that he can be rehabilitated and would remain a cyber security threat to society if released in the future.
This is hardly revenge.
Stuff like this is why I’m glad Ken Kessey’s “one flew over the cuckoos nest” become popular and helped remove government mental hospitals from being a serious consideration in the USA. This kid needs to be cultivated, not institutionalized. (Edit: never mind, seems he IS a menace to society)
Did you miss the part about assaulting staff and property destruction. What about the part where he continued hacking after being busted the first time and released on bail. Its pretty clear that the kid poses a danger and doesn't understand that he needs to stop. This isn't a youthful prank/indiscretion that went too far. This kid was on trial for causing millions in damages, and then did it again while on trial. Ye…
Stuff like this is why I’m glad Ken Kessey’s “one flew over the cuckoos nest” become popular and helped remove government mental hospitals from being a serious consideration in the USA. This kid needs to be cultivated, not institutionalized. (Edit: never mind, seems he IS a menace to society)
Yes, those mental hospitals were terribly run. But we need to create a safe place for these people. We can't just give up because of mistakes made in the past.
https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/06/health-beat-bring-back-the...
Stuff like this is why I’m glad Ken Kessey’s “one flew over the cuckoos nest” become popular and helped remove government mental hospitals from being a serious consideration in the USA. This kid needs to be cultivated, not institutionalized. (Edit: never mind, seems he IS a menace to society)
The headline glosses over "The court heard that Kurtaj had been violent while in custody with dozens of reports of injury or property damage."
Most people respond with patience, because they understand deescalation is their best move. This person has Autism. I think it's not a leap to conclude that he simply doesn't understand that deescalation is the right move. He may not even realize or totally comprehend that deescalation is an option!
If you want to convince me this person is a menace to society, then talk about his behavior before being arrested. What did he do then? Oh, that's right, he shared video of an unreleased game... Why should I, or any other person feel threatened?
> The court heard that Kurtaj had been violent while in custody with dozens of reports of injury or property damage.
> A mental health assessment used as part of the sentencing hearing said he "continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated."
...
The details are absolutely wild too. I mean...
> The jury was told that while he was on bail for hacking Nvidia and BT/EE and in police protection at a Travelodge hotel, he continued hacking and carried out his most infamous hack. Despite having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV and a mobile phone.
Holy shit, dude. This is the sort of thing they make movies about. I wonder how much of it is true.
Life in prison for non-violent crime clearly sounds like revenge and sour grapes. The big guys clearly don't appreciate having their insecurity being exposed this way (keep in mind none of these hacks required any significant technical skills), and too many people would lose face. Something had to be done, so here it is. The disparity of this punishment compared to what is usually given out for similar crimes (in the…
It’s not life in prison. He’s being confined to a mental institution due to severe autism. It’s unlikely that he can be rehabilitated and would remain a cyber security threat to society if released in the future. This is hardly revenge.
He was apparently shown to be a member of a cyber "gang", and expressed zero remorse. In this case, a judge basically has to do something.
> A mental health assessment used as part of the sentencing hearing said he "continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated."
The guy was already on bail for another hack:
> The jury was told that while he was on bail for hacking Nvidia and BT/EE and in police protection at a Travelodge hotel, he continued hacking and carried out his most infamous hack.
> He worked with Kurtaj and other members of Lapsus$ to hack tech giant Nvidia and phone company BT/EE and steal data before demanding a four million dollar ransom, which was not paid.
> They also stole directly from individuals through their cryptocurrency wallets.
So:
> He will remain at a secure hospital for life unless doctors deem him no longer a danger.
Hospital b/c of his severe autism. Ostensibly, what has to be done is rehabilitation. If he can even lie convincingly, he'll be out tomorrow.