Five Men Arrested in LexisNexis Data Theft 74
An anonymous reader writes "Five men aged 19-24 were arrested last week in connection with the reported theft last year of some 310,000 personal records from database giant LexisNexis. The Washington Post reports that some of the individuals were also involved in the theft and online posting of revealing photos from socialite Paris Hilton's cell phone. All are being charged with 'aggravated identity theft,' which carries a mandatory 2-year jail sentence for those found guilty."
Wait ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Think about it, very few people who commit identify theft ever get caught, and in addition, you can make a lot of money or get a lot of free stuff while it lasts, and if you get busted, you're out in two years and you can do it all over again.
Re:Wait ... (Score:5, Informative)
It is quite possible to ensure that crime does pay with current laws if that is your only concern. I suspect that the two year minimum is applied to less severe offences.
Also note, from the article: aggravated identity theft "is defined as the use of a stolen identity to commit other crimes". Therefore, they're already being accused of other crimes in addition to this offence (and, if the description is accurate, cannot be guilty of this offence if they are not found guilty of another offence as well). The sentence for this crime will in addition to any other sentences they receive.
Re:Wait ... (Score:1)
Re:Wait ... (Score:2)
When you hire a lawyer and sue them. You do have evidence that will hold up in court don't you?
Re:Wait ... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Wait ... (Score:2)
Re:Wait ... (Score:2)
I have no problem with 2 years per record.
In 660,000 years, they'll be out of jail and back in society.
Oh, wait...
Re:Wait ... (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, first, a victim of ID theft doesn't spend two years of straight time fixing the problem. There's a difference between two years of dealing with bureacracy for a few hours a week and two years of your life spent in a prison cell. I'm not making light of ID theft, I was a victim of it myself and it was certainly a bitch to deal with... But hell, I'd take eight years of doing what you have to do to get everything back in order over eight months of prison time. Prison really, really sucks.
So two years doesn't sound that harsh to me. These guys are not violent criminals. They aren't gang members and will not be at the top of the prison food chain. Those two years will not exactly fly by, and being 19-24 they will lose some of what should have been the best years of their lives. When they get out they will be felons and will lose many rights (including foreign travel), and will have to check in with parole officers, and will find it much harder to find work and a decent place to live. They may even be prevented from using a computer for a period of time. I think losing two years of your life would deter most from d
Re:Wait ... (Score:1)
call for investigation (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:call for investigation (Score:2)
Re:call for investigation (Score:2)
Meh. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Meh. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Meh. (Score:2)
Immoral means that they break decent moral standards. Bad people are immoral.
I left in the *moral for the religionists. (Score:1)
revised: LexisNexis is 'more wrong' than the hackers.
burp.
Re:I left in the *moral for the religionists. (Score:3, Informative)
not in my book
Of course... (Score:1)
Re:Of course... (Score:2)
We don't. I suspect the police and the prosecutors have a wee bit more info ther we do, though.
Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting? (Score:3, Interesting)
They used Police 'credentials' to access Accurint, which is a subsidary of Lexis-Nexis.
The aggrivating factor, was that he used that account to create other accounts "which he then allegedly shared with the other co-defendants."
It doesn't matter what they used the information for. They are pwn3d.
Re:Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting? (Score:1)
Here I thought Hilton was aggrivated that she didn't get paid for that set.
Re:Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting? (Score:5, Insightful)
(only half joking).
Re:Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting? (Score:2)
You're right that you can't, technically speaking 'steal' information. But copyright doesn't apply in this case because you can't copyright information. Only expression with originality.
Therefore they can't be busted for copyright infringmenet, only something closer to trespass: unauthorized access to the system.
Re:Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting? (Score:2)
Lucky them, actually. If they had been committing copyright infringment instead, the RIAA would probably have tried to get the death penalty.
His name is trademarked? (Score:5, Funny)
Why has he trademarked his name?
Re:His name is trademarked? (Score:1)
O/T (Score:1)
A quick google search seems to suggest that is all (R) is good for.
Re:O/T (Score:1)
Re:His name is trademarked? (Score:2)
*whoosh*
O -You
|
Is that clear? And, since
Re:His name is trademarked? (Score:1)
That was a typo. It should read: California Gov. Arnold (The Governator (R)) Schwarzenegger.
Re:His name is trademarked? (Score:2)
Sue? (Score:1)
I'm sure she has a rather high powered cadre of lawyers, and if she doesn't, I'm sure her father has a few who would be more than willing to take vengeance on these guys for sullying her good... er... decent... er... human name.
Re:Sue? (Score:2)
let's be opportunistic (Score:5, Insightful)
What happened to the good old days... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What happened to the good old days... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:What happened to the good old days... (Score:1)
But LexisNexis holding these data is Ok? (Score:4, Interesting)
This is not about privacy, but about information, which, in the prevailing Slashdot opinion, "wants to be free".
So I'm surprised, no one is outraged at LexisNexis collecting (and selling) these data in the first place.
The thieves are thieves, of course, and LexisNexis is not doing anything illegal, but sympathy for them is something, I just can't master...
Re:But LexisNexis holding these data is Ok? (Score:2, Interesting)
Federal authorities last week arrested five men in connection with a 2005 database breach at LexisNexis Group that the database giant said led to the theft of personal records on more than 310,000 individuals.
Re:But LexisNexis holding these data is Ok? (Score:2)
I understand the sentiment. I've never had to deal with ID theft personally but it's not hard to imagine the pain in the ass it would be.
But I think it's easy to say for example, that two years jail is too leniant (as has been said a few times here). You need to temper your opinion by comparing the jailtime to some other violent crimes. Two years in jail would be hell
Cake Walk (Score:1)
Shouldn't be too bad.
Once everyone knows they're the ones responsible for the stuff they've been wankin off to, nobody will mess with them.
High Crimes and Misdemeanors (Score:2)
Re:High Crimes and Misdemeanors (Score:2, Funny)
Re:High Crimes and Misdemeanors (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:High Crimes and Misdemeanors (Score:2)
Of course, the scum floats atop the mud that elected it. 50M Americans who voted for them can't be written off as "a few bad apples". It's a bad orchard, poison fruits. To put it another way, the Bush administration is a turd blossom [google.com].
What we need is the good old days (Score:2)
Re:What we need is the good old days (Score:2)
Carter didn't do much wrong in the Mideast other than shelter the Shah, covering for the CIA which promptly scored him Oliver North's scuttled desert helicopter rescue boondoggle, setting the stage for the 1980s Iran/Contra. Carter did negotiate the first Egypt/Israel peace in millennia. The 1970s were pretty good, as long as you weren't wearing polyester leisure suits like a Rep
Re:What we need is the good old days (Score:2)
LexisNexis --better pay your rent! (Score:2, Interesting)
If you live in an apartment complex managed by a corporation and you live in a county with fast-track eviction, like Orange and Los Angeles and many others..you probably already know you have to pay by the 4th or you get a 3-day notice to pay or quit and a $50-$100 fine. On the 10th, their accounting person pushes a button and all of the accounts that haven't paid --in certified funds-- get FAXed to an attorney chop-shop that immediately adds a $300 fee and a couple days later files
Re:LexisNexis --better pay your rent! (Score:3)
Re:LexisNexis --better pay your rent! (Score:1)
cracking LexisNexis? (Score:2)
Re:cracking LexisNexis? (Score:1)
Maybe. Definitely sounds like something Spamtec would rap about. Any rappers who can work LexisNexis, Linux, HPAV, spamming, ROKSO and even SCO into their rhymes can't be all bad. This story made me think of them immediately, and I kind of hoped they weren't getting busted.
Move along now... (Score:1)