Article Abstract:
Three Australians are arrested for tampering with computers in the US and Australia. The three are: Nanshon Even-Chaim, 18 years old; Richard Jones, 20; and David John Woodcock, 21. The break-ins took place on an international network known as Internet, which links university, corporate and government computers. In Mar 1990, a man identifying himself only as 'an Australian named Dave' made news by calling the New York Times, taunting security officials by admitting he had broken into systems in the US. Australian Federal Police say they knew about the group's activities as long ago as 1988, but they were able to conduct a serious investigation only after new legislation covering computer crimes became effective in Jul 1989. Computer specialists say this case raises questions about the vulnerability of technology internationally, because laws in different countries may vary or not exist at all.
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Article Abstract:
Robert Tappan Morris will be fined $10,000 and ordered to serve three years' probation and 400 hours of community service, but he will not go to prison. The 25-year-old computer science student received the sentencer for disrupting a nationwide computer network, using a program that copied itself throughout the network. Morris is the first to be sentenced under the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. Legal experts believe that the government's decision to prosecute Morris, after an eight-month debate within the Justice Department, is a message to would-be hackers that tempering with computers will not be tolerated. The Morris family is pleased that Morris will serve no time in prison, but it is considered possible that Morris will appeal the conviction. Morris refuses to comment on the case.
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Article Abstract:
Government crackdown on computer crime is increasing in response to lawmakers and corporations but some civil liberties are being threatened by the investigations. Secret Service officials, who are the primary federal enforcers of computer crimes laws since 1984, suspect that a large number of bright young computer enthusiasts are responsible for many computer crimes including telecommunication fraud, credit card fraud, unauthorized access to other computers and computer viruses. The lack of legal precedents for search and seizure and freedom of speech as it pertains to the computer world raises some questions as to how the government can prosecute and investigate computer crimes.
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