Cyber Vandalism—Pointless and Ugly

On December 29, 2005 Anthony Scott Clark, 21, of Oregon, pleaded guilty to using a computer worm to launch attacks against Internet auction site eBay Inc., the U.S. attorney's office handling the case reported. Clark pleaded guilty to intentionally damaging a protected computer, a crime with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to twice any losses incurred, according to the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. According to the U.S. attorney's office, in July and August 2003, Clark and accomplices infected about 20,000 computers with a worm that allowed them to direct the infected machines to visit eBay.com, overwhelming the popular Web site. This folly has landed Clark and his idiotic cronies in a peck of trouble.

Allow me to repeat that the crime carries with it "a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to twice any losses incurred." eBay is now preparing its arguments so that a final statement of financial losses and general damages can be made.

Mr. Clark is in it up to his eyeballs. More . . .