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From: biff@nuchat.UUCP (Brad Daniels)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,misc.headlines
Subject: Re: Hacker Scholarship
Message-ID: <254@nuchat.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 11-Jul-87 16:14:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: nuchat.254
Posted: Sat Jul 11 16:14:37 1987
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In article <2240@bunker.UUCP>, rha@bunker.UUCP (The Minister of Myrth) writes:
>      Electronically stored information should be no different from any other
> tangible good.  If a computer system has even basic security features and
> this security is violated by someone who is not authorized, then this person
> should be guilty of either larceny or breaking and entering, whichever is
> more applicable to the particular circumstance.

I don't think this is an accurate assessment.  You could possibly argue that
breaking into a computer system (with or without security) is the moral
equivalent of breaking and entering or maybe trespassing, but the fact
remains that that is not what the person is actually doing.  Nobody is
physically entering your property or breaking your locks.

Similarly, "stealing" information is not strictly "stealing"....  If
you leave me alone in your office and leave confidential information
where I can get at it, and then I take pictures of that information
to look at later, I am hardly stealing anything.  You would still have
the information, but I would now have it also.  Granted, it seems
that there is something morally wrong with doing such things, but
it certainly doesn't qualify as larceny.

I agree that some methods of obtaining information are acceptable,
while others aren't.  I certainly do not want people randomly
invading computers and discovering information which I would prefer
to keep confidential.  However, the information is not a "tangible
good."  The person obtaining the information can and should only
be punished if a law was broken in obtaining the information.  I
firmly believe that unauthorized possession of confidential infor-
mation should not constitute a crime.

As for the issue of accessing computers without authorization, I
agree that there should be some law against it.  I do not, however,
believe that it is breaking and entering.

what I am trying to say is that the issue is not at all cut-and-dried.
Should we treat a kid who just wants to see if he can get into a real
computer the same as we treat a professional thief who is trying to
make a companies computer mail him money?  At present, people can only
be punished if they commit a crime (such as toll fraud, embezzlement,
etc.) when they break into a system.  Perhaps that is how things should
remain.

			- Brad
-- 
Brad Daniels				...!soma!eyeball!biff
Now that I have my own account,		biff@tethys.rice.edu
I don't	NEED a disclaimer.		...!uhnix1!nuchat!biff