2-Way Street Of Cyberterrorism In the War On Iraq, page 1

Well, this is a little back alley cul-de-sac.

I missed the story of what this petty hacker had done when it first happened, but here's his sentence.

His crime wasn't deadly, but as was pointed out by the Judge, it was a crime.

Which opens up questions about:

1. What was he trying to achieve, and who was he trying to influence?

2. Should there be more criminal prosecutions of people found to engage in this kind of activity, on say, Bulletin Boards?

3. Do you think there might be repercussions for Al Jazeera readers, and their attitude towards smartasses? Or Americans in general?

Sentence In Al Jazeera Site Attack
14/11/2003 08:10 AM - Reuters

A Los Angeles-area man has been fined and sentenced to community service for hacking into the Web site of satellite TV network Al Jazeera during the US-led war in Iraq and rerouting visitors to a page featuring an American flag and the motto "Let Freedom Ring."

At a sentencing hearing Wednesday, US District Judge Howard Matz told Web designer John William Racine II: "I don't think of you as an evil person ... but this was a crime. It wasn't just a childish prank."

Matz sentenced Racine, 24, to 1,000 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine. Racine, also known as John Buffo, vowed to the judge that he would never do such a thing again.

Prosecutors said the Qatar-based Arabic television broadcaster did not respond to US government inquiries about whether the hacking caused it any financial losses.

Racine posed as an Al Jazeera employee to get a password to the network's site, (www.aljazeera.net...), then redirected visitors to a page he created that showed an American flag shaped like a U.S. map and the patriotic motto, court documents said.

In June, Racine pleaded guilty to wire fraud and unlawful interception of an electronic communication.