4 ms·

The activity described isn't hacking... it's just creating an alternate, more efficient interface to the website, to increase their ticket purchasing efficacy.

by mos1 17y ago

The activity described isn't hacking... it's just creating an alternate, more efficient interface to the website, to increase their ticket purchasing efficacy. I wish the article had more details, so I could confirm or refute my suspicion that nothing was "hacked".

ig1 17y ago
Circumventing security measures to make a computer behave in unintended ways sounds pretty close to the definition of hacking, at least the Computer Misuse Act has a definition which is close to that.
- izend 17y ago
  "including computer code that was intended to defeat security measures that online ticket vendors put in place to prevent automated ticket purchasing" That just describes a bot...
jackowayed 17y ago
I agree. I don't know why they didn't just charge them for a million counts of scalping, which I'm sure could put them in jail for quite a long time.
- jrockway 17y ago
  Because the prosecutors have to prove every count, and the sentences would likely be served concurrently.
lmkg 17y ago
It's hacking in the more general sense. While they may not have gotten root access on an internal server, they still circumvented security measures in the ticket-purchase system in order to do something that was forbidden. They're leveraging a design flaw. I think it's a valid use of the term. I do disagree with the preposition in the phrase "... by hacking into online vendor systems such as..." as that's simply inaccurate.
- jrockway 17y ago
  What is and isn't "wire fraud"? If I say, "you may not reply to this comment", and you do, did you hack the system?
  - aaronblohowiak 17y ago
    IANAL, but if they are agreeing to a contract during purchase posing as individuals, then they are committing fraud using electronic communications. Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1343.html http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1343.html
aresant 17y ago
My understanding of "hacking" follows that of Wikipedia's: "Hacking refers to the re-configuring or re-programming of a system to function in ways not facilitated by the owner, administrator, or designer." I'd say they came up with a pretty good hack. Mimicking live people, beating captcha's, etc.
- chengas123 17y ago
  What did they re-configure of re-program?

by mos1 17y ago

ig1 17y ago

Circumventing security measures to make a computer behave in unintended ways sounds pretty close to the definition of hacking, at least the Computer Misuse Act has a definition which is close to that.

izend 17y ago
"including computer code that was intended to defeat security measures that online ticket vendors put in place to prevent automated ticket purchasing" That just describes a bot...

jackowayed 17y ago

I agree. I don't know why they didn't just charge them for a million counts of scalping, which I'm sure could put them in jail for quite a long time.

jrockway 17y ago
Because the prosecutors have to prove every count, and the sentences would likely be served concurrently.

lmkg 17y ago

It's hacking in the more general sense. While they may not have gotten root access on an internal server, they still circumvented security measures in the ticket-purchase system in order to do something that was forbidden. They're leveraging a design flaw. I think it's a valid use of the term. I do disagree with the preposition in the phrase "... by hacking into online vendor systems such as..." as that's simply inaccurate.

jrockway 17y ago
What is and isn't "wire fraud"? If I say, "you may not reply to this comment", and you do, did you hack the system?
- aaronblohowiak 17y ago
  IANAL, but if they are agreeing to a contract during purchase posing as individuals, then they are committing fraud using electronic communications. Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1343.html http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1343.html

aresant 17y ago

My understanding of "hacking" follows that of Wikipedia's: "Hacking refers to the re-configuring or re-programming of a system to function in ways not facilitated by the owner, administrator, or designer." I'd say they came up with a pretty good hack. Mimicking live people, beating captcha's, etc.

chengas123 17y ago
What did they re-configure of re-program?