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> The Department of Justice made the unusual decision not to ask for jail time. In its sentencing memo, the government noted “the divide between [the defendants

> The Department of Justice made the unusual decision not to ask for jail time. In its sentencing memo, the government noted “the divide between [the defendants’] online personas, where they were significant, well-known, and malicious actors in the DDoS criminal milieu and their comparatively mundane ‘real lives’ where they present as socially immature young men living with their parents in relative obscurity.” It recommended five years of probation and 2,500 hours of community service. Good to read a story where teen hackers get rehabilitated rather than heavily punished and pushed further into crime. That said, they don't really strike me as genius hackers. More just opportunistic and perpetually online.

aliasxneo 3y ago
I thought the more fascinating part was the mandate, as part of the community service, to help the FBI in tracking down additional abusers of Mirai and the resulting success. Seems like the best possible turnout for all parties involved.
throwawaaarrgh 3y ago
It doesn't take a genius to hack something. It just takes a curious software engineer with time on their hands.
grandinj 3y ago
These teens convinced themselves that what they were doing was in some way "acceptable", and consequently caused quite a lot of damage. Other teens convince themselves that some shoplifting, or car stealing, or drug dealing is "acceptable". Why does the first group get a pass?
- singleshot_ 3y ago
  If our society was teetering in the edge of chaos because we couldn’t figure out how to prevent shoplifting maybe there would be a push to exploit the minds of people who can probe the dark mysteries of stealing Tide from CVS.
WaitWaitWha 3y ago
> Good to read a story where teen hackers get rehabilitated rather than heavily punished and pushed further into crime. That said, they don't really strike me as genius hackers. More just opportunistic and perpetually online. Rehabilitation is an excellent path, but removing consequences makes rehabilitation significantly less effective. It does not need to be either - or. It also furthers an apparent divide of justice system, irrelevant if it does or does not exists.

aliasxneo 3y ago

I thought the more fascinating part was the mandate, as part of the community service, to help the FBI in tracking down additional abusers of Mirai and the resulting success. Seems like the best possible turnout for all parties involved.

throwawaaarrgh 3y ago

It doesn't take a genius to hack something. It just takes a curious software engineer with time on their hands.

grandinj 3y ago

These teens convinced themselves that what they were doing was in some way "acceptable", and consequently caused quite a lot of damage. Other teens convince themselves that some shoplifting, or car stealing, or drug dealing is "acceptable". Why does the first group get a pass?

singleshot_ 3y ago
If our society was teetering in the edge of chaos because we couldn’t figure out how to prevent shoplifting maybe there would be a push to exploit the minds of people who can probe the dark mysteries of stealing Tide from CVS.

WaitWaitWha 3y ago

> Good to read a story where teen hackers get rehabilitated rather than heavily punished and pushed further into crime. That said, they don't really strike me as genius hackers. More just opportunistic and perpetually online. Rehabilitation is an excellent path, but removing consequences makes rehabilitation significantly less effective. It does not need to be either - or. It also furthers an apparent divide of justice system, irrelevant if it does or does not exists.