I'm not arguing that punishments for hacking are fair or proportionate to the crime. All I was saying is that the hacker who carried out this hack will have kn

I'm not arguing that punishments for hacking are fair or proportionate to the crime. All I was saying is that the hacker who carried out this hack will have known that punishments for this sort of thing are very severe, and, consequently, I don't feel sorry for them. When you commit a crime, regardless of whether you think it causes damage or that the punishment is fair, you're still accepting the risk of receiving said punishment. I do think that demanding some actual, demonstrable financial cost be presented before a hacker can be tried is an extremely dangerous precedent, though. A real world analogy would be if I pick the lock and enter your house without your consent, stand in your room watching you sleep, then leave, all without causing any damage. I haven't caused you any financial damage, but I should certainly be arrested and charged for it.