Hacker news!

[caddmannq]

(From The Register )

Melissa Virus Author Finally Jailed

The author of the infamous Melissa virus was sentenced today to 20 months in Federal prison...

David L Smith, 33, pleaded guilty to creating the virus in December 1999...

...Judge Joseph A. Greenaway sent him to prison and imposed a $5,000 fine.

...damage from Melissa...$80 million, largely by jamming up
corporate email systems.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hmmm...$80 MILLION and he gets off with $5000 and less than two years. I think there should at least be a public flogging!

[TonTo]

viri writers should be hit, only once,....


BY EACH PERSON WHO GOT IT!

[jman01pa]

I actually benifitted from it. My side business, I picked up a few new custoers that either got it or were scared everytime their PC hiccuped...


J

[cadetstimp]

I wonder if he is banned from using computers after serving the jail sentence and if so...how long?

[Martoch]

That's the American Justice System at it's best...from all of the articles I've read about death row inmates...the FASTEST that any of them actually get put to death is 5 years after the death sentence is imposed! Most of them sit in death row for 8-10+ years...it's a shame really. I don't mean to change the subject, but this hacker is getting away with murder.

[daveleau]

Glad they didn't go overboard either way. I think he got what he deserved.

[Knothead]

Originally posted by daveleau
Glad they didn't go overboard either way. I think he got what he deserved.

I agree.
It's natural to get angry about the damage this ******** caused, (my first reaction was,,"oh? Eighty MILLION DOLLARS??? His sentence shall be...MAKE HIM PAY IT ALL BACK!!! )

But basically, his life is ruined. If you go to jail even for 6 months, you lose contact with your life. This is the horror of jail terms. It's like, your life is this river, and the jail time is a dam in that flow...and all of a sudden, your life stream has to find a whole different way to go....

A 20-month sentence is nothing to sneeze at. And I hope this arrogant, stupid, frustrated and victimizing virus-creating guy's fellow travelers take notice of this guy's fate!

'nuff said.

I am not defending this guy! <<<<---remember that!
But doesn't anyone else have any accountability? The junk that flies around corporate mailboxes is ridiculous.
The stupid jokes, pictures and executable files is nuts.
It's like a company gives someone email and they are worse than a hyperactive kid in Toys-R-us.
He wrote the virus, but everyone that had damage opened it.

He'll probably be hired in some high paying, ethical hacking, anti-virus R&D firm when he gets out lol

[cadetstimp]

Originally posted by Socalgal
He'll probably be hired in some high paying, ethical hacking, anti-virus R&D firm when he gets out lol

Heh heh...[sarcasim] I think Symantec asked for his resume already [/sarcasim]