Comments on: How I almost got a Criminal Record

By: Südtirol

Südtirol — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:35:09 +0000

Täler und Berge Südtirols...

Herbstzeit ist Wanderzeit. Und die dauert auf der Südseite der Alpen meist länger als auf der Nordseite......

By: John Saunders

John Saunders — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:47:31 +0000

It's not "Harass and Arrest". It's arrest, and aid the prosecution in obtaining a conviction.

By: jlutes

jlutes — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:36:02 +0000

When did the cops in this world change their job description? How did they go from "Protect and Serve" to "Harass and Arrest"?

By: Simon Sheehan

Simon Sheehan — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:22:53 +0000

Getting compensation sounds like a good part to this :D Although I'd like to hope my ISP wouldn't drop this kind of thing on me ever

By: slhck

slhck — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:25:22 +0000

@Not On Your Side - I know there is an ongoing argument of what to tell the police and what to hide. But that's another way to see it and of course it could be argued that I would know what I was doing if I attempted to hack someone's profile. But how many people "know" about Facebook and E-Mail? In my age group, probably almost everybody. Also, you imply that I was admitting that I routinely "hacked", which is plain wrong. That's something you obviously should never say.

What would you have done? Said absolutely nothing and risked to go straight to court? Saying nothing if you know you're not guilty will maybe buy you time but most certainly get you in front of a judge.

In the case of a trial I'd gotten support from several people, including established university personnel, who also work in the telecommunication industry. They could have provided an expert's opinion on how such systems can fail. It's a shame though our jurisdiction has not yet fully arrived in the 21st century when it comes to that. We have several non-political organizations that focus on data privacy protection. They'd assist as well -- it's just the lack of exemplary cases that makes it so hard to understand for a Judge what's really going on.

By: simoncpu

simoncpu — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:54:32 +0000

I envy your country. You have competent police.

~Guy from the Philippines

By: Not On Your Side

Not On Your Side — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:51:39 +0000

What you don't understand is that the police are not - and were not - on your side. That officer who seemed so friendly was jotting down notes with which to convict you, using your own testimony against you as evidence.

Officer: "And then he admitted to me that he had an iPhone and was very skilled at using it. And then he admitted to me that he knew how 'Facebook' and 'email' worked. He admitted he had a mobile contract with TelCo and routinely used it for accessing the internet and 'hacking'. Furthermore, we obtained direct from the TelCo the IP address that he used to hack into the system, and it was the very same IP address assigned to his iPhone."

Judge: "Guilty!"

Your post could just as well have gone on to say "And that's how I ended up getting six months in prison and two years of probation for a crime I didn't commit."

You did something dumb - talked frankly and extensively to someone planning to use those words against you in a court of law - and lucked out. Your own actions almost imprisoned you but you were saved by external forces beyond your control.

By: friend

friend — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:38:14 +0000

The fact they sent you a letter, you actually have a criminal record, just nothing discriminating.

By: slhck

slhck — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:13:01 +0000

@tgx True! However back then, tethering with the iPhone was not possible yet with that Telco as far as I'm concerned.

By: tgx

tgx — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:05:43 +0000

You could have used tethering ;)