Underground: Hacking, madness and obsession on the electronic frontierDreyfus, Suelette
Science
Underground: Hacking, madness and obsession on the electronic frontier
Dreyfus, Suelette
Computer crimes -- Australia; Computer hackers -- Australia -- Biography; Computer security -- Australia
Lesley Taylor summarised the punishments handed down to the other two
hackers. The judge did not look altogether pleased. Finally, he
announced he would deal with the case. `Two judges have had a crack at
it, why not a third one? He might do it properly.'
Galbally was concerned. As the morning progressed, he became
increasingly distressed; things were not going well. Judge Ross made
clear that he personally favoured a custodial sentence, albeit a
suspended one. The only thing protecting Mendax seemed to be the
principle of parity in sentencing. Prime Suspect and Trax had
committed similar crimes to Mendax, and therefore he had to be given a
similar sentence.
Ross `registered some surprise' at Judge Lewis's disposition toward
the sentencing of Prime Suspect. In the context of parity, he told
Leslie Taylor, he was at times `quite soured by some penalties'
imposed by other judges. He quizzed her for reasons why he might be
able to step outside parity.
He told the court that he had not read the telephone intercepts in the
legal brief. In fact, he had `only read the summary of facts' and when
Taylor mentioned `International Subversive', he asked her, `What was
that?'
Then he asked her how to spell the word `phreak'.
Later that day, after Judge Ross had read the other judges' sentences,
he gave Mendax a sentence similar to Prime Suspect's--a recorded
conviction on all counts, a reparation payment of $2100 to ANU and a
three-year good behaviour bond.
There were two variations. Prime Suspect and Trax both received $500
good behaviour bonds; Judge Ross ordered a $5000 bond for Mendax.
Further, Judge Lewis had given Prime Suspect almost twelve months to
pay his $2100 reparation. Judge Ross ordered Mendax to pay within
three months.
Judge Ross told Mendax, `I repeat what I said before. I thought
initially that these were offences which justified a jail sentence, but
the mitigatory circumstances would have converted that to a suspended
sentence. The sentence given to your co-offender caused me to alter that
view, however.' He was concerned, he said, `that highly intelligent
individuals ought not to behave like this and I suspect it is only
highly intelligent individuals who can do what you did'.
The word `addiction' did not appear anywhere in the sentencing
transcript.
CHAPTER 10 -- Anthrax -- The Outsider.
They had a gun at my head and a knife at my back; Don't wind me up too tight.
-- from `Powderworks' (also called The Blue Album).
Anthrax didn't like working as part of a team. He always considered
other people to be the weakest link in the chain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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