Some of you may have already seen the story, but it's interesting none-the-less.
It sounds completely ridiculous, but on the other hand just because something is virtual it doesn't mean it has no value. It would be a much more interesting world if more 'virtual crimes' could be punishable as real crimes. Obviously there are already provisions for hacking, but they definitely have a different connotation.
As to this specific issue, for instance, if the dude gave her his un and pw and didn't change it before 'divorcing her' then I don't see how this is a case of hacking by anyone's definition. On the other hand, it is wrong. (But he probably still deserved it =x)
I think the whole idea that she was jailed for "virtual murder" is press hype. The article clearly goes on to state she was jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data. Virtual persona or not, this is illegal. There's no mention of "virtual murder" charges.
If she had logged on a remote server and deleted his thesis he was completing she could have gotten a similar charge. I think the charge, in actuality, shows how the law *does not* view "virtual murder" as anything but destruction of data.
24 Oct, 2008, David Haley wrote in the 3rd comment:
Votes: 0
Great example of a dumb/sensationalist headline making people thing the article is about something it really has nothing to do with. :sad: The issue here is one of hacking, and has nothing to do with what was being hacked.
"The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character."
Using information given to you does not hacking make. If you GIVEsomeone your keys and they use them to enter your home is that breaking and entering?
Dumbness of the article aside, which - yes - I agree is sensationalist and written in as inflamatory and ridiculous a way as possible, I wanted to talk about the potential underlying issue.
24 Oct, 2008, David Haley wrote in the 5th comment:
Votes: 0
Vassi said:
If you GIVEsomeone your keys and they use them to enter your home is that breaking and entering?
If you forbid them from entering your home, well, it's trespassing at the very least.
If I have somebody's company login and do something under their login that I'm not supposed to do, I'm not magically excused just because I happened to have been given the login.
Using information given to you does not hacking make. If you GIVE someone your keys and they use them to enter your home is that breaking and entering?
In some states, yes. If you didn't give permission for them to enter, it's treated the same as if they'd stolen the keys from you and used then to gain entry. I dare you to try this in Texas, where it's legal to shoot someone for breaking into a neighbor's house as long as you've been given permission to defend the property by said neighbor. Risky business. :)
Much like I suspect the hacking charge here will be treated as an illegal account access because she could be seen as having stolen the password.
i think that once she does something he would not want done with his account, it becomes illegal. even after they "divorced" she could have gotten on his character and racked up 100,000 quest points without his knowledge and that would not be seen as illegal. but the thing is, almost every single website, game, etc. tells you DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR PASSWORD TO ANYBODY FOR ANY REASON. i would think this would make what she did to his account his fault cause he was stupid enough to give someone else access to something he cares about. it's really hard to choose a side on this case for me. lucky for me i'm not stupid enough to trust anybody with my passwords so i don't have to worry about that situation.
Usually it's just a case of, "Well, you gave out your password, it's your fault".. However, with all the Korean MMORPG style games, we should know how serious they take their games.. lol
25 Oct, 2008, David Haley wrote in the 9th comment:
Votes: 0
I don't view it as entirely stupid to give your spouse something that is important to you even if it is of a sensitive nature. I would hardly blame anybody who shared bank account login information etc. with their spouse.
Just because someone gave you the information doesn't mean you won't go to jail. Ask Kevin Mitnick.
Quote
If you GIVEsomeone your keys and they use them to enter your home is that breaking and entering?
I don't think that breaking and entering is at issue. I think that destruction of property is. If I give you my key and you use it to access and destroy my stuff without my permission, then yes, it's still a crime.
I don't view it as entirely stupid to give your spouse something that is important to you even if it is of a sensitive nature. I would hardly blame anybody who shared bank account login information etc. with their spouse.
Maybe not, but they were married in-game, not in real life.
25 Oct, 2008, David Haley wrote in the 12th comment:
Votes: 0
Hmm, I guess that's what I get for reading the article too quickly.
Some of you may have already seen the story, but it's interesting none-the-less.
It sounds completely ridiculous, but on the other hand just because something is virtual it doesn't mean it has no value. It would be a much more interesting world if more 'virtual crimes' could be punishable as real crimes. Obviously there are already provisions for hacking, but they definitely have a different connotation.
As to this specific issue, for instance, if the dude gave her his un and pw and didn't change it before 'divorcing her' then I don't see how this is a case of hacking by anyone's definition. On the other hand, it is wrong. (But he probably still deserved it =x)