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Man 'stole nude photos from women's email'
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pcernie
Legend
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 12:30 pm Posts: 45931 Location: Belfast
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A California man has pleaded guilty to charges that he broke into the email accounts of thousands of women, scouring them for nude photos that he then posted to the internet. George Bronk, 23, was arrested in late October after police found evidence that he'd hacked into more than 3,200 email accounts. He used the same technique that Sarah Palin hacker David Kernell used to break into the former US vice-presidential candidate's Yahoo account: he scoured his victims' Facebook accounts for answers to the security questions used by web-based email services such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail. Then, posing as his victim, he would claim to have forgotten the account's password and try to answer the security questions that would let him back in. Often, the security questions are easy to guess. The questions Bronk faced asked him things like: "What is your high-school mascot?" and "What is your father's middle name?" Once in, he would change the account password - locking out his victim - and search for any racy photographs. If he found any, he posted them to the victim's Facebook profile. Of the 3,200 accounts he broke into, Bronk found nude or semi-nude photos in 172 of them, prosecutors said. In one case he persuaded a victim to send him even more explicit photographs by threatening to post the ones he'd stolen if she didn't. Bronk faces six years in prison on felony hacking, child pornography and identity theft charges. He entered his plea yesterday in Sacramento Superior Court. "This case highlights the fact that anyone with an email account is vulnerable to identity theft," California Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a statement. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.c ... ID=3256734Should that be 'womens' email'? Anyway, he did well to expose these slappers 
_________________Plain English advice on everything money, purchase and service related:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/
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Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:22 pm |
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belchingmatt
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 3:16 am Posts: 6146 Location: Middle Earth
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_________________ Dive like a fish, drink like a fish!
><(((º>`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸><(((º> •.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸><(((º>`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸><(((º>
If one is diving so close to the limits that +/- 1% will make a difference then the error has already been made.
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Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:28 pm |
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JJW009
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:58 pm Posts: 8767 Location: behind the sofa
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6 years for tapping keys on a keyboard and exposing a few stupid people's pictures? You get less for murder than playing such a relatively harmless little game 
_________________jonbwfc's law: "In any forum thread someone will, no matter what the subject, mention Firefly." When you're feeling too silly for x404, youRwired.net
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Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:51 pm |
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ShockWaffle
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:50 am Posts: 1911
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That's simple misrepresentation by switching levels of description. By the same standard of argument there's no qualitative difference between the songs of Jedward and a Nightingale (it's all just bags of meat making noise) I'm wondering if this may be factually inaccurate as well as a fatuous dismissal of a very creepy form of abuse?
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Fri Jan 14, 2011 10:01 pm |
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belchingmatt
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 3:16 am Posts: 6146 Location: Middle Earth
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Different country and no mention of prior convictions makes any comment probably inaccurate. However it used to seem to me that in this country you used to get a longer sentence for armed robbery than murder.
_________________ Dive like a fish, drink like a fish!
><(((º>`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸><(((º> •.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸><(((º>`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸><(((º>
If one is diving so close to the limits that +/- 1% will make a difference then the error has already been made.
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Fri Jan 14, 2011 10:08 pm |
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JJW009
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:58 pm Posts: 8767 Location: behind the sofa
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It may be creepy, but it should be considered inevitability that when an attractive girl emails naughty pictures of herself to someone, anyone, they will end up in the public domain. It's then simply a question of time before some "creep" posts them on Facebook. If you don't want embarrassing photos of you being shown in public, then it's rather stupid to take them in the first place let alone emailing them to people!
_________________jonbwfc's law: "In any forum thread someone will, no matter what the subject, mention Firefly." When you're feeling too silly for x404, youRwired.net
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Sat Jan 15, 2011 12:18 pm |
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ShockWaffle
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:50 am Posts: 1911
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The (questionable) fact that it's inevitable that there is some sick [LIFTED] out there willing to break into thousands of email accounts of innocent victims who he targets without their knowledge and expose them to sexual humiliation and blackmail does not make it harmless.
I really don't feel that this is the sort of activity where we can say that the victims are in any way responsible for the crime. Nor do I accept that simply allowing a revealing photo to be taken in private is tantamount to tacit permission to publish, even in the case of jilted spouses etc who might at least have access to the material without having to stalk their victim.
Sorry, but this nutter deserves to go to jail, his offence is anything but harmless, and you don't get less time for murder.
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Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:34 pm |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am Posts: 29240 Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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We have the Computer Misuse Act which is similar. He deserves a decent spell inside as a warning to others.
_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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Sat Jan 15, 2011 5:23 pm |
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JJW009
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:58 pm Posts: 8767 Location: behind the sofa
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To qualify the "harm" done; some people have been slightly embarrassed because something they chose to do has been made public knowledge. If you live your life assuming that everything you do will be known, then you'll be totally immune to this kind of embarrassment. It's about taking responsibility for your own actions, and not crying like a stupid whiny girl and making out that everyone else is wrong when you know it's your own stupid fault for doing it in the first place! There are plenty of people who wouldn't be upset by it at all. They've had nude photos taken, and they're proud of them. If these girls thought naked pictures were a crime, then that's a problem with their own brains and not anyone else's. To compare: imagine I defraud a bank, and then someone finds out and my actions are exposed. Who's fault is that? Oh no not mine, the police are invading my privacy! It's an absurd defence! Secrets are always bad karma. Openness and the acceptance of your own actions is always preferred.
_________________jonbwfc's law: "In any forum thread someone will, no matter what the subject, mention Firefly." When you're feeling too silly for x404, youRwired.net
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Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:32 pm |
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jonbwfc
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:26 pm Posts: 17040
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With all due respect, the vast majority do not live their lives in an entirely open way. And almost nobody conducts their lives assuming every action they take could become public knowledge at any time. Most people at least expect to have some control over what is made public about them and when.
In a purely abstract sense you're correct - if you never do anything you want to keep secret, you'll never be embarrassed. However for the major portion of people that's not really an option; it's like the idea that you will have a really easy life if you never tell a lie. It's true but we're all, to a degree, socialised to tell lies if only to save others from hurt & discomfort. So people, and I mean almost everyone, does have secrets and does do things which they only want to share with certain people and just saying 'well maybe they shouldn't have done that then' is an unfortunately somewhat crass argument.
It would be an interesting legal argument whether, even if the act of taking the photos were not itself illegal, he would be able to make the images public. We all have 'image rights' to ourselves - any photographer will tell you that, in strict legality, you're supposed to ask someone's permission before you take their picture, and in theory they could claim a portion of any money you might make off that picture. In practice that hardly ever happens, because professional models sign waivers as part of the contract of a job and it's almost impossible to find someone taken in a 'candid shot' afterwards. But if (for example) I was to take someone's picture and put it on the internet and then tell them I'd done so, they could technically sue me even if they knew I had the picture and had been a 'willing participant' but never agreed to public disclosure.
This speaks to my earlier point - the notion of 'image rights' suggests that the spirit of legality is that you have the right to control what is seen of you and by who.
Jon
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Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:33 pm |
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JJW009
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:58 pm Posts: 8767 Location: behind the sofa
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I think this notion varies greatly amongst different cultures. Before I deleted my Facebook account, I had pictures on there which I'd taken of friends at private functions. On no occasion had I asked for permission to either take the photo or to publish it. I think this is probably true of 90% of the millions of pictures on the website, many of which are tagged so it's very easy to find them! In my case, I "assumed permission" because most people knew I had a camera and that the most embarrassing shots were going to end up in public. If someone hadn't been aware, or found the publication particularly embarrassing then the reaction I'd expect would be for them to blush and say "I done got caught lol". Or maybe they'd punch me, which might be an entirely appropriate reaction depending on the picture! Either way, I would not expect any legal repercussions. With photos taken at public functions, my understanding of UK law is that what is seen in public is public and no permission is required to photograph it. I think there might be some odd caveats concerning how many people are present, but others here are far better informed than I am on this subject. I haven't a clue about the US laws. Back to the specific case, there are several aspects of what he did which are criminal. In particular the misuse of computers and the blackmail. I'm not condoning his actions. I do however think a good slapping would be a more appropriate punishment, rather than 6 years in prison. Prison is a terrible punishment which should be reserved for those who do serious crimes and cannot be treated in any other way. Prison too often takes people who might otherwise have contributed to society and turns them into monsters. It's wholly inappropriate in this case. He's not a thug; he's a very naughty boy.
_________________jonbwfc's law: "In any forum thread someone will, no matter what the subject, mention Firefly." When you're feeling too silly for x404, youRwired.net
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Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:11 pm |
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ShockWaffle
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:50 am Posts: 1911
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It is not appropriate for you to dictate how the victims of his actions should feel about it. You must be quite the exhibitionist if you assume that this is is limited just to slight embarrassment. Whatever pictures were taken, and for whatever reason, is none of my business, none of yours, and none of this depraved stalker's either. They may have been a result of drunken exhibitionism in some cases, but they might equally be a highly personal token of affection for a long distance lover, or God knows what else. What matters is that they are deeply personal, and the people who are properly involved in their manufacture and replication are aware of a specific context that matters very much to them. It not just the invasion of 3000 people's personal space that's wrong, it's doing so with the intention of taking their personal stuff and using it to get his disgusting end off. I don't know if his thrill was derived from a sense of massive superiority, or whether he just wanted something to look at while he stuck his hand down his trousers, but it's clearly disgusting. And that too has chilling implications for the women who were being blackmailed by some anonymous freak. They didn't know if they were being stalked and humiliated by a close friend, some creepy guy down the street, or some guy who had seen them without ever being seen by them. You must surely possess enough empathy to understand why that could be actually very frightening indeed, it's not just some trivial embarrassment to be compared to tucking one's skirt into one's knickers.
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Mon Jan 17, 2011 8:39 pm |
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paulzolo
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:27 pm Posts: 12251
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Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:03 am |
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Linux_User
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 3:29 pm Posts: 7173
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This guy deserves six years IMO, this is a serious invasion of privacy on a very large scale.
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Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:25 pm |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am Posts: 29240 Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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It is probably the blackmail that will guarantee him the long gaol time.
_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:50 pm |
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