PUNISHING THOSE WHO TRASH THE INTERNET

        Earlier this month, Jeffrey Lee Parson, a high school senior from a Minneapolis suburb, pleaded innocent in Seattle to federal charges he crippled more than 7,000 computers by modifying a version of the "Blaster" worm. The charges carry up to 10 years in prison.


My reply,

        Ten years should be the minimum sentence.  Law enforcement needs to crack down real hard on these felons and stop treating destruction via the Net as a prank or joke.  These people are engaged in very serious destruction and need to be made examples of, and I don't care what their ages are.  I have put a tremendous amount of work into several major areas that has entailed years of effort.  And when one of these miscreants destroys all I have created as a lark or otherwise, then there is no doubt in my mind that he or she should lose a comparable number of years behind bars at the bare minimum, especially when many others are experiencing the same deprivation.  I would also make sure the sentences were given wide publicity.  Above all, I would make it clear in no uncertain terms that I was as serious as a heart attack.  The Net is growing very rapidly throughout the world and represents the only effective means by which unheard voices can be heard by, and communicated to, thousands if not millions.  That is a major leap in the progress of mankind and if some lowlifes think they can obstruct the progress of humanity by creating viruses, worms, and the like to short-circuit the advance, then they need to be taught very powerful lessons indeed and early on.  We need to get that straight from the outset.  Of that I have no doubt.  The Net has become the most powerful medium in the world for little-guys like me, and I would grant no mercy to anyone attempting to forestall that tremendous enhancement.