crime

'FRED': a CSI detective's best friend

First, we admit to some potential bias here: We're not huge fans of CSI, in whatever location--Miami, New York, Vegas, Walla Walla--so perhaps we're missing something here. Still, we can't help but think that this product is an indication that some people might be getting a wee obsessed with the whole forensics craze. (The fact that forensics can constitute a craze is disturbing enough as it is.)

Digital Intelligence's "Forensic Recovery of Evidence Device," or FRED to its friends, and its related "On Location" equipment are designed to accompany you to the … Read more

Germany's new antihacking law: Bad for security?

As of Saturday, it's a crime in Germany to build, sell, distribute or obtain so-called "hacking tools" designed to allow access to protected data or promote other illegal acts.

The intention of the lawmakers, who proposed the item last year and passed it in late May, was to crack down on attacks on government and private-sector computer systems. Penalties include prison sentences of up to 10 years and fines, IDG News Service reports.

But some security industry representatives are worried the law will actually make the nation less safe because they believe it'll be more difficult … Read more

What is wrong with this system?

In a recent story picked up by the Associated Press, a young girl of 19 was brought up on charges for recording twenty seconds of the popular Transformers movie. The reason: she wanted to show her little brother something. And while she admitted to recording the brief twenty second clip, she did assert that she had no intention of reselling the material.

So, for recording a brief twenty second clip, what can the poor girl expect in punishment? Up to one year in the slammer and a $2,500 fine! Oh, and in case you're wondering, there are people … Read more

Spamming Net drug dealer gets 30 years in prison

AOL once deemed an infamous Minnesota spammer named Christopher William Smith "the poster child for the Can-Spam Act."

A federal judge in his home state on Wednesday had a new name for the convicted junk mailer: "drug kingpin." He sentenced Smith to 30 years in prison for multiple charges stemming from his highly lucrative online drugstore, whose illegal sales brought in about $24 million, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reports.

U.S. authorities originally arrested Smith in 2005 on the belief that he had moved his business, called XPress Pharmacy, to the Dominican Republic after his … Read more

Suspect named in Tacoma house-trashing incident

We all remember the story of the giveaway house in Tacoma. Somebody posted an ad on the Seattle area Craigslist inviting folks to take away whatever they could find inside an otherwise unremarkable home. The response was eager and effective. Woodwork and fixtures vanished out the door. What was left was trashed. The incident aroused much online interest.

There was some police interest as well. Tacoma police told CNET News.com there would be criminal charges filed. And now the accused hoaxer, the person who invited the world to trash, has been charged.

Police have accused Nichole M. Blackwell, 28, … Read more

Saving the world with your phone and the Internet

Witnessing a crime in New York is unfortunately common. Luckily, so is having a camera phone.

To take advantage of that, last Wednesday New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a program that lets witnesses of crimes or other "dangerous living conditions" use their camera phones to transmit images or video to the police by using 911 or by uploading their shots to the city's Web site.

I propose New York creates a mashup of sorts. Think Flickr and Yelp together. A place that lets people easily tag and geotag their media, along with creating an easy … Read more