Prompt Cast
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: A Controversial Law and its Impact on Hackers
TLDR This episode of Reply All explores the case of Matthew Keyes, who was convicted of hacking and is now facing jail time. It delves into the broad and controversial Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and its potential for abuse by prosecutors, as well as the failed push for reform known as Aaron's Law.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
This episode of Reply All discusses the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the case of Matthew Keyes, who was convicted of hacking and is now facing jail time.
03:10
Matthew Keyes confessed to giving a hacker access to the LA Times website, resulting in a short-lived and meaningless hack that no one knows if anyone saw.
06:36
Matthew Keyes confessed to hacking the LA Times website while in his bedroom, and the cost of the hack increased from $5,000 to $18,000 during the trial.
09:52
The cost of the hack increased to $929,977, but the defense argues that a five-year sentence would be ridiculous for changing a few words on a website and that the matter should be settled in a civil court, not a criminal court.
13:21
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is a broad and controversial law that is easy to use against people who aren't necessarily hackers, but whom authorities want to put in prison, and it has been used in cases such as the cannibal cop and a man who stalked women through prayer groups and used his position at the IRS to access their personal information.
17:13
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is a broad law that criminalizes unauthorized access, which can include violations of terms of service on platforms like Facebook or using someone else's Netflix account, and organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Demand Progress are concerned about its potential for abuse by prosecutors.
20:06
Aaron Swartz was indicted for downloading academic journal articles from JSTOR, faced 13 felonies, and a potential 35 years in prison, but ultimately took his own life before the trial began, sparking a push for reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) known as Aaron's Law.
23:20
Aaron's Law, a push for reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), failed to gain traction due to the support of law enforcement and private companies, while the Obama administration sought to expand the CFAA to increase sentences and broaden the definition of unauthorized access.
Categories:
Technology
Society & Culture
