~*~*FBI agent charged with Hacking*~*~

[RogueSpy]

Aug. 15 — In a first in the rapidly evolving field of cyberspace law, Russia’s counterintelligence service on Thursday filed criminal charges against an FBI agent it says lured two Russian hackers to the United States, then illegally seized evidence against them by downloading data from their computers in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/563379.asp

Do you think what this agent did was right or wrong? I dont know what to think about it.

[Palemoon]

Well if I recall was here in Seattle that they pulled off the sting. The FBI set up a front and lured the two to Seattle and they showed their stuff. They had key logging programs and the two logged into thir own accounts for what ever reason. The FBI then used the logged info to go on a hunt through their accounts. To me it is a matter of entrapment but then the complete details of how it all worked has not really been reported, only they used key loggers and they got their login info that way. Sort of like if law enforcement come to my house am sure they could find something wrong even though I don;t break the law.

[cwk9]

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Once you start letting law enforcement break the law, things quickly turn to corruption and abuse of the system.

[Terr]

I guess we'll see, it depends on the details of how the FBI did it. But, as they say, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Who watches the watchmen? And what kind of international mandate does the FBI have? Shouldn't that be the CIA's work?

[allenb1963]

I'm kind of looking at it in the same way I look at a speeding ticket. If a cop sees you doing 75 in a 55, after he turns around he has to do 90 to catch up with you...breaking (in a sense) the same law you broke in order to catch you and execute his duty. The difference is that he has a legal mandate that allows him to do so provided he follows the proper procedure...valid radar reading, lights, siren, etc. As long as the FBI acted within the criteria laid out by the justice system there should be no problem. As to whether they did or did not act within said criteria, I do not know....that one is up to the court system.

[The Old Man]

"Trickery" is not the same as "Entrapment": Entrapment attaches when the agents of government think of a criminal act then put it in someone's mind and encourage them (to whatever degree or with whatever method) to act on it, then pinch them for doing it. One example of "Trickery" is when the cops do a "sting" operation to catch someone who is already over the line, at least in the opinion of the agency they work for. Then come the attorneys, judges, and juries...
If you remember the "Delorian" (sp) case, you might get a headache trying to figure that one out. Glad i was not on that jury, i hate headaches.

[Evil Moo]

I don't see much of a problem with this. It's comparable to casing suspects and criminals from state to state/ country to country. They were in pursuit and got the offender and served justice. There are exceptions to every rule. Ends justify the means. For the greater good so-to-speak.