Fri 28 Jul 2006
from PC-Welt
The operators of a Web site that allowed MySpace.com users to track their visitors have been charged with trying to extort US$150,000 from the popular social networking site.
Shaun Harrison, 18, and Saverio Mondelli, 19, both of Suffolk County, New York, were arrested last Friday after traveling to Los Angeles to meet with undercover agents posing as MySpace employees, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office said in a statement, released Wednesday.
The meeting was part of an shakedown attempt, the DA said, and the two have now been charged with illegal computer access and extortion. If convicted, the teenagers could face more than four years in prison. MySpace had blocked Harrison and Mondelli’s software earlier this year. After it did that, the defendants allegedly threatened to release new “unbreakable” code unless MySpace paid $150,000, the DA said.
2 Responses to “Alleged MySpace hackers arrested”
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July 29th, 2006 at 1:00 am
i can understand the extortion part, but how is knowing who is viewing your profile illegal?
what’s next? fines and jail time for looking out your window to see who’s looking at your house?
July 29th, 2006 at 7:44 am
What you’ve got to remember is that you own your house where as, you don’t own your MySpace profile. You’re sort of a guest on MySpace property and they have the right to decide what code you post on their servers. While this case seems to be trivial, I’m willing to bet that MySpace probably plans on implementing its own feature of this type in the future; some premium feature of something. Any threat of someone else providing it for free has to be stopped (from their business point of view, not mine).