The summer of 2007 appears to be a hot one for reports of cybercrime. In a one-week period in early August, these five reports of convictions or charges relating to a wide spectrum of IP and Internet-related crime were noted:
As if to underline the significance of news stories such as these, on August 13 the Science and Technology Committee of the British House of Lords issued a report (Personal Internet Security Report) asserting that the Internet was now "the playground of criminals".
For the Christopher Smith article, visit:
http://www.startribune.com/467/v-print/story/1337623.html
For the Jhannet Sejas article, see:
http://tinyurl.com/yo9sv9:
For the Internet pharmacy article, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/3xykqk
For the Timothy Hall article, see:
http://tinyurl.com/37kyjk
For the Harry Potter online posting in France, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/yur6gm; and
http://tinyurl.com/3xww7c
For a news report regarding the UK Personal Internet Security Report, see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6938796.stm
Summary by: Oren Weichenberg
- Christopher Smith, dubbed a web-based "drug kingpin" by a US Federal Court in Minneapolis, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy, illegal distribution of drugs, money laundering and operating a "continuing criminal enterprise", after running an illegal Internet pharmacy that sold about $24 million worth of pharmaceuticals;
- Jhannet Sejas was arrested and charged with illegally recording a motion picture in Arlington, Virginia. The 19-year-old Ms Sejas filmed a short clip of the movie "Transformers" on a digital camera, in order to show it to her younger brother, she said. She faces a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a fine of $2,500;
- Eighteen people, including three doctors and two pharmacists, were charged in San Diego with racketeering and related offences in relation to an Internet business that illegally sold prescription drugs. The business, using servers in Cyprus and Costa Rica and payment services in Israel, allegedly sold drugs to customers who lacked prescriptions from a personal physician;
- Timothy Hall, convicted of criminal copyright infringement in Mt Vernon, Illinois, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $1,200 fine, for the unauthorized sale of video games on his web site; and
- A 16-year-old high school student in France was arrested and charged with illegally posting his own French translation of the latest Harry Potter book on the Internet. (It was later reported that the charge was withdrawn).
E-TIPS® ISSUE
07 08 15
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