Andrew Auernheimer and Daniel Spitler were able to gather the email addresses of 120,000 Apple iPad users when they hacked into AT&T’s website in June 2010. AT&T acknowledged a flaw in its website. Messrs. Auernheimer and Spitler fell victim to hubris and bragged publicly (i.e., in non-secure sites) about their cyber space prowess. Their boasting also referenced Goatse Security, an unincorporated association of what prosecutors estimate to be ten internet hackers. Mr. Auernheimer wrote in one e-mail about their AT&T conquest, “Serious like [sic] this is valuable data.†The two young men were arrested on January 18, 2011 and charged with unauthorized access and fraud in the use of personal information.
The federal prosecutor in the case stated, “Hacking is not a competitive sport and security breaches are not a joke.†Those in the internet security field responded, “Criticism should be leveled at both sides,†and “AT&T’s site wasn’t sufficiently secure.â€[1]
I guess when we don’t lock our doors, we have a burglary coming. And when we don’t have a car alarm, well, is that the thief’s fault? Hackers should watch “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.â€Â The beginning of the movie shows a chagrined Butch (the late Paul Newman) bemoaning the new security at the banks he once robbed so easily.Â
Butch: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â What happened to the old bank? It was beautiful.
Guard: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â People kept robbing it.
Butch:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Small price to pay for beauty[2]
Butch is forced to resort to train robbery, but Mr. E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific Railroad steps us his security, via Woodcock the dedicated clerk and a band of professionals charged with hunting down Butch and Sundance. Butch is forced to go international (Bolivia), where security is not so good. Once the Bolivian banks catch on, he and Sundance become payroll guards. When that ends, well, so do they. Taking from others is not a sustainable career. Security measures follow; hacking and taking end. Oh, that these young men would put their skills to work. Make Goatse a company, do a little advertising, and get busy showing potential clients their vulnerabilities.  Obtaining customers through mockery on the internet is not a sustainable business model. Indeed, it is DOA, at least until the felony charges are resolved.
Some final words of wisdom from Sheriff Ray Bledsoe to Butch and Sundance:
“I never met a soul more affable than you, Butch, or faster than the Kid, but you’re still nothing but two-bit outlaws on the dodge. It’s over, don’t you get that? Your times is over.â€
Hacking is still a two-bit crime even when there is low-hanging fruit.
Â
[1] Chad Bray, “Hackers Are Arrested in iPad Breach,â€
Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2011, p. B1 at B5.
[2] “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid†(1969).
About mmjdiary
Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD.
The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards.
Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio.
She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.
In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles.
Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
