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The visitors were from the FBI, and after a 90-minute search of his house, they left with his computers, only to return two months later with handcuffs. Now free on bond, Huddleston, 26, is scheduled to appear in a federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia on Friday for arraignment on federal charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting computer intrusions.
Huddleston, though, isn’t a hacker. He’s the author of a remote administration tool, or RAT, called NanoCore that happens to be popular with hackers. NanoCore has been linked to intrusions in at least 10 countries, including an attack on Middle Eastern energy firms in 2015, and a massive phishing campaign last August in which the perpetrators posed as major oil and gas company. As Huddleston sees it, he’s a victim himself—hackers have been pirating his program for years and using it to commit crimes. But to the Justice Department, Huddleston is an accomplice to a spree of felonies.
Depending on whose view prevails, Huddleston could face prison time and lose his home, in a case that raises a novel question: when is a programmer criminally responsible for the actions of his users? “Everybody seems to acknowledge that this software product had a legitimate purpose,” says Travis Morrissey, a lawyer in Hot Springs who represented Huddleston at his bail hearing. “It’s like saying that if someone buys a handgun and uses it to rob a liquor store, that the handgun manufacturer is complicit.”
A conviction will set a sweeping legal precedent whereby car manufacturers can be sued if a car is used to kill, or a paper manufacturer can be sued if a scrap of paper is used to pass a ransom note.
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Profit!
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Snotnose on Saturday April 01 2017, @01:43AM (3 children)
There was something on the news about some hackers got the CIA hacking tools and put them on some obscure website, WillieLeaks or somesuch. We also know the FBI and the NSA have tools like this, can we arrest them as well?
I mean, the law is the law. If you work in "law enforcement" then breaking the law should at least mean double penalties.
Amirite?
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 01 2017, @02:54AM (2 children)
Holding law enforcement and spies accountable? Nice April Fool's joke!
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 01 2017, @03:51PM (1 child)
9 mm?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 03 2017, @03:04PM
kevlar