Another case study:

The next time 44-year-old David Jeansonne sits at a PC, he will make sure to resist his impulse to send malicious programs and phony e-mails to unsuspecting people. On Monday, U.S. District The next time 44-year-old David Jeansonne sits at a PC, he will make sure to resist his impulse to send malicious programs and phony e-mails to unsuspecting people. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte ruled that this middle-aged hacker will spend 6 months in prison and get an additional six months of home detention. He will also pay a fine of USD $27,100 to Microsoft after he is released as a result of this court order.The hacker had pled guilty of sending e-mails with a malicious program as attachment to about 20 Web TV (now known as MSN TV) users in July 2002. His e-mails lured recipients into downloading the attachment saying it would improve the colours of their Web TV display. In reality, the file was a script which programmed the device (used to connect to the Internet) to call 911 emergency services instead of the routine local telephone number to access Microsoft’s WebTV servers. WebTV (MSN TV) is a Microsoft service which allows users to connect to the internet using their TV sets.As many as ten people were lured by the mail which resulted in local police departments around the country rushing officers to the homes of WebTV users in response to the 911 calls. Jeansonne was caught following an investigation and subsequently charged with offenses of intentionally causing damage to computers and causing a threat to public safety. He was prosecuted by the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) unit of the United Sates Attorney’s Office.Earlier this month, the CHIP unit had managed to get an admission of guilt out of another hacker Robert Lyttle who defaced government websites with material obtained from hacking such sites. ruled that this middle-aged hacker will spend 6 months in prison and get an additional six months of home detention.
He will also pay a fine of USD $27,100 to Microsoft after he is released as a result of this court order.The hacker had pled guilty of sending e-mails with a malicious program as attachment to about 20 Web TV (now known as MSN TV) users in July 2002.
His e-mails lured recipients into downloading the attachment saying it would improve the colours of their Web TV display. In reality, the file was a script which programmed the device (used to connect to the Internet) to call 911 emergency services instead of the routine local telephone number to access Microsoft’s WebTV servers. WebTV (MSN TV) is a Microsoft service which allows users to connect to the internet using their TV sets.
Jeansonne was caught following an investigation and subsequently charged with offenses of intentionally causing damage to computers and causing a threat to public safety. He was prosecuted by the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) unit of the United Sates Attorney’s Office.

My opinion:What Jeansonne had done was really wrong.He did not have respect for the law at all.By doing this,police have wasted valuable time and if there was really an emergency in other places,the police force will then not have enough manpower to assist those who really needed help.As a result,lives could also be lost.Jeansonne might have done this in a moment of folly but if there was really an emergency he could live to regret for life......