Yesterday, Barrett Brown was hit with a third indictment. The first indictment that Brown faces is from 2012 when he shared a link to a private Internet Relay Chat (IRC) that provided 5,000 credit card numbers that had been obtaining illegally by Anonymous hackers. The charge does not suggest that he was involved in obtaining the data itself but rather copying and pasting a file that is publically available to those within the IRC. The credit card information was linked to numerous Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) customers and employees that was stolen and put up online for anyone to see during the notorious HBGary hack of December 2011. This indictment is particularly frightening because it de facto criminalizes providing links online. By this logic, those who link to the original source may be charged along the similar lines.
The third indictment that Brown faces is for two separate counts. The first count is “obstruction: concealment of evidence.” The Dallas Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is claiming that he knowingly concealed two laptops computers that containing records, digital data, etc. that would influence the investigation and proper administration of justice in this case. The second count is “obstruction: corruptly concealing evidence.” This alleges that Brown knowingly corrupted digital data and records, which impair the integrity and availability of the records before the federal Grand Jury in Texas.
Barrett Brown faces 45 years in prison and $3m in fines for these charges and relations to the Stratfor hack and Anonymous in general. I felt this story was important to write about, albeit very briefly, due to the events of the past week. From the criminalization of Aaron Swartz to the treatment of concerned students, such as Hamed Al-Khabaz, and now yet another indictment for Barrett Brown, a number of concerns come to mind.
Questions:
- How should governments and security agencies respond to linking that contains illegal or private data but yet is publicly available?
- Does the punishment fit the alleged crimes for Aaron Swartz, Hamed Al-Khabaz or Barrett Brown?
- How should society differentiate criminal acts from hacktivism?
References:
Barrett Brown’s response on his first indictment
Barrett Brown indictment (October 1, 2012)
Barrett Brown indictment (Jan 23, 2012)
