English language blog entry 1

Article: NZ teen hacker faces 10 years’ jail
Adapted from: The Straits Times, Saturday, 1st March 2008
Produced by: “Associated Press”

A New Zealander teenager was being charged with computer hacking crimes. Computer programmer Owen Thor Walker, 18, was arrested as part of an international investigation into a cyber crime network accused of infiltrating 1.3 million computers and skimming millions of dollars from victims’ bank accounts. The combined economic loss was estimated to be up to US$20million. The maximum penalty for him would be 10 years’ jail.

I think that the concept of this article was that people nowadays are coming into contact with computer technologies such as networking at a younger age. This article wrote about one implication of such occurrence, that teenagers who handled such technology may get themselves into trouble. In this case, the teenager is Owen Thor Walker from New Zealand, who had associated himself with a cyber crime network which created havoc to millions of computers.

This article was produced by “Associated Press”, an American news agency with wide influence in the media industry worldwide. In 2005, AP’s photography library consists of more than 10 million images. It operates 243 news bureaus and serves 121 countries, having employees from all over the world. This article is unlikely to have any error information or whatsoever, as AP had many information sources which provided information for the article.

When I read about this article, my first reaction was astonishment. Not only at the prodigious programming skills of which the teen had displayed, but also at the means of which he had decided to use his advanced programming skills. I always believe that the way a person acts is his choice. In this case, why did the teen choose to use his programming skills for criminal behaviours? I feel that this is a serious problem as it is possible that more and more teenagers will follow suit and misuse their programming skills.

I think that it may be due to the immature paradigm and the impulsive nature of a teenager, which resulted in Owen committing such an act.

As a teenager myself, I can fully understand the hormonal surges in a teenager’s body during puberty, which may result in mood swings and impulsiveness. It was possible that Owen decided to take part in the cyber crime network under such conditions, and he committed the crime without thinking much about the consequences of his actions.

Also, as Owen was a teenager, his mindset and thinking might be easily influenced by others, as he did not have a fixed paradigm yet. It was possible that Owen took part in the criminal activity partially due to the temptations from his friends and other social contacts.

One similar case would be the recent “Junior College Hacking Case” in Singapore, whereby the teenager had hacked the school’s computer system, only to take a glimpse at his peers’ results. Should he know about the seriousness of his actions and consequences, I am sure that he would have acted otherwise. Owen’s case might be a variation of that case.

Last but not least, I will like to express my views at the teen’s punishment. Quoted from Martin Kleintjes, head of the police electronic crime center in New Zealand, "He is very bright and very skilled in what he's doing." I think that it is rare for a teenage to have such a professional programming skill and I feel that Owen should be counselled or rehabilitated to prevent the waste of his talent in programming. I believe that Owen should be given a second chance. After all, every person makes mistakes.

The article can also be found online at:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NEWS28/71130014