[i_cant_speel]

> Do they know, or do they automatically assume that people illegally accessing systems are criminals?

I'm not sure what distinction you are trying to make here. The fact that they are doing something illegal makes them criminals.

[na85]

>The fact that they are doing something illegal makes them criminals.

Not in all countries. In Canada at least, plenty of things are against the law (illegal) but do not constitute a criminal offence.

I'm not committing a crime when I break the speed limit almost every day on my way to work, but what I'm doing is still illegal.

[thisacctforreal]

Poor example, just a week ago a 19-year-old had his family's house raided for him scraping documents from a public gov't website.

https://evandentremont.com/some-information-on-the-freedom-o...

[nkrisc]

My hunch is the distinction they're trying to make is between criminals who steal data for nothing more than monetary gain versus those who would steal such data for more nefarious reasons, perhaps on behalf of a nation.