[VSpike]

Much more detail here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60864283 The BBC claims that the 16yo was doxxed by others in his group after falling out with them. They also say that security researchers have been tracking him for at least a year.

[that_guy_iain]

Honestly, that little kid is gonna be in for a hard time. I can't see a way they don't give him a prison sentence for this. Being 16 means he would be 17-18 when convicted and therefore going to a Young Offenders Institute - which are basically gladiator schools and with them saying in the news he has millions, the kids in the YOIs will harass him to try and get some of the money even if it was seized since they'll think there is still some lying around.

But nice to see the old homage of "You can spend millions on security but some teenager in a bedroom is still going to hack you." is still true.

[bennyp101]

So hypothetically, you could be arrested at 14, it takes a while to go through the system , then at 18 you get tried as an adult?

Or do you get tried as a minor but sentenced as an adult?

[that_guy_iain]

So in the UK there are different things that happen depending on your age for the majority of crimes.

In Scotland:

0-6 - Nothing, not criminally liable. 6-16 - Gets sent to the children's panel and they'll normally waive it off. 16+ - Adult court.

In Scotland they're an adult at 16.

In England:

0-10 Nothign, notcriminally liable. 10-18 - Youth Court for minor stuff, crown court for major stuff.

In England they're an adult at 18 but they still end up in the normal system when they're above 16 as far as I understand. (I'm Scottish, so most people I knew who went through that system did it in Scotland)

And in the UK there are time bars, so if you get arrested and charged they have to have you in court in a certain amount of time. Unlike in the US system, the game of delaying going to court doesn't work or even really allowed. The court date is set and that is when it goes to court. And if you were arrested for something at a certain age then you would be convicted based on that as far as I know. However, if you get arrested at 20 and convicted once you're 21 you go from a YOI to a HMP. There is no real difference other than the HMP is more relaxed as older convicts don't feel the need to prove themselves daily.

[qeternity]

> Unlike in the US system, the game of delaying going to court doesn't work or even really allowed.

I’m not saying this doesn’t happen, but the US has strong protections for this…certainly stronger than the UK.

[that_guy_iain]

I am not sure what you're referring to but the strategy of delaying going to court is a may strategy used in US Courts. The state may have to be able to go to court within a speedy time but it doesn't stop the defendant delaying it.

Secondly, no the US protections are not stronger than the UK. The UK protections are that strong that if they don't get you to court in a certain amount of time they can't convict you. It's 6 months if you're held in custody and longer if you're on bail. It's quite common from my understand via documentaries of prison/jails that people spend a year in jail waiting for their trial and it's possible for multiple years if bailed.

[stefan_]

Underage, autistic, first offender, no real damage to claim? Sounds like a referral order.

[that_guy_iain]

A crime of this order with the money damages? 6 months jail sentence. That’s what other kids got. If he was 15 it would have been better for him. 16 is where is goes to the normal justice system.

[aaomidi]

The fact that we just accept this as how it's gonna be is honestly disgusting.

I'm not saying you're accepting it. Just us as a society.

[eutropia]

> “Under his online moniker "White" or "Breachbase" the teenager, who has autism, is said to be behind the prolific Lapsus$ hacker crew“

An autistic teenager is the head of Lapsus$? And his parents thought he was just playing games on his computers…

I do hope this is one of those cases where he can get his priorities realigned towards white hat work.

[Miner49er]

I wouldn't be surprised if the US tries to extradite him and throw him in an American prison for a decade or two.

[iso1631]

Jup, just like Lauri Love, years of anguish with threats to go to a punitive jail system not aimed at rehabilitation or even simply protection, but designed for punishment and profit.

Of course when US citizens kill people in the UK they just claim diplomatic immunity and flee the country.

[mikeodds]

For anyone wondering about the diplomatic immunity reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Harry_Dunn

The collision became the subject of a diplomatic dispute when Sacoolas left the country shortly after the incident and the US embassy said she had diplomatic immunity as the wife of a US agent working in the UK.[8][16][14][29] According to Sky News someone at the US embassy told Sacoolas to leave the UK.[30] The Washington Examiner reported that Jonathan Sacoolas did not work for the National Security Agency, and that the Sacoolas family lived in Northern Virginia in the area of the Central Intelligence Agency Langley headquarters.[31]

Dunn's parents were advised by two leading specialist lawyers on diplomatic immunity, Mark Stephens and Geoffrey Robertson. They advised that Anne Sacoolas was not entitled to diplomatic immunity, as her husband was not listed as a diplomat. Furthermore, they contended, diplomatic immunity no longer applied upon Sacoolas's return to her home country; therefore, it would be possible to take civil action in the US courts. The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, also stated that diplomatic immunity no longer applied.[32][33] Dunn's parents decided to travel to the US to "fight for change" and seek the return of Sacoolas to the UK.[34]

[extheat]

I think that's more of a quirk than anything, they were able to leave the country before getting charged for the act. They were directly related to someone with the US government (CIA) which muddied the water. If it were a normal citizen, they probably wouldn't be afforded the same special treatment.

[throwawayh3h3ti]

"If it were a normal citizen"

That's the funny bit, she is a normal citizen. She wasn't working for the CIA, it was her husband. Which is a slap in the face to the family of the boy who was killed.

[JumpCrisscross]

> designed for punishment and profit

Containment. The American model is deterrence and containment. (With a healthy dose of profit.)

[floor2]

From HN guidelines:

> Eschew flamebait. Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents

> Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity

The above comment clearly violates both of these

[aaomidi]

The comment is also true and is talking about a real fact that America conducts extra judicial killings around the world and generally has no care for civilian life.

It's disturbing to see mentions of this simple fact get attacked.

[aaomidi]

The US apparently has agreements with UK that they can pick and choose anyone to serve their sentence in the US.

It's pretty ridiculous. UK is not really an independent country anymore.

[blibble]

you'll note that Lauri Love was not extradited, over protests from the US government

the US can demand what they want, but it still goes through our courts

same for Gary McKinnon