Aaron Swartz

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FBI: Anonymous Has Been Hacking Gov't Computers

Hackers have been stealing sensitive information for almost a year: FBI

(Newser) - For almost a year, Anonymous hackers accessed US government computers, the FBI revealed this week. The so-called "hacktivists" found a flaw in Adobe's ColdFusion website-building software that allowed them to get into machines at the US Army, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, and likely...

MIT Clears Itself in Suicide of Aaron Swartz

But internal report also finds faults with school's behavior

(Newser) - MIT has released its own internal report on the suicide of hacker activist Aaron Swartz , and the Verge highlights one anonymous quote it contains that seems to sum things up: "MIT didn't do anything wrong; but we didn't do ourselves proud." The report , by well-regarded computer...

Man Wants to 'Print the Internet'
 Man Wants to 'Print the Internet'
May 31, 2013 9:48 AM CDT

Man Wants to 'Print the Internet'

Art project to honor of Aaron Swartz

(Newser) - It sounds impossible—because, frankly, it almost certainly is—but Kenneth Goldsmith wants to print out the Internet. Or, more accurately, he wants you and everyone you know to print out whatever portion of the Internet strikes your fancy and mail it to him. "We just want shitloads of...

25 Years for a Minor Hack of a Website?
25 Years for a Minor Hack
of a Website?
OPINION
Mar 15, 2013 9:52 AM CDT

25 Years for a Minor Hack of a Website?

Feds overreach in Reuters case, as they did with Aaron Swartz

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors threatening Matthew Keys with 25 years in prison for helping hackers write some goofy vandalism on one LA Times story is so over the top that it's clear feds are just using "garbage charges" as a "bludgeon" to get a plea bargain, writes Justin Peters...

Warren to Regulators: Why Don't You Take More Banks to Court?

Senator makes a splash at first hearing; critics see grandstanding

(Newser) - Elizabeth Warren has kept a low national profile in her first month on the job as a senator, but that changed yesterday at a hearing in which she grilled federal regulators of Wall Street, reports the Boston Globe and MassLive . In the exchange getting the most attention, Warren noted that...

Anonymous Vows to Block Obama Speech Online

Hackers promise 'virtual blockade'

(Newser) - If you're trying to follow President Obama's State of the Union Address online tonight and run into trouble, this might be why: The hackers of Anonymous promise a "virtual blockade" of the speech during its live delivery, reports Salon . It's not clear exactly what that means,...

Anonymous Hacks US Site to Avenge Aaron Swartz

Government's sentencing agency is the target

(Newser) - The hackers of Anonymous have hit the website of the US Sentencing Commission in revenge for the prosecution of Aaron Swartz, reports CNN . The site ussc.gov remained down as of this morning. The hackers say they have stolen sensitive Justice Department files—naming them after Supreme Court justices—and...

Swartz May Have Been a WikiLeaks Source

Organization tweets that he 'assisted' and spoke to Julian Assange

(Newser) - Aaron Swartz may have been a WikiLeaks source, the group said on its Twitter feed over the weekend. In a series of tweets, WikiLeaks said that activist and hacker Swartz, who committed suicide earlier this month while awaiting trial on computer fraud charges, "assisted" the organization and "was...

Attorneys 'Hounded' Swartz to His Death: Dad

They 'don't understand the nature of what they did'

(Newser) - Lawyers pulled Aaron Swartz into a legal maze that ultimately killed him, the Internet activist's father tells the Los Angeles Times . Swartz "was hounded to his death by a system and a set of attorneys that still don't understand the nature of what they did," Bob...

Lawmaker Pushes 'Aaron's Law' After Suicide

Seeks to limit scope of computer fraud act

(Newser) - A Silicon Valley congresswoman wants to tone down the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to prevent what she sees as overzealous prosecution, reports the Guardian . Democrat Zoe Lofgren says "Aaron's Law" is in tribute to Aaron Swartz, the free-information Internet activist who killed himself last week. Swartz faced...

DA's Hubby Tweet-Bashes Swartz Family

While a state rep pens law to lower penalties for terms of service violations

(Newser) - Just three days after Internet prodigy Aaron Swartz committed suicide , the husband of a prosecutor who had sought to put the hacktivist behind bars slammed the deceased's family on Twitter, reports the Guardian . "Truly incredible that in their own son's obit they blame others for his death...

MIT to Review Case Against Swartz

Anonymous hits MIT site after Reddit co-founder's suicide

(Newser) - MIT has ordered a review of its case against Aaron Swartz amid accusations that the institution helped drive the 26-year-old digital rights activist to his suicide last week , reports Mashable . Swartz was facing up to 35 years in jail and $1 million in fines for allegedly downloading millions of academic...

Swartz Suicide: Proof Our Sense of Humor Is Fading

Tim Lee: Let's not lock up our unruly geniuses

(Newser) - Aaron Swartz's suicide left many of us grieving the loss of a brilliant Internet prodigy . It also showed that America has begun losing "the sense of humor that has made it the home of the world’s innovators and misfits," writes Tim Lee at the Washington Post...

Internet Prodigy Aaron Swartz Commits Suicide

Fought to make online information public

(Newser) - A huge name in the Internet world has killed himself, reports MIT newspaper the Tech . Aaron Swartz, 26, helped build Reddit , Creative Commons , and Demand Progress , co-authored the widely used RSS format at age 14, and "worked tirelessly to develop and popularize standards for free and open information sharing,...

Reddit Co-Founder Hacked MIT Archives: US

24-year-old faces 35 years in jail, $1M fine

(Newser) - A co-founder of Reddit is charged with hacking into Massachusetts Institute of Technology archives and stealing some 4 million scientific and academic articles. Aaron Swartz, 24, could face 35 years in prison and a million-dollar fine on federal fraud and other charges, the Boston Globe reports. Swartz, who worked at...

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