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From: spaf@cs.purdue.edu (Gene Spafford)
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Subject: Re: Legion of Doom Rebuttal to Moderator
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Date: 21 Mar 90 16:14:05 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 193, Message 1 of 8


Let me point out that the investigation that resulted in the four
indictements of the LoD folks has also included a number of other
indictments and arrests.  All of this APPEARS to be one large-scale
investigation into a pattern of repeated collaboration for purposes of
illegal activity (in legal terms, criminal conspiracy).  The
information I have available from various sources indicates that the
investigation is continuing, others are likely to be charged, and
there MAY be some national security aspects to parts of the
investigation that have yet to be disclosed.

Now maybe there are one or two people on the law enforcement side who
are a little over-zealous (but not the few I talk with on a regular
basis).  For someone to be indicted requires that sufficient evidence
be collected to convince a grand jury -- a group of 23 (24?  I forget
exactly) average people -- that the evidence shows a high probability
that the crimes were committed.  Search warrants require probable
cause and the action of judges who will not sign imprecise and poorly
targeted warrants.  Material seized under warrant can be forced to be
returned by legal action if the grounds for the warrant are shown to
be false, so the people who lost things have legal remedy if they are
innocent.

The system has a lot of checks on it, and it requires convincing a lot
of people along the way that there is significant evidence to take the
next step.  If these guys were alleged mafioso instead of electronic
terrorists, would you still be claiming it was a witch hunt?
Conspiracy, fraud, theft, violations of the computer fraud and abuse
act, maybe the ECPA, possesion of unauthorized access codes, et. al.
are not to be taken lightly, and not to be dismissed as some
"vendetta" by law enforcement.

Realize that the Feds involved are prohibited from disclosing elements
of their evidence and investigation precisely to protect the rights of
the defendants.  If you base your perceptions of this whole mess on
just what has been rumored and reported by those close to the
defendants (or from potential defendants), then you are going to get a
very biased, inaccurate picture of the situation.  Only after the
whole mess comes to trial will we all be able to get a more complete
picture, and then some people may be surprised at the scope and nature
of what is involved.


Gene Spafford
NSF/Purdue/U of Florida  Software Engineering Research Center,
Dept. of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-2004
Internet:  spaf@cs.purdue.edu	uucp:	...!{decwrl,gatech,ucbvax}!purdue!spaf