The Falcon's View

Everybody knows that the "Dummies" series of books are really aimed at the high-end market, right? Apparently so. According to this story, a teenager in Wisconsin has been arrested for "hacking" his school's computer systems (though no indication of damages has been provided). As part of the arrest, his copy of The Internet For Dummies (Internet for Dummies) was seized as evidence. Ummm... yeah. That's right, you heard me, local LE there thinks that Internet for Dummies is a 1337 h4X0r tome ("elite hacker tome"). Sure it is. Good job super-cops! :) They'd better move swiftly to ban that dangerous hacking book!

Not to let you think that all the truly hard-core tech criminals are based in Wisconsin, you might also check out this lovely story about a teen in Iowa who brazenly stole a girl's iPod, holding it ransom with the demand that she be taped doing naughty things and provide said tape for his own "entertainment" purposes. The genius of course included his email so that she could email over the mpeg with great haste. Now, physical security concerns aside, not exactly the brightest bulb.