Peter said:
Maybe now that death is involved, they could charge the malware authors,
if found, with murder (1st degree if the malware deliberately attacks
only the devices involved in the deaths, 2nd degree if their "bomb"
caused the deaths but the author didn't specifically target the
responsible devices), or some felonious charge in abetting that murder,
like grave indifference, and maybe add a civil charge of $1M per death.
That would make a good case to use against other malware authors since
their intent is to infect hosts which could get used for critical
support devices, like in hospitals.
If the airline or airport had been US-owned or US territory, I'd bet the
FBI could deploy the Homeland measures (you know, the Patriot and
Victory Acts that are dismantling the US Constitution) against the
malware authors to classify them as terrorists. I still say capital
crimes should not be exercised in private. Make the execution very
public. Make it a random draw as to how the criminal gets executed. A
malware author up against a wall and getting shot by a firing squad and
getting aired on public television might cause other wannabe
proliferators of malware to think about what might happen to them. Sure
would beat the reality TV crap that's on now. Planting a bomb in the
middle of a corn field won't inflict the same punishment as planting it
in a crowded subway or high season at Disneyworld but the malware author
usually can't define where his crap gets deposited and it is still a
bomb wherever it ends up.
I'm cweanin' my gun now. I'm huntin' malware ..., er, wabbit.
