According to some experts, “cyber-crime” is the fastest growing category of criminal offenses in the United States – possibly in the entire world. What, however, qualifies as a cyber-crime? Put simply, cyber-crime is a crime committed using the internet and/or a computer. If you have been accused of a cyber-crime in Boston there is a good chance you are facing federal criminal offense charges instead of, or in addition to, charges filed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. By some estimates, … [Read more...]
A Cyber War on Terrorists or Teenagers?
Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer Kevin J. Mahoney: The War on Cyberterror and Prosecutorial OverreachWhile the current administration has announced—prematurely by most estimates—that the War on Terror has been won, it is focusing efforts on an aggressive campaign against so-called cyberterrorism. Few would dispute that cybercrimes take the form of terrorist acts in some cases, but the new war on cyberterror is achieving the dubious success of putting often minor hackers into federal penitentiaries. … [Read more...]
U.S. Attorney Drives Swartz to Suicide
Boston Criminal Defense Attorneys at the Mahoney Criminal Defense Group Discuss Aaron Swartz and Prosecutorial OverreachDefendants facing charges these days—even non-violent ones—often become victims of a prosecutorial practice that has grown into a many-headed hydra. The idea is to pile as many charges as possible onto the defendant, make him believe he is facing extensive prison time, and then little by little offer to remove charges in return for a plea agreement. The purpose may be to … [Read more...]
Anonymous Strikes Back for Death of Aaron Swartz
In the News: Hacktivists React to Aaron Swartz’ Death An update from Boston criminal defense lawyer, Kevin J. Mahoney In a previous post (1/17/13), I discussed the death of Aaron Swartz – computer prodigy, internet freedom activist, and federal defendant. Swartz committed suicide earlier this month. At the time of his death, he was facing federal criminal charges for allegedly downloading millions of pages of documents from the JSTOR website, with the intent of making them available for free … [Read more...]
The Aaron Swartz Case: Prosecution or Persecution?
Sometimes events in the news demand the attention of every Boston criminal lawyer. The case of Aaron Swartz is one such event.BackgroundIn July 2011, Aaron Swartz – computer prodigy; co-creator of RSS technology and Reddit; and internet freedom activist – was indicted on charges related to hacking into JSTOR, a subscription-based collection of scientific and literary journals on the MIT network. Most of the journals would interest only a small fraction of the population. Mr. Swartz was accused … [Read more...]
