A Site Where Hackers Are Welcome: Using Hack-In Contests to Shape Preferences and Deter Computer Crime
Brent Wible · The Yale Law Journal · 2003
While the Internet has revolutionized communication and commerce, it has also created the conditions for a type of crime that can be committed anonymously, from anywhere in the world, and with consequences that are unprecedented in scope. With the failure of traditional law enforcement methods to deal with these challenges, computer crime requires a new approach to thinking about deterrence. Focusing on a particular type of computer crime, unwarranted intrusions into private computer networks, this Note argues that “tailoring the punishment to fit the crime” might mean focusing on something besides punishment. It proposes a regulated system of privately sponsored “hack-in” contests to supplement the criminal law, which has proved inadequate at deterring computer crime. Computer crime comes in many varieties, including online theft and fraud, vandalism, and politically motivated activities. Other hackers simply try to break code, seeking challenge, competition, and bragging rights.