Supposing that everything in the indictment is in fact true, the amounts of money involved relative to the bank robbery industry suggest that Hutchins is not a big time criminal in proportion to the publicity surrounding the case. The upside of going after Hutchins has to be worth the political cost of arresting someone considered a hero by many. And his abandonment by the UK government has to be worth it as well. The indictment suggests less money changed hands than does in the purchase of an AutoCad license...and we are talking about banking.
Or to put it another way, Hutchins' resume seems like it might make him an attractive candidate to some firms in the security industry. That also makes Hutchins attractive to the intelligence communities. And though UK prisons are surely unpleasant, the US Federal system almost certainly can offer much less attractive options to incentivize cooperation.
Threatening someone with criminal prosecution is a great way to get them to flip on their friends.
Threatening someone with criminal prosecution is an incredibly shitty way to recruit them for security work. (But does play up to the ego of engineers. Multiple government agencies are willing to organize and carry out a massive conspiracy because they want the skills of someone like me!)
Also worth noting that no diplomatic goodwill is burned when you arrest and try a foreign national of a crime they committed against your citizens - when your actions qualify as a crime in both countries.
If I rob an American, I don't get an out of-jail free card just because I'm a Canadian in the US. Likewise, my government won't even issue a squeak of protest.
I suspect that if cooperation cannot be secured with the threat of prison time, tying the conditions of actual imprisonment to the degree of cooperation provided would be the next object lesson regarding his career. On the other hand, it would not surprise me if Hutchins was predisposed to act in the interest of national and international intelligence and law enforcement agencies...they are certainly among the places doing the most interesting and most professional malware production and defense for causes that people can often get behind. And Hutchins is a young man who does not seem particularly inclined toward entrepreneurship.
Prosecutors told a Las Vegas court on Friday that Mr
Hutchins had been caught in a sting operation when
undercover officers bought the code. They claimed the
software was sold for $2,000 in digital currency in
June 2015. [1]
Hutchins actions that brought him to fame suggest a willingness to act in the British national interests.
Comments
Or, maybe the guy was just involved, perhaps peripherally and by accident or perhaps directly and culpably, in a banking trojan scheme.
Supposing that everything in the indictment is in fact true, the amounts of money involved relative to the bank robbery industry suggest that Hutchins is not a big time criminal in proportion to the publicity surrounding the case. The upside of going after Hutchins has to be worth the political cost of arresting someone considered a hero by many. And his abandonment by the UK government has to be worth it as well. The indictment suggests less money changed hands than does in the purchase of an AutoCad license...and we are talking about banking.
Or to put it another way, Hutchins' resume seems like it might make him an attractive candidate to some firms in the security industry. That also makes Hutchins attractive to the intelligence communities. And though UK prisons are surely unpleasant, the US Federal system almost certainly can offer much less attractive options to incentivize cooperation.
Threatening someone with criminal prosecution is a great way to get them to flip on their friends.
Threatening someone with criminal prosecution is an incredibly shitty way to recruit them for security work. (But does play up to the ego of engineers. Multiple government agencies are willing to organize and carry out a massive conspiracy because they want the skills of someone like me!)
Also worth noting that no diplomatic goodwill is burned when you arrest and try a foreign national of a crime they committed against your citizens - when your actions qualify as a crime in both countries.
If I rob an American, I don't get an out of-jail free card just because I'm a Canadian in the US. Likewise, my government won't even issue a squeak of protest.
I suspect that if cooperation cannot be secured with the threat of prison time, tying the conditions of actual imprisonment to the degree of cooperation provided would be the next object lesson regarding his career. On the other hand, it would not surprise me if Hutchins was predisposed to act in the interest of national and international intelligence and law enforcement agencies...they are certainly among the places doing the most interesting and most professional malware production and defense for causes that people can often get behind. And Hutchins is a young man who does not seem particularly inclined toward entrepreneurship.
Hutchins actions that brought him to fame suggest a willingness to act in the British national interests.[1]: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40833951
I mean, I guess sometimes that's how we recruit people in the security industry? That and job ads on LinkedIn?
I was thinking of Frank Abagnale [1] mostly. And Sneakers a little.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Abagnale