Techdirt poses the question as to how spammers should be punished, and notes the lack of decent sentencing guidelines and the like.

Maybe the courts should just wait until the spammer (or phisher) does something really, really idiotic, like try to recruit “processors” for their ill-gotten gains on Monster.com, and then sentence them for money laundering. I think there are some pretty decent guidelines on that end.

I agree, to an extent, with the commentary over at the Register that paints hackers as casual thugs. It is awfully easy to connect to a free wi-fi hotspot, phish away for a few hours, then disappear into the dark. However, I have a sneaking suspicion it won’t be that easy for that long. Exploits may take strange shapes, but if a guy like Kevin Mitnick (a smart cookie) can get tracked around by cell phone signal (and many years ago to boot) and eventually busted, then I doubt the weekend warrior thief is going to dodge the bullet of the law for too long.

Of course, with data thieves getting mere slaps on wrist for stealing from internet users, it is no wonder the crime is viewed so casually.

The Register just posted a review of a new book on the links between organized crime and internet fraud. Entitled Cyber Alert, and written by Peter Warren and Michael Streeter, the book delves into one of the issues Spamroll mentioned back in March.

The Register’s verdict: a thumbs up.