1. So when American citizens break the laws of other countries those other countries are entitled to apply their laws as they see fit? What happens when an American is caught selling drugs in Thailand (a la Midnight Express), or when an American is caught stealing in some countries (cut of their hand)?

2. Everybody has the right to basic privacy (UN). Whether those rights apply to a particular activity depends upon the law in that country and the activity itself - see point 1. As for your employment rhetoric; remind me never to apply for a position in your company.

Back to the topic at hand; while I do not condone the activity of the Russian hackers, the FBI agents broke Russian law by hacking into the computers in Russia. The FBI agents even broke common US law by doing so, however under US law they are protected by their employment status (but this does not hold true in Russia). Therefore I believe that the Russian government would be quite within it's rights (possibly even it's duty) to attempt to extradite the FBI agents responsible and prosecute them under Russian law. You cannot have one side of a coin without the other.

This gets back to the basic arguments about where a cyber-crime is actually committed; in the country where the computer/data is located or in the country where the perpetrator is located? What happens if either or both are in international territory? What happens if the injured party is not happy with the law under which the "offence" is committed?


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