Nice article, right up until you actually consider, and attempt to rationalize, the act of publicly shaming someone for not being knowledgeable about computer security. If those videos got out, there's no telling what could happen to this woman's career and personal life. Your brother-in-law really should just be a decent human being and delete the pictures and videos.

Releasing or using credit card numbers obtained from this woman's computer would be illegal. The article basically says that releasing the photos and pictures could have consequences of a devastating magnitude.

Scott Granneman: I hope you were joking when you wrote the words, "... it's almost too bad that I won't publish your name and identity."

The truth is, before digital cameras and the internet, telling your buddies some gossip wouldn't be a big deal. The information would eventually be forgotten, because it would probably never be written down. Unfortunately, a picture is worth a thousand words, and all too easily, it can reach a world-wide audience. The dark part of our human nature that revels in others' embarassment has been granted unprecedented power, yet this primitive impulse is the same as it was thousands of years ago. "Punishing" this woman for her ignorance will not "teach the masses a lesson." It didn't teach the masses a lesson when the Star Wars Kid made his unintentional debut online. How about Dog Shit Girl from Korea? (see rotten.com)

The real causes of the situation described in the article are human nature and modern technology. A future article examining some solutions to this problem would sure be a good read, as well as a step in the right direction.

Whether they are true or false, spreading defamatory words, pictures, and videos has the same effect.

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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/424/34142#34142