Electronic Crime and Punishment

The technology that graces our modern era, like so many other human advances, is a double edged sword. A most pertinent example is electronic mail. This past week a Yeshiva University student was accused of sending death threats to professors, some of which were sent through e-mail accounts belonging to other students at YU.

Though it is understood that the student was not expelled but for the content of his e-mails, we hope that this event will also serve to highlight that hacking into e-mail accounts will not be taken lightly.

Breaking into someone’s account is akin to and perhaps worse than breaking into someone’s dorm room. It gives the offender access to an individual’s personal information and the ability to perpetrate further crimes under the accountholders name.

Just as students feel safe after locking their dorm room doors, so to students should feel safe that their e-mail accounts are equally protected. The Yeshiva University Student Handbook warns against any unethical conduct over the Internet or e-mail and the time has come to enforce those warnings. As account break-ins become more frequent, we urge the University to begin addressing the seriousness of these offenses by taking real actions against these crimes.