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A reporter who faced potential hacking charges for viewing website source code in his browser can rest easier now that Missouri officials have decided not to prosecute him.
This month, Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson announced no charges would be filed in conjunction with the revelation that Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE) website exposed the Social Security details of educators.
"There is an argument to be made that there was a violation of law," said Thompson in a statement [PDF]. "However, upon a review of the case file, the issues at the heart of the investigation have been resolved through non-legal means."
Last October, Josh Renaud, a reporter for the St Louis Post-Dispatch, found that a website run by the DESE exposed the Social Security numbers of school personnel. He did so by examining the client-side source code of the website, which is publicly viewable by anyone with a web browser.
www.theregister.com
This month, Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson announced no charges would be filed in conjunction with the revelation that Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE) website exposed the Social Security details of educators.
"There is an argument to be made that there was a violation of law," said Thompson in a statement [PDF]. "However, upon a review of the case file, the issues at the heart of the investigation have been resolved through non-legal means."
Last October, Josh Renaud, a reporter for the St Louis Post-Dispatch, found that a website run by the DESE exposed the Social Security numbers of school personnel. He did so by examining the client-side source code of the website, which is publicly viewable by anyone with a web browser.
Missouri ends effort to prosecute 'view source' journalist
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