Trojan Defense Hard to Break

SAN
FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Prosecutors looking to throw the book at accused
computer hackers have come across a legal defence expected to become
even more widespread in an era of hijacked PCs and laptops that threatens
to blur the lines of personal responsibility: the computer did it.

In one case that was being watched as a bellwether by computer security
experts, Aaron Caffrey, 19, was acquitted earlier this month by a London
court on charges of hacking into the computer system of the Houston Pilots,
an independent contractor for the Port of Houston, in September 2001.

from Reuters