Your analogy is slightly off. A wave is an act of nature: this is more along the lines of a jealous kid who knocks down someone else's sandcastle because he can't build his own.
"I don't get angry at my dog when he shits in the house. Being angry at something that can't understand only satisfies the urge to shift blame."
While some HN posters might feel the the 16 year olds involved in this incident have the same mental capacity as your dog, I'd like to give them slightly more credit. ;)
I can only speak for myself here, but I do think the people involved in compromising PHP Fog should be punished. No, I don't think they should get life in prison (</hyperbole>): I hope they can learn from their mistakes. However, they did commit a crime, as they've admitted both here and elsewhere online. They should be capable of understanding that their actions have consequences, so I think some consequences are in order. What those consequences should be is up to PHP Fog.