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What crimes are applicable to software engineers, then? I don't think there are any laws punishing you from writing bad code, nor are there laws addressing data theft or security misconfigurations. GDPR applies against companies and not individual people, as far as I can tell.

Would the only valid crimes be related to computer hacking?

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> Would the only valid crimes be related to computer hacking?

Not necessarily. When working for a fintech or a bank, financial crimes can be very relevant. Writing bad code is, lucky me, not directly punishable as a crime.

I could assume hacking, fraud, corporate espionage, etc. along with info relevant to the software (i.e. if you make banking software I'd assume fiscal crime would be at least somewhat relevant)

Hacking would probably be a plus for a software enginer. They know how to debug systems.

Espionage, theft, and violent crimes... That's a different situation (I don't want someone coming after me after I liter their PR with comments)

Sure, and embezzlement might be a plus for a very specific finance job, namely, searching for evidence that embezzlement has happened.

Point is that it's relevant under those circumstances, and fair play for an employer search. Drunken and disorderly is not.

> Hacking would probably be a plus for a software enginer. They know how to debug systems.

They also apparently have poor judgement and/or security practices, if they got themselves convicted under CFAA or similar. And possibly questionable moral integrity depending on what and how they were hacking.

Background checks are not intended to evaluate skills but to find risks. Having a hacking conviction is generally not a positive signal.

I know a guy who spent a year in federal prison on bogus wire fraud charges for an article published in a hacker magazine. He was afraid it would cripple his career, but the opposite was true. He's now the chief technologist at a major CDN and his prison time translated into a badass semi-legendary hacker image.

Whereas if they're convicted for hacking, they'll only go after your digital assets/devices, so... no worries? After all, hacking convictions are a plus.

A charge of 'hacking' is like a charge of 'breaking and entering'. They could have cracked a bank vault mission-impossible style, or maybe they threw a brick through the window.

For all you know, they could have 'hacked in' via the password on the post-it on their coworkers monitor.

I threw a brick through a bank vault. Does that qualify?

Writing an entire operating system in an inherently insecure language?

This seems to be a pretty popular crime.

If you write software for banks, than all the crimes a banker could commit are easy for your to hide in code. If you write software for pharmacies then you can probably figure out how to to get any prescription you want to abuse into the system.

>What crimes are applicable to software engineers, then?

Ever see office Space? ;-)

>Would the only valid crimes be related to computer hacking?

Or willingly install Windows Server facing the internet directly, that would be the other one ;)

"Directly facing the internet" is a legitimate Windows Server configuration scenario for some use cases.

Yes a Honeypot...but i thinks that's it.

DirectAccess and Web Application Proxy are 2 actual examples.

Yeah just leave me out of your projects please ;)

I would think any crime inflicting bodily harm is relevant, as long as you work near people with bodies.

What you said implies that any person that has committed a violent crime remains a danger to other people, forever - and should also be punished, forever.

This is what the American justice system is like.

In a saner world, (only) people who are a danger to others would be separated from the society, and being set free would be and indication that you are no longer a danger.

In the US, being released from prison signals you are more dangerous than if you got away with your crime.

It may be that it's not a criteria for not hiring them, but never-the-less something you want to keep an eye one once you do. And perhaps something you want to ask them about at interview.

I dunno, it takes a lot more than a fistfight to get put in prison for violent offense. Sure people can change but only a solid work history or trusted recommendation can give you any real confidence. You may have to fire this person, or they may have to report to an abusive manage for some period of time. Some offenses are difficult to walk away from untainted.

The summer after I graduated from HS a kid I knew got into a fist fight in the parking lot of a bar. He was punched once and he went down and cracked his skull on the curb and died.

The person who hit him was charged with manslaughter.

Wow, that’s tragic

>I dunno, it takes a lot more than a fistfight to get put in prison for violent offense.

Citation needed.

Conversely, someone who was already willing to violently attack another person is probably much more likely to do it again?

They’ve likely also noticed that the time they spent in the funhouse afterwards was not so fun after all. So even if this were true (which I don’t think it is), they might think twice about going at it again.

If someone is more likely to do it again because they are mentally unstable, they shouldn’t be released.

Crimes of passion are a thing.

Most people will attack another person, if sufficiently provoked.

Perjury maybe? A lot of compliance relies on truthful reporting by employees.

I don't know of specific cases where a programmer was prosecuted, but I believe that knowingly and negligently leaving holes in compliance-heavy health technology (HIPAA) could result in prosecution.

In the United States "Unauthorized use of a computer" is a felony.

Scrollbar hijacking should be 20 years to life.

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