Cisco has a man wrongly imprisoned over a civil case

[Alyeska]

Ars Technica article

A week after his arrest and imprisonment, Adekeye appeared before British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Arne Silverman, a six-year veteran of the province's highest trial bench. Adekeye was described as a "sinister" figure of uncertain citizenship on the run from 97 charges of illegal computer hacking that carried a penalty of almost half-a-millennium in prison.

Canadian prosecutors said that, according to US Homeland Security, Adekeye slipped in and out of the US surreptitiously—and they could match up the dates of the offenses with dates he had unlawfully entered the country over a two-year period.

They made it sound like the crime of the century; in fact, throughout the specified time, Adekeye was living in America on a valid visa. And the heinous crime was accessing Cisco's internal systems on several occasions with a Cisco employee's permission.

As he stood in court for his first appearance, Adekeye couldn't believe what he heard—his citizenship was disparaged, his achievements derided. Prosecutors portrayed him not as a successful computer executive and innovator but rather as a Nigerian scofflaw who was a serious flight risk with a checkered, fugitive's past.

Justice Silverman was told the Canadian government had invoked the emergency provisions of the Extradition Act to obtain the arrest warrant—this case was that important and urgent. The judge who had issued the warrant had heard a similarly misleading story about Adekeye, who has held British citizenship since 2004; US prosecutors claimed they didn't have time to file a full extradition request because Adekeye might flee the country.

You have to read the whole article. Cisco was undergoing an Anti-Trust suit at the time and this individual was one of the driving forces behind it. Cisco mislead US prosecutors in order to deliberately get them to try and hit this man with trumped up charges. In turn elements of the Canadian system just blindly followed along with the whole charade. In my opinion, Cisco itself is guilty of false imprisonment because they deliberately caused this situation with this goal in mind through their blatantly false allegations. 500 fucking years imprisonment? What the fuck. Seriously.

I will not do business with Cisco until I hear contrite apologies for their grievous actions.

[Xenophobe3691]

That is fucking disgusting. That the US prosecutors went along with it is a damning indictment of just how corrupt our Legal system is; Justice, it is not. This abuse should have been aborted at the earliest opportunity; instead this man's life was nearly ruined. The part that gets me the most is how he even petitioned President Obama and didn't get the time of day. In-fucking-credible.

[Eulogy]

I will not do business with Cisco ever again.

Fixed. What makes you think they will sincerely apologize, let alone pay compensation that they are not forced into? They pulled this shit over fourteen fucking thousand dollars, and said shit is undoubtedly much more expensive.

[Alyeska]

I will not do business with Cisco ever again.

Fixed. What makes you think they will sincerely apologize, let alone pay compensation that they are not forced into? They pulled this shit over fourteen fucking thousand dollars, and said shit is undoubtedly much more expensive.

I make reasonable allowances. That the company might not be reasonable is out of my control and just means I won't do business with them.

[Eulogy]

I will not do business with Cisco ever again.

Fixed. What makes you think they will sincerely apologize, let alone pay compensation that they are not forced into? They pulled this shit over fourteen fucking thousand dollars, and said shit is undoubtedly much more expensive.

I make reasonable allowances. That the company might not be reasonable is out of my control and just means I won't do business with them.

This stunt is like a sixth-grader trying to kill you over a chocolate bar. You make all the allowances you wish, but Cisco owning up is very improbable, to put it politely.

[Stofsk]

I cannot believe how this isn't a crime and the people who signed off on this aren't themselves in the shit, or at the very least getting fired. Utterly disgusting.

[Alyeska]

Deliberately lying in order to instigate false imprisonment and legal proceedings should be a significant crime. Anyone remotely connected to this should be fired and people should spend prison time over this. The DA that got duped by Cisco should be demanding blood. Instead the prosecutor seems completely indifferent to having fucked with someones life over something so asinine.

[Simon_Jester]

I'm pretty sure it is a crime; the real problem is finding a charge and assembling the political will to make it stick

[ComradeClaus]

I hope Anonymous or Lulzsec fries Cisco w/ LOIC & their other nefarious goodies, this is a just target if any.

& yeah, the US has an evil 'justice' system (Supreme Court is no different), that's why guys are always going postal & building Killdozers & shooting up judges.

[KlavoHunter]

I hope Anonymous or Lulzsec fries Cisco w/ LOIC & their other nefarious goodies, this is a just target if any.

Unlikely. Cisco would be one of the toughest nuts on the internet, for very obvious reasons.

[Metahive]

I hope Anonymous or Lulzsec fries Cisco w/ LOIC & their other nefarious goodies, this is a just target if any.

Do injustice for justice? How's random vandalism the answer here, that seems just like tough-guy BS for me. Cisco behaved despicably here but doing the electronic equivalent of inciting and sending out a mob out to smash their offices up is despicable as well.

& yeah, the US has an evil 'justice' system (Supreme Court is no different), that's why guys are always going postal & building Killdozers & shooting up judges.

?

[K. A. Pital]

He's referring to Marvin Heemeyer, the Killdozer builder.

Do injustice for justice?

His principal justice concept is "eye for eye", from what I've seen of him posting on the board.

[weemadando]

I hope Anonymous or Lulzsec fries Cisco w/ LOIC & their other nefarious goodies, this is a just target if any.

Do injustice for justice? How's random vandalism the answer here, that seems just like tough-guy BS for me. Cisco behaved despicably here but doing the electronic equivalent of inciting and sending out a mob out to smash their offices up is despicable as well.

The main reason I would like anonymous or whoever to get on this is exposure. Most mainstream media can't get enough of the crazy hacking kids story.

And if that draws attention to this?

[Purple]

?

I think his point was that the American justice system sucks horrifically. And he uses the many acts of people getting sick and tired of it, snapping and killing people in insane acts of vandalism and revenge as proof. And I have to say considering the topic here he makes a good case.

[The Yosemite Bear]

I'm going to state again that some of these companies need to get hit with RICO charges, how about Kidnapping, and False Imprisonment, along with tampering in a legal case?

[Metahive]

I think his point was that the American justice system sucks horrifically. And he uses the many acts of people getting sick and tired of it, snapping and killing people in insane acts of vandalism and revenge as proof. And I have to say considering the topic here he makes a good case.

I think however that replacing a corrupt justice system with vigilante mob action is a less than ideal solution.

[TheHammer]

When the judge handling the antitrust suit was informed of the problem, Cisco was offered the opportunity to depose Adekeye in Switzerland or Britain. But a request would first have to be made to the government in either country and the cost of such an undertaking would be considerable. Cisco balked. As a result, the court chose Vancouver—a short flight from San Jose and a city in a country that apparently didn't have to be informed of a foreign judicial hearing occurring on its soil. Vancouver fit the bill: easy to get to, no complications, and inexpensive. Cisco agreed.

Far from trying to avoid a showdown, Adekeye, denied legal entry to America, flew from Zurich to Vancouver to testify. Early on May 20, however, after two days of hearings, Cisco officials in California swore out a criminal complaint against Adekeye based on the allegations of illegal computer access.

According to a later ruling from a US judge overseeing the Multiven/Cisco litigation, Adekeye had in fact used a Cisco employee's login credentials (with the employee's permission) to access Cisco's secure internal network on multiple occasions. Adekeye "admitted that his reason for accessing Cisco's secure website was to gather information about which Cisco employees have access to 'bug fixes,'" wrote the judge. Adekeye said that he believed the Cisco employee's authorization constituted "permission" to access the network, but the judge disagreed that this was a reasonable belief to hold.

Based on this charge, Cisco complained to federal officials and told US authorities that Adekeye had left their jurisdiction but was in Vancouver and might flee.

Cisco issued a brief statement in response to my inquiries. "The US Secret Service issued a criminal complaint after nearly two years of investigation alleging that Mr. Adekeye violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 97 distinct instances, and as a result a federal judge signed an arrest warrant for Mr. Adekeye," it said. "Ultimately, this case is a matter between US and Canadian governmental authorities.

"Cisco also sued Mr. Adekeye based on evidence that he, the CEO of Multiven and an ex-employee of Cisco, stole information and software from Cisco using a current employee's credentials. The judge in that case found that Mr. Adekeye's conduct violated the federal anti-hacking statute."

Ok, the article is clearly biased om Mr. Adekeye's favor, so you need to take most of the opinion presented with a grain of salt. From the facts that I can discern, it seems the article conflates two entirely separate issues. One being the lawsuit "valued more than $14,000", the other being the 97 alleged hacking incidents (presumedly all against Cisco, but i didn't see any definitive action).

Maybe I missed it, but where in the article does it say Cisco lied about anything?

Basically, it seems to me the guy did illegally access Cisco's systems and reported as such to U.S. authorities who then initiated the criminal proceedings. For those same incidents (presumedly), it seems Cisco sued him for it in a separate civil case. Which is why the hacking indictment continued even after the civil suit was dismissed. As noted by Cisco's statement buried in the article, it was a matter between the U.S. and Canadian governments.

Maybe you could argue that prosecutors were over-zealous, but again the particulars of this case are noticebly absent. Regardless of that fact, I don't think you can simply throw up your hands about "Evil Cisco" for reporting a crime that was, by Mr. Adekeye's own admission, perpetrated against them.

[Rogue 9]

I'm curious, then. If Cisco did nothing wrong, why in the hell did multiple judges say it did when bringing the whole thing to a close?

[TheHammer]

What "multiple judges" are you referring to? Reading the opinion of the sole judge in extradition matter http://www.multiven.com/media/news/pdfs ... 1_2011.pdf seems far more critical of the U.S. assistant district attorney, who clearly did not have his facts in order regarding Adekeye's citizenship. That's not Cisco's fault.

Look, did Cisco stand to gain from his indictment? Sure they did, but the fact remains Adekeye did illegally access their system, and steal proprietary information. It would seem clear that Adekeye isn't "totally innocent" despite what the article would lead you to believe. He may not be a bank robber, or a terrorist, but he was involved in what would appear to be corporate espionage with a co-conspirator inside Cisco. White collar crime is still crime.

Everyone seems to think that just because the civil suit was dropped that somehow retroactively validates Adekeye's actions in that regard. It is likely they dropped the civil action as part of the process to simply make it "go away", sometimes companies do that. Its also possible that a settlement for damages was wrapped up in the unreleased details of the antitrust settlement which is why Adekeye's company didn't get any money out of the deal.

Everyone also seems to think that because he was granted a stay of extradition that the "case was over". However, it would seem to me that if Adekeye ever did set foot in the U.S. he would be arrested and indicted as I've seen nothing indicating that charges were dropped. Would he get 500 years? Not likely, but he could get the 5 years suggested by the Judge in his ruling to grant a stay.

[Purple]

I think his point was that the American justice system sucks horrifically. And he uses the many acts of people getting sick and tired of it, snapping and killing people in insane acts of vandalism and revenge as proof. And I have to say considering the topic here he makes a good case.

I think however that replacing a corrupt justice system with vigilante mob action is a less than ideal solution.

I agree with you on that. <lame joke> But than again you already did that. It's called democracy. </lame joke>

[ComradeClaus]

?

I think his point was that the American justice system sucks horrifically. And he uses the many acts of people getting sick and tired of it, snapping and killing people in insane acts of vandalism and revenge as proof. And I have to say considering the topic here he makes a good case.

Exactly right, Purple, plus, remember, Anon awakened the world to Teh Evulz of the Church of Happyology & it's deranged prophet, Tohm Cruise. I mean, who polices the police? If corrupt companies, judges & politicians support each other behind closed doors, who will save us? Anon & Steven Colbert (& wikileaks whistleblowers), that's who. The world needs a little playful chaos to keep it healthy & honest. (Evar hear about the "Oprah over 9000" troll?) America was FOUNDED on rebellion against corrupt govt, since reforn from within was unlikely at the time & took centuries to occur in Britain. The "wretched hive of scum & villainy" of the internet & it's lolcatz denizens are Big brother's worst enemy. & don't assume that cisco is immune, anon hacked a site that was a computer security site that prided itself at being invincible, yet anon utterly destroyed it. anon also took down the Australian govt in Operation T*tstorm. They also attacked the banks embargoing wikileaks

They're like Navy Seals w/ computers. (as you can guess, I love reading their "An" heroic escapades. But I lack the 1337 h4x0r skillz & Ballz of Steal to be one.)

[Imperial528]

A well-managed and well-regulated system can take care of corrupt politicians and shitty justice just as well. It will usually be slower, but it's results will be real and last longer. A bunch of internet tough guys and vigilantes can't make long-lasting change. Good leaders, a well informed voting population, and healthy exercise of the right to protest and the right to petition will. Not a bunch of foolish vigilantism.

[ComradeClaus]

He's referring to Marvin Heemeyer, the Killdozer builder.

Do injustice for justice?

His principal justice concept is "eye for eye", from what I've seen of him posting on the board.

Of course it's eye for an eye; that was what I learned growing up. Percieved evils being punished w/ enough force thast the instigator is compelled to reform (Germany & Japan after the World Wars), or destroyed utterly (Palastinian militants, Al Qaeda terrorists, drug cartels & pirates)

Anything else seems to me a miscarriage of Justice (the ceasefire in Bosnia, rather than the Serbs being forced to surrender unconditionally, then deported in retaliation for their genocidal crimes. Or the Janjaweed in Darfur being allowed to murder & rape w/ impunity for years rather than hunting them down like vermin & slaying them w/ drone-fired missiles or cruise missile strikes on Sudanese Airbases to remind them of the cost of using their airpower to aid in genocide)

What is wrong with eye-for-an-eye being a philosophy? Because it makes the world blind?

Then let it be so, and the man with one eye becomes their king

I'm just a lowly cog tired of being ground in the gears of capitalism, watching the govt bail out crooked banks while cutting programs that help people who need it; like Medicaid for the elderly. If justice can't be giving legally, then it must be taken illegally.

(I'm as big a fan of Robin Hood & his "Rob Rich=Feed Poor ideals as I am of Anonymous)

What are your feeling of those philosophies?

P.S. The Killdozer was pretty damn epic, like the Mad-Max-o-bile. At least he didn't shoot up a bunch of people or commit political assassination, he just smashed buildings, then became An Hero since he had nothing to live for.

[Purple]

So your solution is to use overwhelming force thus breeding long tern resentment that will last for years to come and poison the target society you were attempting to improve? Wow man, and I thought I was the resident psycho.

I won't bother you with a detailed answer of why your examples are idiotic on an one by one basis. But I will offer this.
Germany after WW2 was not demolished. It was demolished and than rebuilt and reconstructed from the ground up. And it is the later that actually did the job. Germany was demolished once the way you said, but it happened after WW1. And all it brought us was WW2.

An eye for an eye only leaves everyone blind.

[ComradeClaus]

So your solution is to use overwhelming force thus breeding long tern resentment that will last for years to come and poison the target society you were attempting to improve? Wow man, and I thought I was the resident psycho.

I won't bother you with a detailed answer of why your examples are idiotic on an one by one basis. But I will offer this.
Germany after WW2 was not demolished. It was demolished and than rebuilt and reconstructed from the ground up. And it is the later that actually did the job. Germany was demolished once the way you said, but it happened after WW1. And all it brought us was WW2.

An eye for an eye only leaves everyone blind.

Ah, but the other difference betwen the world wars was that after the second the country was under 4 years of TOTAL control 1945-49, old political parties dismantled, new denazified ones built up. & according to the entries on wikipedia, germany had more money & resources stripped from it (including dismantling of 80% of steel production) than with the versaille treaty reparations, not counting the loss of the eastern territories (leaving 16,000,000 homeless), plus the fact that germany had suffered SEVERE bombing, unlike the previous war. Plus the mass atrocities commited by soviet troops (over 2,000,000 killed dueing the expulsions). So my metaphor of them being beaten until they behaved was apt.

In ww 1, they lost but were fairly intact (1,000,000+ dead) & were spoiling for a rematch, after ww2, they suffered more deaths AFTER they surrendered than under the heaviest fighting (confirmed in demographic records kept by the UN). Plus we let STALIN have at the eastern part. & only helped them (the west part) when we realized that Europe NEEDED a strong Germany to recover & face the Soviets). before that, we were happy to let them wither under JCS1067/ Morgenthau Plan, which was only abandoned when it became an election issue in 1948 (Hoover testifying to congress about Truman's actions)

my granduncle was there during the last of the fighting & the occupation, he told me just how bad it was. The famine, cholera epidemics & death from exposure during the winter. They LEARNED the consequences of unilateral action, from that point on, they've acted only in consensus w/ their neighbors. & they have an extreme phobia of military involvement. Trust me, once merkel is out, you'll see a massive disarmament from them & bring all their troops home never to join a NATO deployment again.