Send Chris Money

So while I was taking some time away from making plans to head north to a friend’s funeral Monday — taking my boys to a fun Halloween activity at the Informatics Design Studio — Chris got himself into a little trouble as backwash to publishing an online tool to allow anyone to spoof boarding passes. He expected (and probably hoped) for that kind of reaction, but it doesn’t come without cost.

Predictably, IU isn’t going to help. This was not sanctioned research or under the legal auspices of the University. While I’m sure defending his right to do such things, IU isn’t going to take any responsibility for it. Understandable. Fortunately, the comments on his blog — which became more popular when Wired covered Congressman Markey’s call for his arrest yesterday (written by Ryan Singel, author of the Wiki article) — indicate that there are a few people with ideas on how to help the legal defense. Chris has an idea of his own involving grassroots donations to a PayPal account.

Like Chris, I’m a poor grad student. Only more poor because there are three other mouths to feed. I can admire the impetus behind his choices, even if my choices might have been different. For that reason, once he figures out what he’s fighting, I’ll scrape together at least a few thin dimes to throw his way. It would be great if others involved with Planet Informatics did the same, if for no other reason than Chris is a member of our community. Love should be unconditional. You don’t have to endorse the notion of expediting technological loopholes in our security to be able to chip in with a few bucks.

UPDATE: I noticed Ed Markey’s name on a different search and got sidetracked. Author “Soft Guy” added a paragraph on the Congressman’s call for Chris’s arrest in Wikipedia. If the ransacked apartment wasn’t a clue this was serious, then maybe see how long the article edit lasts.