No, they are mentioned because they are the criminals who intruded and vandalized the system! Without them, none of this would have happened. There's no shifting of responsibility, since the kids who vandalized their system are responsible for their vandalism.
I can't honestly imagine what kind of moral system you have in which you don't believe that criminals are responsible for their own actions. If someone breaks into your home, is it your locksmith's fault, or the police's fault, or your alarm company's fault? No, it's the fault of the person who broke into your home. Perhaps one of the other parties mentioned was negligent, or perhaps not negligent but they could improve their security practices (install stronger locks, upgrade your alarm system, do more patrols in your neighborhood), but it's still the fault of the person who broke in and vandalized your home.
>No, they are mentioned because they are the criminals who intruded and vandalized the system!
"They" are not relevant in any way! "They" are tabloid meat for an internet drama. "They" are a distraction from the fact that a hosting company had piss poor security surrounding the core product. The entire story could be told without mentioning the hackers by name, or providing any biographical information. The only reason to include them is to distract from the real issue.
Replace "16 year old" with Russian, Chinese etc. Yes, vandals are bad. That's not exactly in question. In question is the sheer gall of PHPFog to shift blame to some kids to try and cover their embarrassment.
I think the blog post should be rewritten. Instead any mentions of the hackers should be completely neutral. Then it will be PHPFog getting out there and taking responsibility for their mistakes.
No distraction. No hand waving. And no tabloid drama.
Agree - creating a tangible identity to the villain is pulling heat off of PHPFrog.
Lets put it this way - a 16 year old kid who got lucky broke their site.
If it was anyone with intent, we would not know.
This is a case study in how to handle a situation like this. Its brilliantly done, inclusive of the comment where he says "the community is standing by us".
Perhaps a little mention would be good, but the way they make it the key points of the post, and so many people commenting on it accept it, disgusts me.
Yes PHPFog is. The only reason these kids are even mentioned in the blog post is to shift blame. Their part in the post serves no other purpose.
The entire event could have been recounted without a single personification of the hackers in the blog post.