Actually compared to many others Sony's conduct in the matter is not at all bad. Plenty of financial institutions, including major banks have been compromised over the years and many have never admitted it even when 'outed'.

The network was almost certainly shut down the moment someone suspected something was amiss but it could easily have taken some time to identify what happened, what the extent of the damage was, notify the authorities and of course make attempts to trace the culprit.

It is also possible that once this became a criminal investigation Sony's subsequent actions were dictated to some degree by the investigating authority. It is standard practice in criminal investigation to restrict as much information as possible, even to those aggrieved and even a victim of a crime can be guilty of interfering with a criminal investigation if they don't comply with instructions.

Absolutely and it's also likely that if it makes it into law they'll probably try to pull something using the 'clear and present danger' option but it's also highly likely that if/when the act is passed into law Wikileaks will take down anything that is likely to lead to criminal prosecution until a way around it is found. The authorities in the US must also have drawn the same conclusion so stalling now, for an opportunity to extradite under the act, is still a pointless exercise.

Personally if the act looks like becoming law I wouldn't be at all surprised to see everything that Wikileaks have being released to go viral then taken down just before the act is sworn into law.

It will not be possible to pursue him under the SHIELD act unless he commits an offence AFTER it is passed as the constitution imposes a blanket ban on ex post facto criminal law so it is unlikely that any kind of stalling for this reason is taking place.

It'll burn the crap out of anything sensitive in the infra red range including the aforementioned 'scanning system' and if it can see you then you can see it. Which also explains why it won't be on the projector - next time you're in a cinema projection booth put your head alongside the projector and see how much of the audience you can see through the projection window. Some multiplex's actually have seating that's rearward of the projection booth ! If that isn't enough the heat generated/reflected in the projection window glass by the beam, along with the heat generated by the projector if the sensor were anywhere close to it would white it out. I have yet to come across one of these scanning systems but my guess is the sensors are placed where the cameras are currently placed - front of house facing back and therefore good target practice. Regardless - sure they'll trip the alarm but by then you've killed an expensive camera(s) without breaking a single law (it's not a recording device) and how often do you suppose the management are going to replace them from the pittance that those who must be obeyed allow them ? To make life easier many cinemas now have the output from the cameras clearly visible to the public as they enter as a deterrent making locating the cameras easy. Which is why this is all just another snake oil seller taking advantage of corporate paranoia. sg.

Nothing a 1watt 830nm laser diode from ebay and an old flashlight case can't fix ;)

Because every day the sun shines there'll be thousands of cars at the side of the road with their sunglasses-wearing drivers taking a nap :-)

How on earth did this get modded insightful it's just plain wrong !

Your connection to the internet is a door to the outside just like the physical one and you choose whether to open it or not. Last I checked there is nowhere yet that has mandated the reading of email, visiting Facebook etc and 'always on' does not mean 'can't be turned off' nor do computers follow you around the house hurling abuse!

The moment you indulge yourself in social networking et al you have stepped OUT of the privacy and safety of your home and into a privately managed, public place just the same as when you go down the local mall. You should expect the same degrees of protection from both the commercial enterprises that run them and ultimately the law of the land as if you had gone down the mall but they are NOT invading your home.

Not since the Windows net msg exploit has there been any kind of push system that could make you see stuff on your computer against your will, everything else, including trojans etc, requires some kind of pull from you as a user - don't pull !

The concept of "not being able to escape" only applies if you consider that visiting Facebook, Craigslist etc is somehow an unavoidable part of living that has to be carried out no matter what - it isn't...same deal as your TV, if you don't like what you see then turn it off or change the channel!

Anyone that thinks cyberbullying is something you can't escape from at home ironically needs to get out more.

Some aircraft - some of the Embraer models for instance - now have laptops in the cockpit which the pilots are expected to use for flight plans etc and the copy holders have been removed. Guessing it's still the case that the plane is not allowed off the ground without both laptops being fully operational. These are standard, IBM laptops so justifying frisking pilots for their personal electronics when there are a couple of laptops fitted in the cockpit is not "going to fly" if you'll pardon the pun.