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by rdl·16y ago·view on hn ↗
Lamo was kind of backed into a corner. Even aside from the moral issues (I personally would have turned in Manning; if you volunteer for a role where you will get classified data, you need to play by those rules!)

1) If SPC Manning was talking recklessly to Lamo, Lamo had to assume he was also talking to other people, and generally behaving recklessly. Manning was going to get caught. If Lamo didn't say anything, but Manning later was caught, it would be likely discovered that he'd confessed to Lamo as well. This would not be good for Lamo, especially if that information were not yet public knowledge. An investigator might suspect conspiracy, and might suspect Lamo had data -- he could then be subject to intelligence activity or law enforcement activity himself.

2) If he cooperated with authorities in secret, it's likely his involvement would become known later once the trial happened (or at any time of Manning's choosing). People who interacted with Lamo between his initial contact with Manning and the eventual disclosure would be afraid they had been compromised as well.

I think Lamo was in a difficult situation even if he didn't want to turn the guy in.

1 comments
On the other hand, Lamo might have argued that his status as a famous hacker makes him a regular target for the fabricated tales of script kiddies and weirdos worldwide.

Encountering a boastful liar on the internet isn't a freak occurrence by any means. Whether or not this is a viable defense is another matter.

Even if something is a viable defense against conviction in court, being the subject of an investigation, or even worse, CI investigation, is way before that point -- and highly unpleasant I'm sure, especially for someone with previous criminal convictions and ongoing involvement with "hackerdom".