Hacking?

I assume that Mark Hopkins' lawyers did try the defence that the information was available by simple 'tree jumping' around the site directory structure, if this was indeed the case.

There is insufficient information in this article for a Reg reader to make a judgement about what he did and didn't do, though the evidence presented in court should be available I believe.

I myself have often tree jumped into website areas that I was never intended to get into and this was often possible in the early days before website designers (I mean technical designers, not wordsmiths and artists) took care about access permissions on directories.

Is there any statute law or case law in this area, perhaps El Reg has legally experienced people who can advise since I for one would be open to a charge of opening doors without locks on them.

As Dillon says, what the heck were they doing storing 'confidential' information on a website??