BBC uses botnet to hack 22,000 unsuspecting users

The BBC are quick to point out that it has warned all 22,000 people that their PCs are infected, as well as advising them on the best way to prevent such an infection happening again. It has also stated that it did not access any personal data held on the infected computers. The BBC claims that because it was only done with an intention to demonstrate the collective power of the botnet when in the hands of criminals, and it itself had no criminal intent, it was not breaking the law. When it comes to ethics, though, it sucks elephants through a straw backwards.