btw windows crashes routinely – people move to linux – capitalism crashes routinely – what will people move on to? :]

And yes, you’re exactly spot on that a push in the wrong direction will tend to make a statistically small number cross the line from frustrated curiosity to desperate malice. Given the large pools we’re now dealing with, that same statistically small number translates into veritable hordes when viewed in comparison to previous years.

“Let me start by pointing out that after the fall of communism in Russia there was a glut of talented computer programmers and IT folks in general that had no way to make a buck and no way to put food on the table. Over time a lot of them managed to find work of some description but, a large swath found themselves being put to work in the binary mines for the mob. Almost overnight we saw a malware enterprise spring up that was profitable and continues to be”

I’ve heard this bandied about before, but I’ve never seen any concrete evidence to support this.

just as interesting (imho) is that technology and the wondrous interweb make fertile ground for the diy, entrepreneurial type. capone was a brick-and-mortar criminal … profitable in his ability to out-muscle would-be competitors; at the same time, constrained by the limits of marshaling his band of merry thugs with personal, on-site visits.

in today’s “franklin covey was soooooo last century” world, uber-organized diy’ers do not have the constraints of marshaling thugs, needing little more than a laptop, a few scripts, and a pinch of midnight oil to assemble a small army’s worth of fire-power. add a little inside information and contempt for the conglomerates laying people off and you have the perfect mix of potentially criminal muscle and motivation … especially if infosec folks are some of those taking one for their (former) teams.

not only are there a lot of well qualified tech people out there looking for work; some of the most talented individuals don’t exactly fit the “company man/woman” profile and can be among the first to be let go. this can only amplify the likelihood that someone with under-valued, superior talent is left with a need to put food on the table and to validate themselves through the very skills that they feel were under-valued.

according to the us doj, 6.6% of americans will spend time in a prison within their lifetime. if that statistic holds true for tech people, then 2,732 out of the 41,400 layoffs cited in your post just may have just received a nudge in the wrong direction with little more than a kind word on their way out the door.

and as we all know …

… you can do more with a kind word and a keyboard than with just a kind word.

will it produce a criminal mastermind? the highly intelligent are already predisposed to violating the mores and norms of conventional society, so an extra little push certainly could hurt…