'Homeless hacker' hits out at wasted dollars spent to catch him

Adrian Lamo, the notorious homeless hacker has hit out at the cost and the man hours 'wasted' by the US government in bringing him to justice.

In an interview with silicon.com's sister site News.com, Adrian Lamo expressed disbelief at the operation which eventually arrested him for alleged offences such as gaining unauthorised access to the New York Times website.

Lamo also publicly boasted of accessing the networks of Microsoft, Worldcom and Yahoo! and yet he said he "expected better of the government", claiming that spending tax-payers money on catching him wasn't a "meaningful" or "worthwhile" use of resources.

Lamo said: "I expected them to allocate their resources in a meaningful and worthwhile way. I really just expected that they would know better than this. I don't see what they are trying to accomplish here, who they think they're going to help, what precedent this will set. It doesn't matter how much restraint you show or what good faith you're trying to act in. There's no point in bothering at all. They'll come after you regardless. And as such, really, where is the motivation for anyone to behave honestly?"

Lamo also added that he doesn't want people to see him as a role model, however he made no attempt to discourage others from similar actions - merely urging them to be original.

He said: "I like to think that nobody would see me as a role model because I don't think there's necessarily value in repeating what's already been done. They should do something that's not been done before."

However, Lamo accepted that being arrested is the risk anybody takes if they break the law.

"I understand that the law applies to me and actions have consequences," he said. "I'm here today because I'm willing to face the consequences of my actions - that is, my alleged actions."

Ultimately though he is hoping he may yet secure his liberty.

"I'm holding out hope that it will be found at the trial that I have broken no law...With the charges as they stand, I do not find them to be factual. I will not plead to charges that are not factual," he said.

Adrian Lamo was speaking to News.com's Declan McCullagh.