Mischief, in criminal law, is an offense against property that does not involve conversion. It typically involves vandalism, graffiti or some other destruction or defacement of property other than arson. Criminal mischief is usually a misdemeanor. The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Criminal conversion, in criminal law, is usually defined as the crime of exerting unauthorised use or control of someone elses property. ... Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement or destruction of a structure, a symbol or anything else that goes against the will of the owner/governing body. ... For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ... Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol to a background. ... The Skyline Parkway Motel in Afton, Virginia after an arson fire on July 9, 2004. ... A misdemeanor, or misdemeanour, in many common law legal systems, is a lesser criminal act. ...

Virtual Mischief

In computer science and hacker jargon, mischief is a form of attack that does not damage the system, but clearly indicates the breach (unauthorized intrusion) of the system. Grey Hat hackers often use mischief as a "non-harmful" way to signal security breaches to system administrators. Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... This article is about computer hacking. ... For the glossary of hacker slang, see Jargon File. ... A Grey Hat in the computer security community, refers to a skilled hacker who sometimes acts legally, sometimes in good will, and sometimes not. ...

Mischief is also a way for a hacker to "prove" himself to others. It is a demonstration of power without causing any damage.

ETYMOLOGY

Stems from the Middle English "meschief", from Anglo-French, meaning misfortune or hardship, ultimately from Old French "meschever" ("to end badly"). (Merriam-Webster) Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the... Anglo-French is a term that may be used in several contexts: Nationality, eg. ... Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300. ...