There was no malicious intent though, your analogy implies there was. And no real harm done apart from billable hours from the RubyGems guys.

You don't need intent to be fined or jailed for criminal negligence. Let anthrax or smallpox escape your lab, and kill and maim people and see how your "no malice" defense holds up.

Sure but nobody died, which makes it a bad analogy. If anything, some good came from it, since now RubyGems has hardened their setup.