Saturday, September 9, 2017

Hacker Sentenced To 5 Years For Harassing U.S. Intelligence Leaders

FBI Director James Comey (L), Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (2nd L), CIA Director John Brennan (2nd R) and NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers in Washington, January 10, 2017. Joshua Roberts / Reuters

Washington Post: Hacker who harassed leaders from CIA and FBI is sentenced to 5 years in prison

An aspiring hacker who harassed the CIA director and the national intelligence director, among others, in 2015 was sentenced Friday to five years in federal prison.

Justin Liverman, 23, was part of a collective dubbed “Crackas With Attitude” that exposed the private online accounts of several top law enforcement officials, including then-CIA chief John Brennan and James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence at the time.

It was a British teenager, known as “Cracka,” who actually broke into those accounts by impersonating the officials or employees of their service providers. Liverman and Andrew Otto Boggs, also 23, encouraged Cracka’s exploits and used the exposed information to bedevil the victims.

“These are no pranks,” Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said in sentencing Liverman on Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va. “This computer hacking, Crackas With Attitude, caused chaos. Your intent was clear, and that was to wreak havoc.”

It was particularly “despicable,” Lee added, that Liverman harassed the spouses and threatened the children of several targets.

Read more ....

Update: Hacker Who Harassed CIA, FBI Directors Sentenced to 5 Years (AP).

WNU Editor: Even though this was a first offense for this hacker .... 5 years in prison sends a message to everyone that there are costs if you harass these individuals.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

A message needed to be sent.

I was not sure how I felt about the 5 year sentence until I read:

"harassed the spouses and threatened the children of several targets."

Maybe it should have been 10 or 15. If hackers do not get the message, the penalty should be increased in coming years.

I really loathe Brennan and Clapper, but this is not the way to defeat them. They are not going to be defeated, but they are water under the bridge. They will have a happy retirement and pretend they did things right.

Justin Liverman is lucky. At the end of prison he will be 28. He can have a family and a career. Having a career might not be easy, but it is a possibility.

Liverman does not appear to be too tech savvy. Still with 4 years hard work, he could have a middle class living. Could. We'll see.