Hacker faces 60 years in prison and $1.75 million fine
A 26 year old hacker and creator of a botnet army of 250,000 computers has pleaded guilty to all charges, and could face 60 years in jail and a fine of $1.75 million.
PC World are reporting that John Schiefer, a 26 year old computer consultant, admitted infecting hundreds of thousands of PCs with malware to enable him to collect confidential information from the machines. This included usernames and passwords to Paypal accounts, allowing him and his associates to make purchases using other people’s bank accounts.
The United States Attorney’s Office for California claim that John Schiefer’s case represents the first time a hacker has been prosecuted for this type of illegal activity. The FBI investigated the crime, and ended up nabbing Schiefer (who used the nickname ‘acidstorm’ online) on four federal charges.
Although Schiefer is the first person to be charged with running a so called botnet, I doubt he’ll be the last as hacking crimes definitely seem to be on the increase.
This week we’ve already seen how a great many MySpace accounts were hacked in an attempt to install malware on to users computers. There have also been reports that RBN has disappeared from the web, only to resurface more dangerous than ever.
The chances are that Schiefer will spend the rest of his life in prison, which although harsh, does seem fair when you realise how many people his crimes will have affected.
He is scheduled to appear in the US District Court in Los Angeles on November 28th and be arraigned on December 3rd.
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November 11th, 2007
It doesn’t seem harsh to me. This is no different than breaking into hundreds of thousands homes, and making a key so you have easier access for the next violation. Talk to someone who has been trying to get ruined credit expunged or unable to get a job due to negative info on background checks. He should be executed.
November 11th, 2007
Don’t know about executed but i do agree that in this case the punishment sure does fit the crime.
The loss of our personal privacy these days is becoming a largely accepted fact and from my experiences has force society backwards somewhat as more and more people choose to go back to old means of interaction.
Having said that tho it is all well and good to round up the linch mob for this guy, but what about the next 14 year old kid that gets bored and decides to tab next doors internet connection or hack his high school rival’s mySpace page and virtually vandalise it… should we tar him with same brush.
I belive that this problem is not as one sided as it is being protrayed… some owness must be one the user as well… it is through lack of education that allows these people to undertake these attack… it is ultimately up to all of us to protect ourselves and to gain the knowledge to do so… it is not the governments role to control these people it is up to us to eliminate their “food source”…
So to the John Schiefer’s of the world… i hope you do rot in jail, and never see the light of a computer or internet again you deserve it, but to all those that complain and whinge that the net is not safe get a bit more proactive… you take steps to ensure your safety in the “real world” why should it be any different to the virtual world.
November 11th, 2007
Don’t know about executed but i do agree that in this case the punishment sure does fit the crime.
The loss of our personal privacy these days is becoming a largely accepted fact and from my experiences has force society backwards somewhat as more and more people choose to go back to old means of interaction.
Having said that tho it is all well and good to round up the linch mob for this guy, but what about the next 14 year old kid that gets bored and decides to tab next doors internet connection or hack his high school rival’s mySpace page and virtually vandalise it… should we tar him with same brush.
I belive that this problem is not as one sided as it is being protrayed… some owness must be one the user as well… it is through lack of education that allows these people to undertake these attack… it is ultimately up to all of us to protect ourselves and to gain the knowledge to do so… it is not the governments role to control these people it is up to us to eliminate their “food source”…
So to the John Schiefer’s of the world… i hope you do rot in jail, and never see the light of a computer or internet again you deserve it, but to all those that complain and whinge that the net is not safe get a bit more proactive… you take steps to ensure your safety in the “real world” why should it be any different to the virtual world.
November 11th, 2007
Don’t know about executed but i do agree that in this case the punishment sure does fit the crime.
The loss of our personal privacy these days is becoming a largely accepted fact and from my experiences has force society backwards somewhat as more and more people choose to go back to old means of interaction.
Having said that tho it is all well and good to round up the linch mob for this guy, but what about the next 14 year old kid that gets bored and decides to tab next doors internet connection or hack his high school rival’s mySpace page and virtually vandalise it… should we tar him with same brush???
I belive that this problem is not as one sided as it is being protrayed… some owness must be one the user as well… it is through lack of education that allows these people to undertake these attack… it is ultimately up to all of us to protect ourselves and to gain the knowledge to do so… it is not the governments role to control these people it is up to us to eliminate their “food source”…
So to the John Schiefer’s of the world… i hope you do rot in jail, and never see the light of a computer or internet again you deserve it, but to all those that complain and whinge that the net is not safe get a bit more proactive… you take steps to ensure your safety in the “real world” why should it be any different to the virtual world.
November 12th, 2007
The law has always differentiated between adults and minors, this should be no different.The days of the War Games hacker for knowledge days are over. It is no longer cute. The fact my door was unlocked doesn’t make it any less wrong to go in and steal. You can say vandalizing a rivals web page is no big deal, but we’re in the current vulnerable state with private information because our representatives are clueless on the subject, and movies like hackers et al…show socially inept youngsters as a refreshing antihero unswayed by greed and social climbing and saving the day at the end. Giving a $100,000 fine to a spam multimillionaire has not done much to stop it. Since the government regulates all the tools and technology used in these crimes, it most certainly does need to control them.
December 21st, 2010
Whats the difference between 60 years and life in prison, must likely he will be dead by then.