Hacker Jeremy Hammond Gets 10 Years
Jeremy Hammond picked up a 10 year prison sentence on Friday for his involvement in hacking the intelligence organization Strategic Forecasting in 2011.
Hammond plead guilty to the charged, lowering his potential sentence from the 35 year maximum to 10. "Yes I broke the law, but I believe sometimes laws must be broken in order to make room for change…. I still believe in hacktivism as a form of civil disobedience."
Hammond, along with other members of the group, Anonymous, stole over 60,000 credit card numbers and used them to make donations to non-profits. Additionally, they published hundreds of thousands of emails and customer data relating to Stratfor's clientele. The emails suggest that the security firm was to be paid a hefty sum to track hacktivist groups and infiltrate their ranks.
The US government rigorously pursued the maximum sentence on the grounds that Jeremy was a repeat offender. "While he billed himself as fighting for an anarchist cause, in reality, Jeremy Hammond caused personal and financial chaos for individuals whose identities and money he took and for companies whose businesses he decided he didn't like… he was nothing more than a repeat offender cybercriminal who thought that because of his computer savvy he was above the law…”
Hammond, a member of Antisec, had hundreds of supporters. The US District Court hearing his case and Judge Loretta Preska received over 250 letters backing Hammond. The Electronic Frontier Foundation similarly voiced their support for a lesser sentence.
Hammond is just the latest prosecution effort of various governments around the world to clamp down on "cyberterrorism" and internet crime.
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kinggremlin Enjoy your time in jail. You've earned it. Stealing customers credit cards and then using them no matter for what purpose is not make a statement against the "establishment." It just makes you a common criminal. Ridiculous how anyone would see that as a cause worth supporting.Reply -
COLGeek If you do the crime, be prepared to do the time. Seems Mr. Hammond understood those risks and took ownership of them. Now, payment is due.Reply -
Onus Tough call. There is not enough information here to pass judgement, although it appears that he may have believed "the end justifies the means" which is Wrong, even if the end is the exposure of institutional wrongdoing. It also looks like he mixed in a hefty dose of common thievery.Reply
It sounds like he is guilty of the sort of willful wrongdoing for which my "head in a bucket (to catch the mess)" solution is appropriate, but if he exposed other wrongdoing, that needs to be pursued with at least equal vigor.
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MajinCry Meanwhile, we have the bankers doing unto others at will, without consequences of any kind...Reply
(language edited by Moderator; feel free to re-edit for meaning) -
ceh4702 People like this should get the maximum fine and jail time. Cant fix Stupid. He should have went to Russia.Reply -
onichikun Reply11993400 said:Charging someone 40% interest on a credit card. That is what should be illegal.
Although it may seem unfair, you aren't FORCED to agree to 40% interest. You signed up based on the terms of a contract, if you failed to realize the stipulations of that contract, then that is your failure.
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dgingeri what a scumbag. I just hope his jail time makes him less of a scumbag, rather than more.Reply -
xelliz Tens years is still a long time so I'm ok with that. The thing is regardless of what "movement" they claimed to be supporting they didn't help, but hurt the common man. So...too bad for those involved that will now be serving time.Reply