AT&T internet hacker/troll sentenced to more than 3 years

We have all been the victim of a troll at some stage or another, they are generally people who show very little remorse for what they do. This case may interest you then however as news published on CNET detail that ‘professional troll' Andrew Auernheimer, who goes by the nickname ‘Weev' has been sentenced by a federal judge for ‘hacking'.

Auernheimer said “No matter what the outcome, I will not be broken.” He added ‘I am antifragile'. Auernheimer has called himself a troll who has enjoyed making enemies along the way. He said “I hack, I ruin lives, I make piles of money'.

CNET added “The Justice Department responded by using Auernheimer's trollishness to urge U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton to hand down a lengthy sentence — and 41 months is at the upper end of what the federal sentencing guidelines allow. In a letter to Wigenton last week, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman cited “defendant's chosen ‘career' of wreaking havoc on the Internet” and said “his entire adult life has been dedicated to taking advantage of others, using his computer expertise to violate others' privacy, to embarrass others, to build his reputation on the backs of those less skilled than he.”

Normally Auernheimer's predicament might not have attracted much attention. But he was convicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a controversial law that was enacted to deter intrusions into NORAD, but was expanded over time to criminalize terms of use violations — including, according to federal prosecutors, lying about your personal information when using social networks. There's now a growing effort, including legislation drafted in the U.S. Congress, to reform the CFAA.

Auernheimer was arrested in 2011 after discovering a security hole on AT&T's Web site that exposed the e-mail addresses of more than 100,000  iPad users. His organization, Goatse Security, created a script to download the records and gave the results to Gawker.”

Supporters of Auernheimer have set up a defense fund and one called him ‘the Internet prophet of discord.' His supporters said he didn't deserve to be imprisoned for accessing the AT&T servers.

Kitguru says: Too harsh a penalty for Auernheimer?

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