Protesters disguised in Guy Fawkes masks hold the logos of the international hacker group Anonymous during a 2012 demonstration against Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in Budapest, Hungary. / Janos Marjai - APNEW YORK - A top computer hacker who helped investigators disrupt at least 300 cyberattacks on targets ranging from the U.S. armed forces and Congress to a TV network and a video game maker was spared additional prison time Tuesday after prosecutors argued for leniency.
Hector Xavier Monsegur, known online as 'Sabu,' could have faced more than 26 years behind bars for his confessed cyberattacks as a former member of the Anonymous and LulzSec hacking collectives.
But U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska imposed a term of seven months behind bars - equal to what he'd already served - which means Monsegur was a free man after his sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court. However, he will remain under supervised release for one year.
Federal prosecutors argued Monsegur, 30, merited the far lesser punishment because he 'was an extremely valuable and productive cooperator' whose help led to the arrest and conviction of eight co-conspirators.
They did not specifically name the targets saved from potentially crippling cyberattacks as the result of Monsegur's cooperation. But they estimated in a government sentencing memorandum filed Friday that his actions 'prevented at least millions of dollars in loss to these victims.'
'Monsegur's cooperation was complex and sophisticated, and the investigations in which he participated required close and precise coordination with law enforcement officers in several locations,' Manhattan Assistant U.S. Attorney James Pastore wrote in the memo.
Among other specifics, Pastore credited Monsegur's assistance in the 2012 arrest of Jeremy Hammond, who at the time was the FBI's No.1 cybercrime target. Hammond pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a 120-month prison term in November 2013.
Monsegur apologized to the court during his sentencing and promised he'd never again be a criminal defendant.
'He hopes to be able to use his very prolific computer skills in his future employment,' said defense lawyer Peggy Cross-Goldenberg afterward, adding 'any company would be lucky to have him.'
In contrast to the government and defense statements, a posting on the Anonymous collective's Twitter news feed called Monsegur a 'traitor.'
'Jeremy Hammond is serving a 10-year sentence for hacks that Sabu (working for the feds) told him to do. When will the feds go to prison?' the group also tweeted.
Monsegur's assistance proved invaluable to federal investigators because he was a trusted member of hacking groups involved in numerous hacking episodes. He was known for analyzing computer code for vulnerabilities that could be exploited, Pastore wrote.
Some of those cyberattacks listed in the sentencing memo included the hack that compromised the database of Fox reality TV show X-Factor, and attacks on PBS, Sony Pictures, Nintendo and Infragard Unveillance, an FBI affiliate in Atlanta.
Monsegur also gave investigators information about vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure for a water utility of a U.S. city and a foreign energy company, the memo disclosed.
Monsegur pleaded guilty to computer-hacking crimes in August 2011 as part of a government cooperation deal after FBI agents confronted him about his online activities. He served the seven months imprisonment because the government moved to revoke his bail in 2012 after he made unauthorized online postings.
'The fact that Monsegur immediately chose to cooperate and went back online ... allowed the extraordinary cooperation,' said Preska.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Monsegur could have faced 259 months to 317 months imprisonment. But the U.S. Probation Office recommended in a pre-sentence report that he not spend additional time behind bars.
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Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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