Slashdot Mirror
Palin E-Mail Snoop Gets Year In Prison
netbuzz writes "David Kernell, whose prying into Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account caused an uproar two months before the 2008 presidential election, was today sentenced to a year and a day by a judge in Knoxville, Tenn. Kernell was convicted of misdemeanor computer fraud and felony obstruction of justice back in April. His attorney had argued for probation on the grounds that what Kernell did amounted to a prank that spun out of control."
It was guessing the answer to her Security Question that was publicly available on the internet. If that's "hacking" then I'm fucking Kevin Mitnick.
lol status: lol'd.
What is the point of adding a day onto the sentence?
Then I wonder what punishment the guy who uncovered this has waiting for him.
Worse than regular fraud, because I don't understand computers.
he got sentenced to a year and a day in a halfway house, not a prison.
Theres a difference.
I am pretty sure the actual sentence was 1 year 1 day in custody; to be served at a halfway house.
The local source - http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=13490313&Call=Email&Format=HTML
He committed a crime, so he goes to jail. What damage is it you want to mitigate here?
Let's face it; he hacked the email account of a Vice Presidential candidate. Regardless of how one feels about Sarah Palin (I can't stand her myself...the things she says makes me want to slam my head in a file cabinet drawer) it's not rocket science to recognize that what he did is a bit more severe (and consequence-prone) than going after your typical person. He should consider himself lucky that he only got a year, really...I figured they'd do much worse.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
How Mark Zuckerberg Hacked Into Rival ConnectU In 2004
...At one point, Mark appears to have exploited a flaw in ConnectU's account verification process to create a fake Cameron Winklevoss account with a fake Harvard.edu email address.
Mar. 5, 2010
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-mark-zuckerberg-hacked-connectu-2010-3
In this new, fake profile, he listed Cameron's height as 7'4", his hair color as "Ayran Blond," and his eye color as "Sky Blue." He listed Cameron's "language" as "WASP-y."
Next, Mark appears to have logged into the accounts of some ConnectU users and changed their privacy settings to invisible. The idea here was apparently to make it harder for people to find friends on ConnectU, thus reducing its utility. Eventually, Mark appears to have gone a step further, deactivating about 20 ConnectU accounts entirely...
... was not being in the Federal government. If he had been, his actions would've been deemed legal.
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
So this kid gets a year in prison... but most cases like this will not even get a return call from the police. I guess it is not just 'how much justice can you afford' but 'how much your victim can afford'.
Rich banker gets to escape felony hit and run charges, because the judge felt "a felony charge would hurt his ability to make shit tons of money"
http://dailybail.com/home/outrage-morgan-stanley-banker-escapes-felony-charges-for-hit.html
IIRC one reason why this guy got caught. He used only one anonymous VPN server between his IP and the target. The VPN server was also located in the US.
Just a note -- don't do hanky panky using a VPN, or else you will get caught. This also applies to P2P, as well as getting false access to an account, especially one of a likely future US President.
N/T
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
That's a long time for making such a small mistake... There's got to be some sort of easily phrased lesson to be learned here. "If you're going to anger politically powerful people, do it anonymously" ? He should have sent all the data he found to wiki leaks then burned his computer.
check out the Mp3 Garbler I built!
In related news, Sarah Palin is still on the loose, endangering all sanity as we know it.
And on Slashdot you can't say anything bad about liberals, Barak Hussein Obama, etc, that it's considered a BAD thing for the son of a Democrat congressman to go to prison for hacking Sarah Palin's email, while every commentator on this site would howl for the death penalty if the son of a Republican congressman had done the same to Dear Leader?
Violating people's privacy is wrong regardless of party affiliation.
Corporatism != Free Market
Kernell's only crime was his political alignment. It would only be consistent to do that as well.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Would he have received the same sentence if he had hacked the email of a random neighbour?
No. You are intentionally putting her in danger and we know it. The kitchen has the highest number of flaming hot stoves in the house, for hell's sake.
In soviet Russia, God creates you!
if it were you or I?
I refuse to take sides on a political debate, but just because someone is a big figure in politics doesn't mean they should get special treatment. I guess that's why they have their lobbyist groups though.
This guy just got lucky and guessed a password. But he acted against a conservative in Tennessee, so he got a year in prison. James O'Keefe actually tried to physically bug the telephone of a sitting U.S. Senator. But O'Keefe acted against a liberal in Louisiana, so he walked with probation.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
What punishment would the guilty person get? I'll bet you London to brick it wouldn't even get to court.
One law for the power elite, and the rest of us can bugger off.
HP Pretexting Charges Dismissed: "Charges against defendants in the Hewlett-Packard pretexting case have been dismissed."
...but I couldn't understand anything due to the incessant screeching.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
..for her multiple yahoo email accounts and use of government resources for personal and financial gain.
Wag doggy, wag.
you'd want to slam her head in a file cabinet drawer, not your own. :)
This crime was far more damaging than would likely occur from hacking the neighbour's email. But, let's imagine your neighbour depends on his credibility for his job (Let's say he's a pastor). You find out that your neighbour is having an affair via the email. You then manage to get most of the country knowledgeable about that fact. That person's life is destroyed and as such, you will face a similar sentence.
If your neighbour, however, was working as, say, a trucker, and you did the same thing, the damage is mitigated somewhat (and you would receive a lighter sentence) based on the fact it won't affect the neghbour's employment prospects (as much). And if you found nothing more than an order for Domino's pizza, unless the neighbour worked for the competition, you'd probably receive the lightest sentence of all.
But, go ahead, consipracy theories are easier, after all!
No, he wouldn't have, and that's the way it should be.
Do you get the same sentence for threatening the president as threatening your neighbor?
Do you get the same sentence for obstructing a police officer as for obstructing your neighbor mowing his lawn?
And as others have said, it doesn't matter whether Palin is a joke of a candidate. She was playing a major role in the political system. Let her lose the election on her own merits, not via crimes committed by those who don't like her.
he hacked the email account of a Vice Presidential candidate
And if that resulted in a larger sentence than if it was his next-door neighbor's account, then logically, justice wasn't the motive of the sentence.
The idea that the elite at the top of the pyramid are more valuable than the common man at the bottom should tell you something about a government's agenda and motive. To be clear, their agenda certainly isn't equality, and it certainly isn't to serve the interest of the common man.
I thought Ms. Palin was in favor of having her messages spied on. Oh, wait, she's only in favor of the government doing it "for her own protection." Yes, the same government that she wants to eliminate for being untrustworthy.
The real joke is that this kid wasn't some computer genius on the contrary it was Sarah Palin's stupidity that should be sentenced to a year.
Her password question: What high school did you attend?
Answer: Wascilla High.
Palin is an idiot.
Obama is also in favor of increased wiretapping and specifically Internet wiretaps. Would it then be okay to break into Obama's accounts?
don't drop the soap!
Note he only got a misdemeanor, a slap on the wrist, for the actual computer fraud.
The government does not take obstruction of justice lightly and tends to give stiff sentences for it.
Aside from that, yes, an attack on an account for political gain to influence an election would reasonably bring a more severe punishment than simply doing it to see if you can. This wasn't just some kid. His dad is a powerful Democratic state legislator and was then a member of Obama's Tennessee campaign. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't doing dad's bidding, and is taking the fall to avoid ruining dad's career. Expect to see the payoff after this clears up, likely a well-paid position in a Democratic campaign in 2012.
Personally, I think he deserves extra time just for being stupid by using a single proxy that had a policy of turning over evidence of any illegal activity to the police. :)
Take away one year of a man's life for looking at e-mails? I don't think that is very fair...
I take privacy very seriously, I know I would hate to have anyone snooping in my private e-mails, but when a politician uses their personal lives (and Palin loves to show how perfect her family is and what a great example of people with good Christian and American values they are) to gain support in an election, then I think their privacy should not be taken too seriously. If a politician wants their privacy to be respected, then they should simply campaign with real arguments, such as what they plan to do if they are elected, and leave personal matters aside instead of turning politics into a game show.
Of course, I could be completely wrong. It's possible that it's right for Palin to let people put their nose in her private life when it helps her be popular, and to send people to jail for a year when suddenly putting your nose in her private life is not in her best interest. She's a badass politician after all! She should be able to have her cake and eat!
There was exactly ZERO evidence that they intended to bug a telephone. You'd think the arresting officers would have at least found bugging equipment on them. They did not.
He was charged with the one crime he committed: Entering a federal building under false pretenses. And for that crime, which actually harmed nobody, he got three years probation and 100 hours of community service -- and his part in it was organizing and videotaping. That's pretty severe.
BTW, the police erased the video he took before giving him his phone back. Hmmm...
A year and a day means he can earn 42 days of "good time" for early release. In the Federal system you can earn upto 54 days of "good time" per year 5884.04 Good Conduct Time Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act
He just wanted to spellcheck it...
What happened now? Sarah Palin e-mailed Snoop Dogg and now he is being jailed? Crazy world we live in.
"Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
hacking into the email account of the (potential) vice president is clearly more damaging than hacking into a random person's.
You are incorrect. Your conclusion is certainly not clear by definition.
The current president's email account is included in your "random person" argument, as well as any email account belonging to an agent of the FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. Therefore, "hacking into a random person's" email is clearly (potentially) more damaging than hacking into the email account of a vice presidential candidate.
The terms "random" and "average" are related, but are typically not interchangeable.
Ok, fine -- throw this guy in jail for computer trespass.
But while you're at it, throw Sony in jail for their rootkit. Throw Starforce in jail for their rootkit. Throw the "ACORN pimp" in jail for his tampering with the phones in the Democratic office.
If you're going to apply a law, apply it consistently. The way it's being enforced now is way too arbitrary.
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal
there is no reason this eprson should see any jail time. It's stupid. He is not a menace, he isn't violent, and this was a prank.
I'm not saying punishment shouldn't be done, but this is just obscene.
I mean, instead of costing us money, he could be on parole with a job paying taxes.
God damn private prisons are ruining this countries legal system.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
...to put Sarah Palin in a Crackpot Asylum! Recently Dubya blasts Palin as 'unqualified' for President and McCain as being 'less of a man' ... http://bit.ly/dmzcJ6 Go Dubya! :D
For one time I agree with the father of Barney Bush who bite a journalist! ( Good dog...) :D
Claude LaFreniere aka climenole
time to read it.
If by prison, you mean a halfway house, then this is correct. You could also say hes being placed in solitary confinement, as long as you understand that this means he's not being restricted in any way from contact with others.
So someone that illegally access my email will get a year in prison? Highly doubt it. This is just another case of some rich bitch and her political army ensuing their own versions of justice. Do you think for a second she hasn't done or committed something that could potentially have been tried for at least double that time? Fuck this. I guess in hindsight after reading my comment; I think it's bullshit that we only make an example of people that attack the rich and famous and those of us that are normal have to live with the fact that there is no system that gives a shit about protecting us. I doubt there would even be any repercussion at all, probably not even cooperation from the business that said attack was committed on/or from. A big ":("
Aside from that, yes, an attack on an account for political gain to influence an election would reasonably bring a more severe punishment than simply doing it to see if you can.
So was he charged for election rigging or whatever legal grounds exist for this, and that influenced his sentencing, right?
I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't doing dad's bidding, and is taking the fall to avoid ruining dad's career.
Never have I not been so unsurprised by such an accusation. Not that I shouldn't be surprised if he wasn't doing dad's bidding, but neither should you not have been.
...since O'Keefe did just about the same thing and came up clean for it.
Pardon Kernell, who's only crime was crossing Palin.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
It might not be politically favorable to someone, but it'd at least mitigate the damage.
Kernell's only crime was his political alignment. It would only be consistent to do that, or make O'Keefe a felon as well.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
I guess someone else's nerve got hit close by asking for consistency.
Pardon Kernell, or recognize O'Keefe as a felon. Same kinds of deeds, except Kernell didn't have Murdoch at his side to clean up loose ends.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Their mask slipped, but anyone who says anything about it gets silenced. Such is life.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
It is ironic that he hacked the account for political reasons and now has lost his right to vote. That alone seems like the ultimate poetic justice.
Yes, the evidence is there, despite what O'Keefe's lawyer might try to claim.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
He won't be able to use the ballot box (until a pardon or commutation), but he isn't financially blocked. He would be free to donate to anyone he wished, and support any candidate he wished. The laugh's on his opponents.
Especially if it means that he can help get someone to make Tennessee recognize his right to vote. Or get enough support for a politically inconvenient (for Kernell's attackers) pardon.
He isn't going to suffer as much as you would want him to.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Sanity in sentencing(or even letting the charge stand) wouldn't satisfy the Palin's desire for political destruction.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Political heavyweight Jim McDermott acquired an illegally recorded phone call and released it for political gain.
Privacy issues, you would think....
Jail time?
Not even.
Check out this statement: "Full D.C. Circuit Rules McDermott Had No First Amendment Right to Leak Phone Tape Due to Ethics Committee Rules".
Really?
It is only an 'ethics committee' rule violation.
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cla/discoveries/2009/10/full_dc_circuit_rules_mcdermot.html
I am just as surprised as you, they have an ethics committee?
No brain, no pain.
Both sides play dirty tricks, I wouldn't have been surprised if he had been a Republican party operative's son going after Obama.