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Florida Man Arrested For Hacking Linux Kernel Organization In 2011 (softpedia.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the five-years-later dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The FBI seems to have solved the mysterious case of the 2011 kernel.org hack, when an unknown attacker breached kernel.org servers and attempted to install a rootkit in the kernel code. As years went by, the Linux Kernel Organization kept avoiding releasing an incident response surrounding the event, irking their community accustomed to more open communications from their leaders. The mystery seems to have been solved when yesterday a Florida man was arrested and charged with "hacking the Linux Kernel Organization" and installing a "rootkit and trojan software," just like in the 2011 kernel.org server breach. Donald Ryan Austin is his name. He was arrested during a routine traffic stop last Sunday, on August 28, 2016, and faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and any other restitution.

37 comments

  1. 10 years?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How come NOBODY at Sony is being held CRIMINALLY responsible for THEIR rootkit that infected MILLIONS of people????

    1. Re:10 years?? by sims+2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because they have lobbyists.

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    2. Re:10 years?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Intent?

    3. Re:10 years?? by Hylandr · · Score: 1

      This.

      If it can be taxed it's legal.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    4. Re:10 years?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless it's a plant, then it's federal prison.

    5. Re:10 years?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, that was an error in the summary. 4 counts, maximum 10 years each.

    6. Re:10 years?? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      It was on the label

    7. Re:10 years?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was Sony's knowing intent to include a rootkit. I don't see the difference?

  2. FLORIDA MAN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    oh shit, it's that god-damned florida man again... didn't they kill him already?

    1. Re:FLORIDA MAN by Desler · · Score: 1

      It least it wasn't the Humanzee.

    2. Re:FLORIDA MAN by campuscodi · · Score: 1

      Florida man returns

    3. Re:FLORIDA MAN by marsu_k · · Score: 1

      Nope, still going strong

    4. Re:FLORIDA MAN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not a really good super villain name, is it. Is he wearing a foam cutout the shape of Florida or what?

  3. So what part was criminal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The service breach or the unauthorized commit to an open source project? Are authorized but breaking commits open to prosecution?

    1. Re:So what part was criminal? by sjames · · Score: 1

      RTFA

  4. Florida Man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Somehow, machetes, alligators, and crystal meth are not involved in this crime.

  5. Press release from DOJ by gnunick · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here is the link: https://www.justice.gov/usao-n...

    --
    I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious. --Albert Einstein
  6. The most badass criminal... by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    FLORIDA MAN. Most badass criminal with the longest criminal file of all times. Also, the most bizarre one.

    1. Re:The most badass criminal... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I gotta say, despite all the wierd shit over the years, "Hacking Linux Kernel Organization" is one of the least likely ways I expected the phrase "Florida Man Arrested for ..." to end, right up there with "Using Meth Lab to End World Hunger" and "Inventing Time Machine, Saving Hitler".

    2. Re:The most badass criminal... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can Florida Man be smart enough to hack the Linux Kernel Organization, but dumb enough to use his mug shot for his Facebook picture?

  7. Must have been the Russians. Or North Koreans. by ffkom · · Score: 0

    This news must be wrong. Everyone knows, if some US server is hacked, it was either the Russians or the North Koreans. And for reasons written down in some most evil master plan. It cannot possibly have been just some domestic jerk.

    1. Re:Must have been the Russians. Or North Koreans. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wish you and your post the best of duck.

    2. Re:Must have been the Russians. Or North Koreans. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Makes ya kinda wonder about the hacking stories that were constantly in the news over the last 4 or 5 years or so where China was the big cyber bad breaking into all kinds of corporate and government networks alike. Weird that now Russia is the big cyberbad that there's nary a Chinese hacking story to be found in the media.

    3. Re:Must have been the Russians. Or North Koreans. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We have always been at war with Eurasia.

  8. The Ubiquitous Florida Man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That Florida Man. He's everywhere! He does everything!

  9. Donald Ryan Austin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it obligatory that Southerners are known by three names?

    1. Re:Donald Ryan Austin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Word is he went by his middle name...

  10. confidential sources point to Russia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sources within the FBI close to the investigation have suggested a strong ties between Austin and the Russian Central Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Austin purportedly made several trips to the city of Novosibirsk, Siberia in the mid '90's and early 2001.

  11. post mortem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Was there ever a post-mortem report on the attack published? Seems like there was the promise of one, but it never got released did it?

    1. Re:post mortem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No it was not.

  12. Florida Man, Florida Man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    doin the things a Florida can
    what's he like? it's not important

    Florida Man
    is he a plant? or is he a Red?
    when he's on a waterboard does he get wet?
    or does the Bureau get him instead

  13. Listening to Linus Thorvalds for 10 minutes by SuneSpeg · · Score: 1

    seems like a reasonable punishment.

    1. Re:Listening to Linus Thorvalds for 10 minutes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is thumping wrong with your thpeech? Are you in disthwess? -PCP

  14. Florida Man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't think Florida Man could pull this kind of thing off.

  15. Hypocritical bastards. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Openness is good, except when it's us.

    Lawyers are bad, except when it's us.

    Torvalds is just another hypocritical CEO figure who loves to rail on others for not agreeing with him, but will happily make exceptions for himself.

  16. OpenBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope kernel.org are now using a safer OS like OpenBSD

  17. Routine Traffic Stop? by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    Somebody is a god damned lier.