Paris Hilton hacker sent to jail
The teenager who reportedly hacked into the mobile phone of socialite Paris Hilton has been sent to jail.
The hacker, who cannot be named because of his age, will serve an 11-month sentence in a juvenile jail.
He will be under supervision for two years following his release, during which time he cannot own a computer or any device that can access the net.
The jail sentence covers a series of crimes committed over a 15-month period.
Ms Hilton is known for her hedonistic lifestyle
Crime spree
In its statement announcing the sentencing of the teenager, the US Department of Justice did not name Ms Hilton as one of the hacker's victims as such details are kept under seal in juvenile cases.
Instead, the statement mentioned "theft of an individual's personal information".
However, law enforcement officials close to the case reportedly confirmed that the sentenced hacker was responsible for stealing and publishing the address book from Ms Hilton's Sidekick gadget.
"Computer hacking is not fun and games"
- Michael Sullivan, Massachusetts attorney
The names and contact details for celebrities in the address book, including Vin Diesel and Anna Kournikova, as well as pictures of Ms Hilton found their way on to the net thanks to the hacker.
Reports vary on how the teenager got access to Ms Hilton's handset. One account claims he tricked a T-Mobile worker into telling him a password for the firm's internal computer system.
Another claims he tricked an employee into opening an e-mail infected with a virus that helped him get access.
Other crimes committed by the teenager in a 15-month period starting in March 2004 included breaking into the networks of net and telephone firms, and making bomb threats to high schools in Florida and Massachusetts.
The teenager is also thought to be a member of a group that cracked the network of the LexisNexis Group which resulted in the publishing of more than 300,000 consumer records.
Victims of this hack attack are thought to have lost more than $1m between them.
"Computer hacking is not fun and games. Hackers cause real harm to real victims as graphically illustrated in this case," said Michael Sullivan, US attorney for Massachusetts where the teenager's case was tried.
"Would-be hackers, even juveniles when appropriate, should be put on notice that such criminal activity will not be tolerated and that stiff punishments await them if they are caught," he said.
The teenager who reportedly hacked into the mobile phone of socialite Paris Hilton has been sent to jail.
The hacker, who cannot be named because of his age, will serve an 11-month sentence in a juvenile jail.
He will be under supervision for two years following his release, during which time he cannot own a computer or any device that can access the net.
The jail sentence covers a series of crimes committed over a 15-month period.
Ms Hilton is known for her hedonistic lifestyle
Crime spree
In its statement announcing the sentencing of the teenager, the US Department of Justice did not name Ms Hilton as one of the hacker's victims as such details are kept under seal in juvenile cases.
Instead, the statement mentioned "theft of an individual's personal information".
However, law enforcement officials close to the case reportedly confirmed that the sentenced hacker was responsible for stealing and publishing the address book from Ms Hilton's Sidekick gadget.
"Computer hacking is not fun and games"
- Michael Sullivan, Massachusetts attorney
The names and contact details for celebrities in the address book, including Vin Diesel and Anna Kournikova, as well as pictures of Ms Hilton found their way on to the net thanks to the hacker.
Reports vary on how the teenager got access to Ms Hilton's handset. One account claims he tricked a T-Mobile worker into telling him a password for the firm's internal computer system.
Another claims he tricked an employee into opening an e-mail infected with a virus that helped him get access.
Other crimes committed by the teenager in a 15-month period starting in March 2004 included breaking into the networks of net and telephone firms, and making bomb threats to high schools in Florida and Massachusetts.
The teenager is also thought to be a member of a group that cracked the network of the LexisNexis Group which resulted in the publishing of more than 300,000 consumer records.
Victims of this hack attack are thought to have lost more than $1m between them.
"Computer hacking is not fun and games. Hackers cause real harm to real victims as graphically illustrated in this case," said Michael Sullivan, US attorney for Massachusetts where the teenager's case was tried.
"Would-be hackers, even juveniles when appropriate, should be put on notice that such criminal activity will not be tolerated and that stiff punishments await them if they are caught," he said.
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