Hey script kiddies, next time you steal some unsuspecting person’s password, you’d better be prepared to do five years in prison. That’s what the kid who “hacked” Sarah Palin’s Yahoo e-mail account faces, now that he’s been indicted by a federal grand jury.
The kid, now identified as David Kernell, a 20-year-old student at the University of Tennessee, has been accused of accessing Palin’s e-mail account without her authorization.
The kid is screwed, in other words.
If convicted, the kid faces five years in prison, a $250,000 and three years of “supervised release.” No Facebook for him, I’m guessing.
So, kids, let this be a warning to you: don’t try to impress your friends by reading powerful people’s e-mails. To quote Denzel Washington from Training Day, this kid is federally f*cked now.
Hacking like this is not cool. I am no fan of Palin, but this is straight f*d up. Taking screenshots, changing the password and posting the new one to 4chan, and posting the info on a very public website? Have fun in jail. If you’re gonna do something malicious, make it silly, like so:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30056776@N07/2814649424/
On a brighter note, maybe this will force Yahoo to improve its security measures regarding resetting passwords.
So because Sarah Palin is unable to adequately secure her account, a person will go to jail. This is ridiculous - criminals found guilty of truly violent and horrid crimes get less punishment than this.
Note: I don’t condone his actions, but the punishment should really fit the crime. For example, read some of his emails on TV.
You are missing the point — even with her Yahoo account not being safe (her using “mavericky moose” as her password and all), it’s what the guy did *after* the break-in to her account that makes him a dick.
However, your solution is brilliant. Perhaps add a requirement he read his diary in front of everyone.
How many times did you refer to this man as a “kid”? Nice job trying to downplay this crime by evoking sympathy for the criminal, aka “kid”. If the son of a Republican politician hacked into Biden’s email, you’d all be calling for his head.
Quick, accuse me of being in the tank for the Democratic Party!