'Homeless hacker' pleads guilty to Times hack

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: William Knowles <wk () c4i org>

http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5137803.html

By Declan McCullagh 
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
January 8, 2004

Adrian Lamo, the "homeless hacker" famous for his rootless lifestyle
and boasts of high-profile electronic intrusions, on Thursday pleaded
guilty to hacking into The New York Times Co.'s computer network.

Lamo, 22, pleaded guilty in federal court in New York City to one
count of computer damage that caused more than $5,000 in losses to The
New York Times Co. In a telephone interview Monday, Lamo said he would
enter the plea as part of an agreement struck with prosecutors: "The
alternative would essentially destroy my family. I've always said that
for every action I've ever taken, I'm willing to own up to the
consequences."

Under the plea agreement, Lamo agreed to serve an expected prison term
of between six months and one year. But U.S. District Judge Naomi
Buchwald will have the final say at a sentencing hearing set for April 8.

"I knew I crossed the line...I am genuinely remorseful," Lamo told the
judge during Thursday's hearing.

Lamo pleaded guilty to hacking into The New York Times' internal
computer network between February and April of 2002. In that incident,
which The New York Times confirmed at the time, Lamo said he was able
to view employee records, including Social Security numbers. He said
he could access the contact information for the paper's sources and
columnists, including such well-known contributors as former U.S.  
President Jimmy Carter and former Marine Col. Oliver North.

The charges against Lamo also involved running up The New York Times'
bill for LexisNexis, a commercial database of news and other articles.  
Initially, prosecutors claimed that the bill reached about $300,000,
but on Thursday, they reduced their estimate to between $30,000 and
$70,000.

In an earlier interviews with CNET News.com, before his surrender to
the FBI in August, Lamo claimed to be responsible for intrusions into
systems at MCI WorldCom in December 2001, Microsoft in October 2001,
Yahoo in September 2001 and Excite@Home in May 2001. When he entered
Yahoo's system, Lamo said, he was able to alter news articles on the
company's site.

Any such intrusion could violate the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse
Act, which punishes anyone who "intentionally accesses a computer
without authorization or exceeds authorized access." Penalties involve
fines and between one and five years in prison, depending on the
charges.

Lamo is known for his unconventional lifestyle. Before the courts
ordered him to return to the Sacramento, Calif., area to live with his
parents, Lamo had no fixed address and instead wandered around the
United States on Greyhound buses, sleeping on friends' couches and,
when necessary, staying in vacant or derelict buildings.

On Thursday, Sean Hecker, Lamo's court-appointed defense attorney,
reiterated in a telephone interview that Lamo was sorry and is willing
to pay the price, "which is exactly what he did in court today...He's
looking to move on with his life."

Reuters contributed to this report. 


 
*==============================================================*
"Communications without intelligence is noise;  Intelligence
without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
----------------------------------------------------------------
C4I.org - Computer Security, & Intelligence - http://www.c4i.org
================================================================
Help C4I.org with a donation: http://www.c4i.org/contribute.html
*==============================================================*



-
ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org

To unsubscribe email majordomo () attrition org with 'unsubscribe isn'
in the BODY of the mail.