Stratfor Hacker: FBI Entrapment Shaped My Case

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/stratfor-hacker-fbi-entrapment-shaped-my/240162199

By Mathew J. Schwartz
Information Week
October 04, 2013

Is the FBI allowed to entrap suspected computer criminals? That question 
is at the heart of a request for leniency by Jeremy Hammond, who's due to 
be sentenced on November 15 for hacking private intelligence contractor 
Stratfor, among other business and government sites.

Hammond, appearing in a Manhattan federal courtroom in May, pleaded guilty 
to one related count of computer fraud and abuse, as part of a plea 
agreement. "For each of these hacks, I knew what I was doing was wrong," 
Hammond told judge Loretta Preska, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He now 
faces up to 10 years in jail, and the prospect of paying up to $2.5 
million in restitution to Stratfor.

But in advance of his upcoming sentencing by Judge Preska, Hammond's 
supporters are asking for leniency, noting that Hammond hacked for ethical 
reasons, rather than to make a profit. They've also accused the FBI of 
entrapment, referring to tricking someone into committing a crime for the 
purpose of then arresting them. Hammond, notably, has accused former 
LulzSec leader turned FBI informant "Sabu" -- real name: Hector Xavier 
Monsegur -- of inciting participants of the Anonymous Operations (AnonOps) 
IRC channel, including himself, to hack into a number of systems, 
including Brazilian government servers for which Sabu reportedly 
distributed stolen access credentials.

"Sabu was used to build cases against a number of hackers, including 
myself. What many do not know is that Sabu was also used by his handlers 
to facilitate the hacking of targets of the government's choosing -- 
including numerous websites belonging to foreign governments," Hammond 
said in an August statement.

[...]



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