A security researcher has been sentenced to 41 months in prison and a $73,000 fine for iPad data theft. Andrew Auernheimer was found guilty of illegally gaining access to AT&T’s servers and stealing more than 100,000 email addresses of iPad users in 2010.
The former Arkansas resident, who will receive concurrent
probation after three years, will have ten days to appeal the
ruling. After slapping the defendant with a harsh sentence, a
federal court judge said she hopes it sends Auernheimer on the
right path.
Auernheimer was convicted last November of identity theft and
conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers.
“I didn’t come here today to ask for forgiveness,” Auernheimer
told U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton. “The Internet is bigger
than any law can contain. Many, many governments that have
attempted to restrict the freedoms of the Internet have ended up
toppled.”
As Auernheimer spoke, a US marshal told him to put away his mobile
phone. Other marshals handcuffed him.
The judge then called a recess, and Auernheimer was escorted by
marshals to a side room. When he returned, he was shackled, with a
chain around his waist and handcuffs attached to the chain. He
grinned at supporters, several of whom raised their fists in
support.
Before his sentencing, Auernheimer held a press conference on the
courthouse steps, where he told the crowd, “I’m going to jail
for doing arithmetic.” He has repeatedly claimed that his
prosecution is politically motivated.
Prosecutors say the security researcher was part of an online group
that tricked AT&T’s website into disclosing 114,000 email
addresses in 2010. The email contacts included those of New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, film producer Harvey Weinstein, and other
celebrities.
The group then shared the addresses with the website Gawker, which
published the information.
A second defendant in the case pleaded guilty in 2011. Auernheimer
denied wrongdoing, claiming that he sought to protect the public
from corporate security vulnerabilities.
Auernheimer’s sentencing once again shines a spotlight on the
federal government’s approach to hacking.
The harsh punishment given to Auerheimer comes just two months
after internet activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide after facing aggressive prosecution
for allegedly illegally downloading and releasing MIT's academic
journals. Swartz, just like Auerheimer, refused to plead guilty,
arguing that he acted in public interest.