Prosecutors: ex-LulzSec hacker “Sabu” helped authorities stop 300+ cyberattacks

  • 26 May 2014
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Prosecutors want leniency for Sabu in light of "extraordinary cooperation" with the feds.
by Nathan Mattise - May 25 2014, 11:00pm GMTST
 
The much delayed sentencing of former LulzSec hacker-turned-FBI informant Hector "Sabu" Monsegur is set to take place next week. But before any decisions are made public, new court documents (PDF) show Monsegur has helped the feds disrupt more than 300 attacks against targets ranging from the US military to NASA, Congress to private companies. "The amount of loss prevented by Monsegur’s actions is difficult to fully quantify, but even a conservative estimate would yield a loss prevention figure in the millions of dollars," the document stated.
 
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Userlevel 7
Well, if this true and he has indeed been turned from the Dark Side then perhaps he should be given some consideration for it.
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I agree Solly, but it remains to be seen how much truth there is in it.
Userlevel 7
CNN is also reporting that a request for leniency is being pushed.  According them CNN he might end up having the up to 26 year sentence reduced to the seven months already served.
 
http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/25/technology/security/hacker-sabu-fbi/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
Userlevel 4
From what I read it's not all fine and dandy. Apparently he provoked others to do illegal activities.
Also some of the people he snitched on received disproportionate sentences. There were some political activists that DDOS'ed Paypal. While this is not legal, it seems that they didn't cause any financial damage and they weren't even able to make the website unavailable, so consumers weren't hindered by the attacks.
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A convicted hacker-turned-informant, who was facing in excess of 20 years in prison, has been handed a sentence of a year's supervision.
Hector Xavier Monsegur - known as "Sabu" - was arrested in 2011 on hacking charges.
He had faced a lengthy term, but instead agreed to work with US authorities to identify other hacking suspects.
The FBI said Monsegur had stopped more than 300 hacking attacks.
In a New York court, a judge sentenced him to seven months - which he has already served - and a year's supervision.
 
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Userlevel 7
Not surprising as I suspect the authorities are trying to turn a number of other such 'Dark Siders' by showing that if you cop a plea and turn state's evidence you effectively get amnestied.  Well, it is a war out there.

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