Could the trend of claiming
not to know any better while hacking due to asperger's be coming to an end?
From Wired
"Convicted TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez was sentenced to 20 years in
prison on Thursday for leading a gang of cyberthieves who stole more
than 90 million credit and debit card numbers from TJX and other
retailers.
The sentence for the largest computer-crime case ever prosecuted is
the lengthiest ever imposed in the United States for hacking or
identity-theft. Gonzalez was also fined $25,000. Restitution, which will
likely be in the tens of millions, was not decided Thursday.
Clean-cut, wearing a beige jail uniform and wireframe glasses, the
28-year-old Gonzalez sat motionless at his chair during Thursday’s
proceedings, his hands folded in front of him.
Before the sentence was pronounced, Gonzalez told the court he deeply
regrets his crimes, and is remorseful for having taken advantage of the
personal relationships he’d forged. “Particularly one I had with a
certain government agency … that gave me a second chance in life,” said
the hacker, who had worked as a paid informant for the Secret Service.
“I blame nobody but myself.”
"The hacker had faced a sentence of between 15 and 25 years for the TJX string of intrusions. The government sought the maximum, while Gonzalez
sought the minimum, on grounds that he suffered from Asperger’s disorder and computer addiction, and that he cooperated with the government extensively." – Wired
Link: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/tjx-sentencing/
