LulzSec member Jeremy Hammond pleads guilty to Stratfor attack

[Jesse]

Jeremy Hammond, aka "Anarchaos,"  of hacker collective LulzSec has today plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking. Hammond was arrested last year after Hector Xavier Monsegur, aka "Sabu," cooperated with the FBI in investigations of LulzSec members. 

Although implicated in several other hacking incidents, Hammond is being charged in connection with an attack on the company Stratfor Global Intelligence Service in which he stole credit card information. He then went on to use the stolen card numbers to make more than $700,000 in fraudulent charges.

Backed by the FBI, Monsegur convinced Hammond and other LulzSec members to use a disguised FBI computer to store the stolen data, reports the New York Times. According to the FBI complaint, the hackers transferred 60,000 credit card numbers and 860,000 Stratfor client records, in addition to employee emails and other financial data to the provided server.

Before his arrest in 2012, Hammond had already served 24 months in prison for stealing credit card numbers from a political group’s servers in 2006. He also admitted to Judge Loretta A. Preska of the Federal District Court in Manhattan that he had gained access to several other organizations' systems, including the FBI’s Virtual Academy and Vanguard Defense Industries, a company that makes drones.

Hammond agreed to pay up to $2.5 million in restitution for his crimes, and faces up to 10 years in prison. Other LulzSec members were recently sentenced in related hacking cases.

In a personal statement concerning his guilty plea posted today on the website freejeremy.net, Hammond expressed relief about being able to speak freely regarding the incident and spoke to why he accepted the plea. He describes himself as an online activist, which is in stark contrast to the New York Times report, and makes no mention of the $700,000 in fraudulent credit card charges.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52714-lulzsec-member-jeremy-hammond-pleads-guilty-to-stratfor-attack.html

 

[TomSEA]

"Online activist" my a--. He's a thief, plain and simple. To the tune of 60,000 credit card numbers and $700k in fraudulent charges. It really is mind boggling how these guys 1) think they can get away with it and 2) try to pretend that they're innocent people engaging in harmless crimes.

 

[captaincranky]

I hope he gets his, "butt hacked", in the slammer...

 

[psycros]

"Online activist" my a--. He's a thief, plain and simple. To the tune of 60,000 credit card numbers and $700k in fraudulent charges. It really is mind boggling how these guys 1) think they can get away with it and 2) try to pretend that they're innocent people engaging in harmless crimes.

Just another symptom of our scumbag society where the ends always justifies the means. As long as you can align your agenda with someone big enough to protect you, well, you can pretty much get away with murder. The regular guy on the street watches how our politicians, corporations and the press routinely break all the rules and asks himself, "then why the hell am I bothering to toe the line? Why shouldn't I get all I can, any way I can?" That's how the death of a civilization starts.

 

[dividebyzero]

The regular guy on the street watches how our politicians, corporations and the press routinely break all the rules and asks himself, "then why the hell am I bothering to toe the line? Why shouldn't I get all I can, any way I can?"

The next mugging accused defence: "Judge, I wasn't stealing the dude's wallet...just hacking his mobile data storage system"

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Just another symptom of our scumbag society where the ends always justifies the means. As long as you can align your agenda with someone big enough to protect you, well, you can pretty much get away with murder. The regular guy on the street watches how our politicians, corporations and the press routinely break all the rules and asks himself, "then why the hell am I bothering to toe the line? Why shouldn't I get all I can, any way I can?" That's how the death of a civilization starts.

You're right.... many people believe the ends always justify the means, but that's usually the result of not being able to understand more than one angle of an issue.

Yes, politicians, corps and the press break some (all is a bit much) rules, but they get busted too. Right now the govt is defending itself against the IRS favoritism, the bugging of the AP reporter and the reading of the Fox Journalist's emails without a warrant. So long we are free to communicate and our leaders are elected, we don't have to worry too much about those in power getting away with too much.

I think the perception that corporations and press break the rules is overblown. Corporations are often guilty of bad moral judgement, but actual law breaking is pretty rare. You don't actually need to break the laws to look bad either... just look at the heat Apple took over it's very shady, but perfectly legal tax strategy.

 

[Guest]

Send him to Africa and let him hack the flies off his face.

What a piece of human trash.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I hope he gets his, "butt hacked", in the slammer...

Now now... Let's not wish him ill. If you were one of 60 000 victims, go for it.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

"Online activist" my a--. He's a thief, plain and simple. To the tune of 60,000 credit card numbers and $700k in fraudulent charges. It really is mind boggling how these guys 1) think they can get away with it and 2) try to pretend that they're innocent people engaging in harmless crimes.

Just another symptom of our scumbag society where the ends always justifies the means. As long as you can align your agenda with someone big enough to protect you, well, you can pretty much get away with murder. The regular guy on the street watches how our politicians, corporations and the press routinely break all the rules and asks himself, "then why the hell am I bothering to toe the line? Why shouldn't I get all I can, any way I can?" That's how the death of a civilization starts.

Fortunately people with scruples still exist, unfortunately they seem to be a dying breed.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Send him to Africa and let him hack the flies off his face.

What a piece of human trash.

Don't send him to Africa, you bred him, you keep him. We have enough problems of our own thank you.

 

[cliffordcooley]

It really is mind boggling how these guys 1) think they can get away with it and 2) try to pretend that they're innocent people engaging in harmless crimes.

What I find mind boggling is 1) Some actually do get away with it and 2) never have to pretend they are innocent.

 

[Guest]

Best thing to do is take a sledgehammer and break this guy's wrists and nuts.

 

[Tygerstrike]

Just take a min and really look at the number. $700,000. Even your mid class worker only makes roughly 25-35k a year. AT 25k a year it would have taken a normal citizen 28 years to make that much. 28YEARS!!!!!! Thats a long time no matter how you try and spin it.
These hackers try and take some form of "moral" ground. Trying to play a digital Robin Hood. When in reality they are no more "moral" then a politician. Atleast a politician is going to smile and lie to your face. These guys dont even have the balls to face you and use a gun. That would be honest.
Ppl like the ones in that hacker group need to face the truth of not only their actions but their motivations. Its all about greed. They want, they take, and when the Law finally comes after them, they try and act rightous. Sorry, I cant buy it. The only guilt these ppl feel is the guilt of getting caught. Had they not been captured, they would have continued these actions, costing the actual innocents thousands and thousands of their hard earned money. I have to say this, shoot them. Shoot them in the head. No its not about mercy or that they will have learned a leason in all of this. As evidenced by the article, this guy has done this before. He will continue to do this even after this is all over. Save America the thousands of dollars in legal proceedings. Just put a .50 bullet in his head and be done with it.