Reuters: Most Read Articles: Hackers claim attack on Justice Department website

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Hackers claim attack on Justice Department website Jan 26th 2013, 19:20 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Hundreds attend NYC memorial for Internet activist Aaron Swartz Sat, Jan 19 2013 Internet activist, programmer Aaron Swartz dead at 26 Sun, Jan 13 2013 U.S. warns on Java software as security concerns escalate Fri, Jan 11 2013 Swiss bank Wegelin to close after guilty plea Fri, Jan 4 2013 Analysis & Opinion Counterparties: Prioritization nation U.S. using subpoenas under 1989 act as new tool to probe financial firms Related Topics U.S. » Politics » Tech » The Justice Department building is seen in Washington on March 4, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Gary Cameron WASHINGTON | Sat Jan 26, 2013 2:20pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hackers sympathetic to the late computer prodigy Aaron Swartz claimed on Saturday to have infiltrated the website of the U.S. Justice Department's Sentencing Commission, and said they planned to release government data. The Sentencing Commission site, www.ussc.gov , was shut down early Saturday. Identifying themselves as Anonymous, a loosely organized group of unknown provenance associated with a range of recent online actions, the hackers voiced outrage over Swartz' suicide on January 11. In a video posted online, the hackers criticized the government's prosecution of Swartz, who had been facing trial on charges that he used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer networks to steal more than 4 million articles from JSTOR, an online archive and journal distribution service. Swartz had faced a maximum sentence of 31 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million. The FBI is investigating the attack, according to Richard McFeely, of the bureau's Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. "We were aware as soon as it happened and are handling it as a criminal investigation," McFeely said in an emailed statement. "We are always concerned when someone illegally accesses another person's or government agency's network." (Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko; Editing by Vicki Allen) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (7) Last I checked, it was 35 years (max of 50 years) in jail and a $1 million fine. Also last I checked, he was legally granted access to those documents. They were charging him with the potential that he was going to release them, but he had not actually made any attempt to release them when he was being charged. Also MIT had no intentions of pressing charges, it was federal lawyers who were going to press charges. Another important point, it would have cost him a minimum of $1 million to defend himself in court. The government bullied him into committing suicide, and that is the issue here. Please check your facts before posting them. Jan 26, 2013 12:57pm EST  --  Report as abuse Whatever it takes to get real justice and democracy. Freedom isn't free. My guess though is that instead of actually making any changes to our corrupt government, they will use this to justify further persecutions of our citizens and strip even more of our Constitutional rights that so many have fought and died for. Jan 26, 2013 1:02pm EST  --  Report as abuse "We are always concerned when someone illegally accesses another person's or government agency's network." Uh huh, and I have some terrific swampland for sale, cheap! Jan 26, 2013 1:02pm EST  --  Report as abuse See All Comments » Add Your Comment

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