The trial of one of the suspects in the Sony PSN hacking case has recently concluded. Todd M Miller of Columbus, Ohio was sentenced to a year of house arrest, three years of probation and ordered to get his high school equivalency test. His sentencing was for the crime of obstructing a Federal investigation.
In 2011, Miller was originally spoken to by the FBI in relation to the April hacking attempts on the PSN and his relationship with a hacking collective called KCUF. When the agents returned with a search warrant, Miller’s computers had all been smashed up and his hard drives had mysteriously disappeared.
Had his now missing hard drives yielded evidence that he was involved in the attacks, Miller might have been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Judge Economus, who presided over the case, said that he saw no benefit to sending Miller to prison, given that his job gave him some security and he’d had a tough childhood.
The PSN hack, and the dozens of copycat attacks that ensued, cost Sony and their partners millions of dollars, as well as endangering the privacy and personal financial security of more than seventy million PSN users.
Source: Sophos.
Youles
Seems he got off easy – one years house arrest for obstructing a Federal investigation!!
Also, I don’t buy this “tough childhood” nonsense, there are plenty of people who have it tough and go on to achieve good things, let alone stay away from malicious crime.
The Avenger
True, it’s funny how part of the Judgment in law these days should account for causes which apparently the person cannot control. On the other hand I don’t buy this ‘We can all choose and be in control’ crap because what happens to us does not – not affect us. Some people who experience conflict are OK, some are not. Either way that’s the Judges of Law anyway, notably in America at least, not sure whether the same thing happens here.
JBoo
I hope he hacks the FBI then one day & f**ks them up, then they might try harder to put him in Jail(Well if it was Apple or MicroSoft or any other US company he Hacked then he wouldn’t get away with it i suppose) Unbelievable that he can get away with it just by smashing his computer up & hiding his hard drives. Hmm sounds easy maybe i should do cyber crime then. As long as i don’t touch any American companies i should be all right then i guess LoL:D
The Lone Steven
Or prehaps a lack of evidence resulted in this. There is a small thing call the Legal System in America and i don’t think they would discriminate against companies that are not from America due to them doing bussiness in the country thus gaining cash via taxs and helping their economy.
xdarkmagician
this is just nonsense, it was an American company (allegedly) hacked SCEA, in case you didn’t know the “A” is for America.
Kennykazey
You’d think smashed computers without harddrives would be evidence enough for a stronger charge.
yogh_wayne
Probably he just smashed his computer to pieces “by accident” when he stumbled over it, and then “his dog ate the HDD”. Happens every day…
quinkill
Seriously? The lack of evidence is evidence for you? That’s really not how a Justice System works.
The Avenger
True but I can see where his line of thought is going which is Why? Not that I would like to judge on the matter, but still it’s a bloody good question.
Kennykazey
Let’s say someone murdered people in a car, and when the cops come knocking it’s missing an interior. They wouldn’t say, “well it can’t be this guy.”, they’d continue the investigation. That’s what bothers me. Surely this would warrant further study and not the end of an investigation.
SH Number 7/Mini-Lipscombe
Yes but I think the original point was that he may have known something that happened not that he was involved and since they didn’t have any evidence he did anything before all they could say was the he was obstructing justice and they had little on him any way.
The Lone Steven
I’m pretty sure that would make him seem even more guilty as no innocent person would smash their PC up. Well, apart from those who are playing Dark Souls. :p Does explain why the police haven’t been able to arrest Bunimomike yet as i suspect he smashes up his computer to avoid facing justice for his crimes.
Suspect he passed the HDD onto other members of his hacking group. Am surprised that the FBI didn’t confiscate his PC when they first arrested him as it seems obvious that he would do thos.
a inferior race
HDD was probably incinerated and met magnets if he has any sense.
An-dz
and if i went out and killed someone tomorrow, i could get less time in prison than if he was convicted of what is likely his full crime. Though to be fair i would be on probation forever and probably never get a job again.
gazzagb
He’s probably got some deal with the FBI, didnt Geohot do some work for them to get let off?
hazelam
who did they have running the investigation?
Inspector Clouseau?
warn the suspect that they’re on to him before getting a warrant, and then leaving all the evidence with him.
real smart.
do they give everybody they’re investigating the same kind of advance warning?
xdarkmagician
personally, I believe situations like this is why every tech company wants to switch to the cloud computing and storage system. If people don’t have HDDs they cant destroy them.
In 20 years anybody cought using a non cloud cpu will be monitored, kinda like walking into a pharmacy and buying 50 boxes of cold medication.
As far as this kid destroying the harddrives, thats pretty much standard operating procedure and comes as no surprise. But what is surprising is this kid didn’t even have a high school diploma! And that makes me LMFAO cause now after ordering that he gets his high school equivalence hes going to be an even smarter criminal. If I was the judge I’d order him to smoke pot until he forgets the shit he already knows.
Broonba
What a fuckin’ joke. After all the hassle that he ”potentially” was involved in & all he essentially gets is a slap on the wrist. Again……..what a fuckin’ joke. *sigh*