Crackas With Attitude gov't data leaker sent behind bars
File PhotoA member of the "Crackas with Attitude" hacking group has been sentenced to five years in prison.
On Friday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said Justin Liverman, otherwise known as "D3F4ULT," pleaded guilty to being a member of the group, as well as conducting unauthorized computer intrusions, identity theft, and telephone harassment.
As part of a plea agreement, the Morehead City, North Carolina resident admitted he was part of a scheme resulting in the leak of data belonging to roughly 31,000 FBI and DoJ agents.
Crackas with Attitude has also been linked to the compromise of CIA Director John Brennan's AOL email account, which he used to handle government intelligence -- albeit very unwisely -- as well as infiltrating the personal email accounts of the former US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and his wife.
Prosecutors say the group's actions have caused more than $1.5 million in losses.
Liverman was involved in these attacks, but also went a step further and sent threatening text messages to victim cellphones. In addition, he paid a "phonebombing" service to flood victim cellphones with threats.
According to US law enforcement, the 25-year-old man was charged with conspiring with others to gain unauthorized access to government computer systems, as well as online accounts belonging to government officials.
In addition to the prison sentence, Liverman must also pay $145,000 in restitution.
According to The Mercury News, during sentencing on Friday in Alexandria, Virginia, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee ruled out the group's actions as "pranks," saying "this computer hacking, Crackas With Attitude, caused chaos. Your intent was clear, and that was to wreak havoc."
Liverman is not the only member of the group who must serve time behind bars. In June, another member, Otto Boggs, was sentenced to two years in prison.
UK law enforcement arrested the alleged leader of the group, a 17-year-old British male who went under the nickname "Cracka" in February. The teenager is on bail, and when speaking to the media, claimed the UK and US agents were trying to "ruin his life" and that he is innocent of all charges.
In related news, two Russian hackers were jailed last week to three years in a penal colony after a court found them guilty of being members of Shaltai-Boltai and stealing information belonging to Russian officials, as well as compromising their social media accounts.
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