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October 8, 2008
Student Indicted in Palin E-Mail Hack, Can't Own a Computer
The 20-year-old accused of illegally accessing Gov. Palin’s Yahoo mail account faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He’s also been forbidden to own a computer or use any computer for more than classwork or checking his e-mail:
“Kernell pleaded not guilty, officials involved in the case said, and he was released without posting bond. However, the court imposed restrictions on his computer usage. He is not allowed to own a computer and can use the Internet only for checking e-mail and doing class work. A copy of his indictment can be found here.
“If convicted, Kernell faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
“Kernell became the target almost immediately after the contents of Palin’s Yahoo Mail account were posted on 4chan, an image sharing site. When the hacker posted information about his accomplishments on 4chan, he did so under a nickname, ‘rubico.’ There was a hotlink to the ‘rubico’ name to the e-mail address ‘rubico10@yahoo.com,’ which in turn was traced back to Kernell.
“If that didn’t get him, another slip up would have. The hacker who broke into Palin’s account posted full screen shots of his accomplishment, including the address bar of his browser without the address obfuscated.
“There in the address bar for all to see was proof he had use CTunnel, an anonymous Web surfing site that hides one’s IP address. However, CTunnel logs the addresses of all who use the service, and its owner cooperated with the FBI to track down who was responsible. Within days the IP address was traced to and Internet Service Provider that serves the Knoxville apartment complex where Kernell lives.
(Link)
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