Anonymous Hacktivist Gets Youth Rehabilitation Order
Jake Burchall is the last of the four PayPal hackers to be sentenced.
Jake Burchall, who was under-age at the time of the offense, has been given an 18 month youth rehabilitation order (YRO) for his part in the PayPal hack that cost the company £3.5 million ($5.5 million) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120766-Court-Told-Wikileaks-Backlash-Cost-PayPal-3-5-Million]. Burchall is the last of the four Anonymous PayPal hackers to be sentenced; the others all received jail terms, though in the case of Peter Gibson - whose role was relatively minor compared to the others - one sentence was suspended.
Christopher Weatherhead [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120981-Court-Finds-Anonymous-PayPal-Attacker-Guilty], the only one of the four to contest the charges, has been given an 18 month prison sentence, more than double the time that any of his co-defendants will serve. The judge made it clear, in his closing remarks, that he would have preferred to give Burchall a custodial sentence as well, but his age meant that prison was off the table.
"I have to sentence you as a young person," said Judge Testar. "I think you should do some unpaid work," he added, "particularly as a recognition of the fact you have committed offences which have caused damaged and you must pay some of the damage back." Burchall was ordered to carry out a 60-hour unpaid work requirement, in addition to the order.
A YRO is essentially community punishment, often carrying with it various requirements or conditions; in Testar's view, one of the conditions of this YRO had to be that Burchall - who played a prominent role in the PayPal hack - must learn "to get out of bed in a morning and do unpaid work."
Source: Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/feb/01/anonymous-teenage-hacker]
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Jake Burchall is the last of the four PayPal hackers to be sentenced.
Jake Burchall, who was under-age at the time of the offense, has been given an 18 month youth rehabilitation order (YRO) for his part in the PayPal hack that cost the company £3.5 million ($5.5 million) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120766-Court-Told-Wikileaks-Backlash-Cost-PayPal-3-5-Million]. Burchall is the last of the four Anonymous PayPal hackers to be sentenced; the others all received jail terms, though in the case of Peter Gibson - whose role was relatively minor compared to the others - one sentence was suspended.
Christopher Weatherhead [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120981-Court-Finds-Anonymous-PayPal-Attacker-Guilty], the only one of the four to contest the charges, has been given an 18 month prison sentence, more than double the time that any of his co-defendants will serve. The judge made it clear, in his closing remarks, that he would have preferred to give Burchall a custodial sentence as well, but his age meant that prison was off the table.
"I have to sentence you as a young person," said Judge Testar. "I think you should do some unpaid work," he added, "particularly as a recognition of the fact you have committed offences which have caused damaged and you must pay some of the damage back." Burchall was ordered to carry out a 60-hour unpaid work requirement, in addition to the order.
A YRO is essentially community punishment, often carrying with it various requirements or conditions; in Testar's view, one of the conditions of this YRO had to be that Burchall - who played a prominent role in the PayPal hack - must learn "to get out of bed in a morning and do unpaid work."
Source: Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/feb/01/anonymous-teenage-hacker]
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