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The 20-year-old hacker, David Kernell from Knoxville has
been indicted for cracking the email account of Sarah Palin, McCain’s running
partner. The young hacker turned himself in and will be appearing before a
judge on Wednesday. If found guilty, Kernell faces 5 years in prison, a $250,000
fine and 3 years of supervised release. Presently, David Kernell is to use his
computer only for school purposes and may not leave eastern Tennessee without
written approval. Also, the hacker is forbidden from making contact with Sarah
Palin or with her family.
The hacker managed to break into the vice presidential
candidate personal email account with the help of a little research. He
accessed the account and used the password recovery tool. For security purposes,
Yahoo demands some very personal information in order for the password to be
reset; Kernell answered all the questions right and after that he revealed some
information found in the contents of the hacked email account on a forum called
4chan.org. Besides the obvious, a person’s right to intimacy was violated, this
action proves how vulnerable email accounts really are.
On the other hand, if Wednesday the hacker is proven to be
guilty, he will be set as an example to all hackers excited about breaking the
law. The case will be prosecuted by Section Chief Michael DuBose and Attorney
Mark Krotoski. David Kernell pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate
Judge C. Clifford Shirley and the Justice Department says that and indictment is
not the same with a conviction. David Kernell is innocent until proven
otherwise.
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