Jerome Heckenkamp
Jerome Heckenkamp (October 28, 1979 – March 8, 2016)hacking attacks on several prominent corporations and universities.
Early life and education
Heckenkamp was born in the Australian state of
Career
The
FBI had suspected that Heckenkamp was involved with hacking before he graduated, but did not immediately bring charges against him. After leaving his university, he was employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a computer network engineer. Officials at Los Alamos have stated that he never held a security clearance and did not work with classified information, although Heckenkamp had claimed that he worked in a highly sensitive area. Senator Pete Domenici said of Heckenkamp, "He had the right kind of brain, but he didn't have the right kind of behavior."[2]
Hacking
He was accused of hacking into the networks of multiple corporations, including
servers.[5] Although Heckenkamp challenged the evidence gained through the search of his computer as an invasion of privacy, the legality of the university's actions was upheld on appeal.[4]
Legal battles
Heckenkamp had steadfastly maintained his innocence, claiming that someone else used his computer to launch attacks and that none of the evidence definitively links him to criminal activities.United States, had not brought their client to court. Neither of these tactics was successful.[3]
Heckenkamp eventually entered into a plea bargain in which he admitted guilt and was sentenced to time served, after spending eight months in prison.[4]
References
- ^ "In Memory of Jerome T. Heckenkamp". Becker Ritter Funeral Home.
- ^ a b c Clark, Heather (12 January 2002). "Los Almos Employee Denies Hacking". ABC News. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ a b Kirby, Carrie (20 March 2002). "Hacker suspect sent to jail after hearing". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Jaschick, Scott (9 April 2007). "Defining Privacy -- and its Limits". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ Poulson, Kevin (6 April 2007). "Court Okays Counter-Hack of eBay Hacker's Computer". Wired News. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
External links
- US v Heckenkamp Decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit