A federal judge has ordered William McGraw – aka GhostExodus – to serve 9 years in prison for hacking and compromising 14 computers at W.B. Carrell Memorial Clinic in Dallas.
McGraw, who worked at the hospital as a security guard, accessed the hospital network as part of a scheme to attack Anonymous on the Fourth of July – a holiday GhostExodus referred to as “Devil’s Day.”
Although McGraw ultimately failed to execute his plan, he did plead guilty to two counts of transmitting a malicious code and admitted his intent to launch a DDoS attack against an Anonymous website.
However, McGraw told the Dallas Observer he was simply fulfilling a critical niche in the Internet’s complex ecosystem with his hacking activities.
“[We] are policing the Internet… Sure, I’ve done my share of juvenile posturing.
“But I’ve never tampered with patient records, turned off an HVAC, stolen identities, or people’s hard earned money.”
Nevertheless, Judge Boyle claimed the nine-year sentence was necessary “for those who commit computer crimes to understand the potentially devastating consequences of their actions, to promote respect for the law, and to deter others involved in or contemplating hacking.”
[Via Switched]
