Another hacker who attacked the Daybreak Game Company, then known as Sony Online Entertainment, will be going to prison.
Austin Thompson, 23, pleaded guilty in November to the official charges of 'Damage to a Protected Computer.' The Utah native, worked with a group known as 'DerpTrolling' behind several denial-of-service, or DDoS attacks against SOE in 2013, along with other games such as League of Legends, Dota 2, and Battle.net in 2013.
“Thompson typically used the Twitter account @DerpTrolling to announce that an attack was imminent and then posted ‘scalps’ (screenshots or other photos showing that victims’ servers had been taken down) after the attack.” stated prosecutors.
Thompson will be given a 27-month sentence behind bars (2 and a half years) and must pay a $95,000 in restitution to the Daybreak Game Company. Thompson has been ordered to surrender himself to authorities on August 23rd to begin his sentence."Denial-of-service attacks cost businesses and individuals millions of dollars annually,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “We are committed to prosecuting hackers who intentionally disrupt internet access.”
Quick Take
Honestly...good. DDoS attacks are frankly petty to me, and Thompson here screwing around with a bunch of online companies is just the height of pettiness.This is also not the only time folks accused of hacking have gotten caught and went to jail either. The Lizard Squad hackers are perhaps the best known example for attacking Daybreak Games in 2015, EA Games in 2014, having one member being arrested for attempting 'swatting' players on League of Legends, and even having member Julius Kivimäki serving time for what is suspected to be over 50,000 criminal charges, ranging from swatting to hacking to DDoS attacks.
What are your thoughts on all of this? Leave your comments below.
