Livermore Lab Hacker "Breuninger aka konceptor" Sentenced
Source: SNP
A Minnesota man was sentenced Friday to serve six months under house arrest and 400 hours of community service for breaking into Lawrence Livermore Laboratory computers and intentionally causing more than $32,000 in damage. Benjamin Troy Breuninger acknowledged in an earlier plea agreement that he twice broke into the national lab's computer network in 1999. Once in, he installed software that damaged computer files, officials said in court documents. Standing before U.S. District Judge D. Lowell Jensen, Breuninger apologized for the crime. "I'm very truly sorry for my actions," he said as his father looked on from the gallery. "I'm very sorry for the damage I have caused."
Breuninger was arrested in September 2000 at his Minnesota home after federal agents traced the security breach to his computer. He had used the screen names "konceptor" and "kon," officials said. Authorities have said that he did not gain access to any classified information. Jensen could have handed down a maximum sentence of five years behind bars and a $250,000 fine. But, he said, Breuninger had accepted responsibility for what he had done and was cooperating with authorities. The Bloomington, Minn., man also was ordered to pay the Department of Energy $20,000 in restitution. Jensen said that Breuninger had raised "incredible issues" for lab officials to resolve, and told the man "you have to pay a price for it." Breuninger, who has told lab officials how he accessed the computers, had no comment as he left the courtroom. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey also declined to comment on the case.
