Tag Archive for: jailed

Nintendo Hacker Jailed – Infosecurity Magazine

/in


A California man who admitted hacking into the computer system of Japanese gaming giant Nintendo and leaking proprietary data has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Palmdale resident Ryan S. Hernandez, now aged 21, was still a minor when he and an associate used a phishing technique to steal the credentials of a Nintendo employee in 2016. 

The credentials were exploited to access and download confidential files relating to the company’s games and consoles, which were then leaked to the public. Pre-release information about the anticipated Nintendo Switch console was among the data leaked. 

In 2017, FBI agents contacted Hernandez, also known as Ryan West and by his online moniker “RyanRocks,” and his parents regarding the hack. Despite promising agents that he would not engage in any further cyber-criminal activity, Hernandez went on to hack into multiple Nintendo servers and steal confidential information about video games, developer tools, and gaming consoles from at least June 2018 to June 2019. 

The indiscreet hacker boasted about his crimes on Twitter and Discord, the group-chatting platform that was originally built for gamers. He even created an online chat forum, eponymously named “Ryan’s Underground Hangout,” where he chatted with people about Nintendo products, shared some of the data he had stolen from the company, and highlighted possible vulnerabilities in Nintendo’s computer network.

Hernandez’ activities did not go unnoticed by the FBI, who searched his home in June 2019 and seized circumvention devices used to access pirated video games and software. Agents also seized numerous computers and hard drives, upon which were discovered thousands of confidential files belonging to Nintendo. 

Forensic analysis of devices belonging to Hernandez revealed that the teen had used the internet to amass a collection of over 1,000 videos and images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. This cache of child sexual abuse material was stored and sorted in a folder directory labeled “Bad Stuff.”

In January 2020, Hernandez pleaded guilty to computer fraud and abuse and to possession of child pornography and agreed to pay $259,323 in…

Source…

‘Extreme’ Wolverhampton stalker jailed after hacking into victim’s home CCTV

/in


George Coughlan
George Coughlan

George Coughlan created 19 fake Instagram accounts, plus other bogus social media profiles, to bombard the woman with abuse from December last year.

One of the messages he sent contained a video showing her relaxing at home in the lounge – and it quickly became evident he had hacked into her home security camera system to seize footage.

Police arrested the 33-year-old on February 29 after the victim – who is known to Coughlan – disclosed the stalking and harassment to officers.

His phone was seized for examination and revealed internet searches on the woman’s name and her partner, plus phrases including “log into iCloud without verification” and “free mobile phone tracker without user knowing”.

Coughlan created lots of bogus social media accounts to continue harassing the victim

And he had researched phone spyware to track SMS messages, calls, social apps and GPS movements.

Police also found a total of 61 social media accounts linked to his phone – which he used to contact the victim – and 67 video files he had downloaded after hacking into the CCTV system.

Coughlan, from St Chads Road in Bilston, Wolverhampton, initially denied one count of stalking involving serious alarm and distress but in the face of evidence presented to the court later admitted the charge.

And on Friday at Wolverhampton Crown Court he was jailed for 21 months.

He was also made subject to a five-year restraining order in order to protect the victim.

One of the messages George Coughlan sent to the victim

Inspector Cate Webb-Jones from the Public Protection Unit said: “Stalking is a serious crime, an invasion of someone’s privacy, and as we’ve seen with this case can result in a significant jail term.

“Coughlan went to extreme lengths to exert control and intrude on his victim’s life. It was hugely upsetting and she was living day by day in fear. It’s simply not acceptable.

“Social media and easily accessible technology, such as spyware to track mobile phones, is giving stalkers more tools to harass victims and potentially put them in more danger.

“In the last year (April 19 to March 20) we saw reports of stalking and harassment rise by almost a third.

“Much of that is…

Source…

Man jailed for using data breach info leaks to claim over $12 million in IRS tax refunds – ZDNet

/in

Man jailed for using data breach info leaks to claim over $ 12 million in IRS tax refunds  ZDNet
“data breach” – read more