BOSTON - A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today for his role in a scheme to hack into computer networks and sell access to those networks.
Andrew James Miller, 23, of Devon, Penn., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf to 18 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, a $25,000 fine, and $6,497 in restitution. In August 2013, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of computer intrusion.
From 2008 to 2011, Miller remotely hacked into a variety of computers located in Massachusetts and elsewhere, and, in some instances, surreptitiously installed “backdoors" into those computers. These “backdoors" were designed to provide future administrator-level, or “root," access to the compromised computers.
Miller obtained log-in credentials to the compromised computers. He and his co-conspirators then sold access to these backdoors, as well as other log-in credentials. The access sold by Miller and his co-conspirators allowed unauthorized people to access various commercial, education and government computer networks. Miller attempted to sell access for $50,000 to two super computers at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in Oakland, Calif., that were part of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bookbinder of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
