LulzSec Member Sentenced for Hacking Sony Pictures Computer Systems

A member of the LulzSec hacking group was sentenced today to one year and one day in federal prison for his conviction on federal computer hacking charges related to an extensive computer attack that compromised the computer systems of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Cody Andrew Kretsinger, who used the online moniker “recursion,” 25, who formerly lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and currently resides in Decatur, Illinois, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kronstadt ordered Kretsinger to serve one year of home detention following the completion of his prison sentence, to perform 1,000 hours of community service, and to pay $605,663 in restitution.

Kretsinger pleaded guilty in April 2012 to conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. According to court documents, during a one-week period in late May and early June of 2011, the computer systems of Sony Pictures were compromised by a computer hacking group known as “LulzSec” or “Lulz Security,” whose members anonymously took responsibility for the attack.

Kretsinger and others involved in the intrusion obtained confidential information from Sony Pictures’ computer systems by using an “SQL injection” attack against Sony Pictures’ website. Kretsinger and the other attackers distributed the stolen data on the Internet, information that included names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for tens of thousands of Sony customers.

LulzSec is known for its affiliation with the international group of hackers known as “Anonymous,” which is a loose collective of computer hackers and others around the world who conduct cyber attacks and disseminate confidential information stolen from victims’ computers.

Another member of LulzSec, Raynaldo Rivera, known by the online moniker “neuron,” of Chandler, Arizona, 20, pleaded guilty last October to conspiracy charges in connection with his participation in the Sony Pictures attack. Rivera is currently scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kronstadt on May 16.

This investigation into the attack on Sony Pictures’ computer systems was conducted by the Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTF) in Los Angeles. The ECTF is comprised of agents and officers from the FBI, the United States Secret Service, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the California Highway Patrol.

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Source: justice.gov “Member of LulzSec Hacking Group Sentenced to Over Year in Federal Prison for 2011 Intrusion into Sony Pictures Computer Systems,” April 23, 2013.

Tags: Cody Andrew Kretsinger, Criminal Law, Internet Crime, Lulzsec