In a plea agreement, the accused admitted using the Low Orbit Ion
Cannon tool, Anonymous's favourite website flooding utility, to hit
PayPal as part of “Operation Avenge Assange”. The 13 defendants pleaded
guilty to computer hacking offences.
In a DoJ statement,
the accused were named as: Christopher Wayne Cooper, 26 (AKA
Anthrophobic), from Elberta, Alabama; Joshua John Covelli, 28, (AKA
Absolem) from Fairborn, Ohio; Keith Wilson Downey, 29, from
Jacksonville, Florida; Mercedes Renee Haefer, 22, (AKA No) from Las
Vegas, Nevada; Donald Husband, 32, (AKA Ananon) from Fairfield,
California; Vincent Charles Kershaw, 29, (AKA Trivette, Triv, and
Reaper) from Fort Collins, Colorado; Ethan Miles, 36, from Flagstaff,
Arizona; James C. Murphy, 39, from Baldwin Park, California; Drew Alan
Phillips, 28, (AKA Drew010) from Santa Rosa, California; Jeffrey
Puglisi, 30, (AKA Jeffer) from Clinton Township, Michigan; Daniel
Sullivan, 24, from Camarillo, California; Tracy Ann Valenzuela, 44, from
Napa, California; and Christopher Quang Vo, 24, from Attleboro,
Massachusetts.
Covelli also pleaded guilty to executing a DDoS
attack (with another defendant, presently a fugitive) against the Santa
Cruz County web server, which the Feds reported him as saying was "in
retaliation" for the break-up of a local protest camp by the City of
Santa Cruz. Covelli and others, calling themselves the “People’s
Liberation Front” or “PLF” and claiming to allegiance to Anonymous,
launched a DDoS against Santa Cruz County’s website as part of
“Operation Peace Camp 2010”.
All 13 defendants were released on bail pending sentencing hearings scheduled for November and December 2014.
Last week eBay chairman Pierre Omidyar called for leniency
in the prosecution of those accused of playing a part in DDoSing
PayPal. He pointed out that the accused are part of thousands who took
part in the protest. There's no particular suggestion that any of the
accused can be properly described as ringleaders in the protest but
despite this and even after their guilty pleas, the suspects are still
at risk of finding themselves behind bars for a prolonged stay at Club
Fed.
The PayPal DDoS prosecution follows an investigation by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with cooperation from PayPal.
Authorities in the Netherlands, Germany and France have also taken their
own investigative and enforcement actions.
Source : The Register
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