Jonathan James
James gained notoriety when he became the first juvenile to be sent to prison for hacking. He was sentenced at 16 years old. In an anonymous PBS interview, he professes, "I was just looking around, playing around. What was fun for me was a challenge to see what I could pull off."
James's major intrusions targeted high-profile organizations. He installed a backdoor into a Defense Threat Reduction Agency server. The DTRA is an agency of the Department of Defense charged with reducing the threat to the U.S. and its allies from nuclear, biological, chemical, conventional and special weapons. The backdoor he created enabled him to view sensitive emails and capture employee usernames and passwords.
James also cracked into NASA computers, stealing software worth approximately $1.7 million. According to the Department of Justice, "The software supported the International Space Station's physical environment, including control of the temperature and humidity within the living space." NASA was forced to shut down its computer systems, ultimately racking up a $41,000 cost. James explained that he downloaded the code to supplement his studies on C programming, but contended, "The code itself was crappy . . . certainly not worth $1.7 million like they claimed."
Given the extent of his intrusions, if James, also known as "c0mrade," had been an adult he likely would have served at least 10 years. Instead, he was banned from recreational computer use and was slated to serve a six-month sentence under house arrest with probation. However, he served six months in prison for violation of parole. Today, James asserts that he's learned his lesson and might start a computer security company.
Total messages: 10
Am a young upcoming student who aims at bcomin a white hat hacker but it seems I just lost focus by dis news.NO LOVE LOST NO LOVE FOUND
Its so sad he left us fr the things he didnt do but the feeling of his presence will always be there among our hearts
iam totally in grief of his death.
may god bless him
A common mistake (IDIOT) people do is that if you did some hacking some time (even when you were just a kid) they keep persecuting and dont trust in you anymore. I really trust in Jonatan's sentence he wrote in his last letter:
---------
"I honestly, honestly had nothing to do with TJX," James wrote in his suicide note, "I have no faith in the 'justice' system. Perhaps my actions today, and this letter, will send a stronger message to the public. Either way, I have lost control over this situation, and this is my only way to regain control."
---------
And it's a strong message for the authorities and people that often BAN the INTELLIGENCE of a GENIUS...
I truly believe that the main engine of a hacker is just a self-challenge to know what could he achieve. I believe that if a hacker is led to prisson for a year or so, then he for sure will learn the lesson, and realize that he could spent his intelligence for good things. As Jonathan said in an interview he was planning to open a security company.
Damn, the U.S. government keept persecuted him until that caused him to kill himself................ :( R.I.P Jonathan. WE BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU SAID!!
best of luck for your future