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T-Moblile Cracker Pleads Guilty 139

Posted by samzenpus from the go-directly-to-jail dept.
hackajar writes "The Register is reporting Nicholas Lee Jacobsen plead guilty to cracking into T-Mobile's phones. He was picked up in mid October of last year in the "Operation Firewall" sweep by the FBI. He faces "maximum five years' prison and a $250,000 fine" according to the site."
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T-Moblile Cracker Pleads Guilty More

T-Moblile Cracker Pleads Guilty

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  • Summary is misleading... (Score:5, Informative)

    by FrYGuY101 ( 770432 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @04:22AM (#11697555) Journal
    He cracked into the network, not just phones... from TFA:
    Nicholas Lee Jacobsen accessed US Secret Service email, obtained customers' passwords and Social Security numbers, and downloaded candid photos taken by Sidekick users, including Hollywood celebrities, as we reported in January.

    • Re:Summary is misleading... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by mboverload ( 657893 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @04:28AM (#11697570) Journal
      It is one thing to crack into a network. Stealing social security numbers and personal photos is another, however.

      Other than the "respect" we give him for being able to pull it off, he had no noble intensions in mind what so ever. This man deserves none of our, or your, sympathy.

      • Re:Summary is misleading... (Score:5, Funny)

        by blowdart ( 31458 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @04:45AM (#11697614) Homepage

        he had no noble intensions in mind what so ever

        Whereas if he'd managed to use the intrustion to delete every single custom ringtone off every connected mobile he would have been sainted. :)

        • And if he'd hacked into Nokia and deleted "the Nokia ringtone", he'd have been awarded next year's Nobel Peace Prize. *grin*
        • Whereas if he'd managed to use the intrustion to delete every single custom ringtone off every connected mobile he would have been sainted. :)

          You obviously haven't heard the 'default' ringtone on T-mobile phones. You know that ring at the end of their commercials... yeah, that's it.

      • Other than the "respect" we give him for being able to pull it off

        I'm not sure if we should give him any "respect" - quotation marks or no.

        The article doesn't say anything about how he did it so it might well have been Mitnick style "hacking" , involving tricking people over the phone to give out passwords (also called social engineering which he wrote a book on).

        So this might have been a confidence hack rather than a techie hack, although I admit I don't know which it was...

      • "It is one thing to crack into a network. Stealing social security numbers and personal photos is another, however."

        Yes, it is. One is burglary; the other is copyright infringement.
        • Stealing my toaster is burglary; stealing my identity is copyright infringement. Using my toaster is cooking; using my identity is... burglary?
          • "Using my toaster is cooking; using my identity is... burglary?"

            Fraud. See how much easier it is to talk about these things when we call them by familiar names? Inserting a computer doesn't make it something totally new, any more than the invention of firearms turned murder into something new.

            The only part that's still sticky is taking information, because nobody ever broke into anyone's house to make and carry away a copy of his toaster. Wait...espionage?
            • When I use your CC#, SSN and bank PIN to pay for my skis and snowboard, have I burgled you? Or just defrauded the bank?
              • Yes. If A uses B's "CC#, SSN and bank PIN" without authorization by B, then A has stolen money from B and defrauded the bank as well (having obtained services from the bank under false pretenses, and making them liable for B's loss). He's also defrauded the merchant. A is in a whole lotta trouble, if caught.

                At least, that's the way I see it -- if you want a legal opinion, buy one from a lawyer.

                This brings up an interesting point. We actually do have long experience, in law, with the taking of "virtual
                • I agree with all you've said - "cyberlaw' is usually just lawyers and journalists creating new laws and decisions diverging from the case law developed in a different time, when justice was more consistent. Except the last part, where stealing info is [not] different from stealing candlesticks. Stealing the info is different, because it's just creating the threat of stealing candlesticks. It's more like stealing keys, if they're an extra set. It's a crime, and the threat destroys the value of security inves
      • ...for being able to pull it off...
        He did not pull it off...he was caught.

    • Operation Firewall (Score:5, Informative)

      by mboverload ( 657893 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @04:39AM (#11697600) Journal
      Here is an article about Operation Firewall. Interesting that wikipedia does not yet have an entry on it... http://www.viruslist.com/en/news?id=154205192 [viruslist.com]

  • Few thoughts (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 17, 2005 @04:30AM (#11697578)
    As I recall, he wasn't picked up in the Operation Firewall sweep (although he would have been), instead, he turned himself in several days before the arrests.

    Secondly, the maximum five year/$250,000 fine thing is standard for a single felony. In all likelyhood he will get MUCH less, especially because he cooperated and plead guilty.

  • Secret Service! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mboverload ( 657893 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @04:32AM (#11697583) Journal
    Nicholas Lee Jacobsen accessed US Secret Service email...

    Why the hell are the secret service sending unencrypted emails (!!!) other a PUBLIC, wireless phone system. I don't like our president or anything, but he deserves more than some hack jobs practically advertising themselves to the world.

    • I was of the understanding that the secret service had two email systems, one for communication with the general public, and one internal - secure - system.

    • Re:Secret Service! (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The Secret Service doesn't just protect the president. They also police money fraud(ie counterfeiting), since they are part of the US Treasury dept. A large amount of their work isn't classified.
      • How ironic since the FED actually owns the money and its a 100% combo of 12 corp banks (most none american)

        Now through lending practices and credit, over 7% of the GDP in M3 money supply is made each year out of thin air , nothing. Now tell me that isnt legalized complex (oh its business) way of counterfeiting money. ie 700billion yearly.

        If you want to steal $$$, dont, just setup your own bank www.caymanco.com for $50k, and start 'lending' out 9x your capital to your own 'fake' businesses aswell as real

      • Re:Secret Service! (Score:3, Informative)

        by LinuxHam ( 52232 )
        since they are part of the US Treasury dept

        Used to be part of the treasury dept. They are now DHS [dhs.gov]

      • Re:Secret Service! (Score:3, Insightful)

        by mwood ( 25379 )
        100% of my work isn't classified, but I know better than to throw secrets around unencrypted.

        Setting aside what the President may or may not deserve, *we* deserve better from the people who work for us.

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @05:04AM (#11697660)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • No, he got hard core stuff.

        If you read the article, you'd realize that the sole source for his Secret Service intel was from the one agent that was admonished/punished a month or so ago for doing highly sensitive things on his mobile device - compromising the data and allowing it all to get into the hands of this one hacker.
    • I assure you they don't. The incident was about one agent that didn't listen to all the memos from the IT staff about not fowarding emails outside the office.

  • Punish him constructively (Score:5, Interesting)

    by [cx] ( 181186 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @04:46AM (#11697616)
    Make him work unpaid with only room and board as a slave for T-Mobile as a security technician.

    Oh yeah..slavery...

    I guess it's not such a good idea, but without the bad past of slavery, but incarceration is just a waste of money, when he could be using his "talent" positively. By forcing them to atone for their crimes perhaps they will learn the error of their ways by dealing with (in this case) people trying to crack the same security network he is now trying to secure.

    Monitor him, which will probably cost less than the prison fees. He is not a danger to society, he is just simply someone who overstepped their legal boundary. I believe prison should be for violent criminals. Not that he will go to a real tough prison.

    But if he screws up in the program outside of prison as rehabilitation, then he would be sent to a maximum security prison to serve the sentence to the end.

    [cx]

    • no way, jose (Score:2, Insightful)

      by John Seminal ( 698722 )
      he should go to jail. why reward bad behavior? it is about ethics, about right and wrong. the hacking was wrong, now he is going to jail.

      better yet, pass a law that says anyone convicted of a computer crime can't work with computers. something like what they do with criminals who harm children. laws make it illegal for them to work or be around children.

      even with driving privliges, after so many tickets, they will take a drivers license away.

      oh, about your statement that incarceration is a waste of mo

      • Re:no way, jose (Score:5, Insightful)

        by mboverload ( 657893 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @06:22AM (#11697824) Journal
        No way. Even for a hacker restricting computer use is WAY too far. Computers are a part of life that one can not avoid. It would be like restricting the use of the kitchen because you hurt someone with a knife.

        As for your comment about fuck up once and your out, keep in mind many convictions are of innocent people. Also, the only way to start to get these people into society is to get them JOBS! Give them a meaning to life and a way to support it. I know I would want help if I ever fell into crime. To humans purpose is extremely important. Onc eyour in jail long enough you just loose all sense of that. I had an uncle in prision and he told me all about how it screws with your mind. He is now legit and all, but some of it still lingers.

        • I recall a story...some fellow had jiggered a computer to embezzle a big stack of money. On conviction, the authorities jiggered his *brain* so that he couldn't look at a computer without getting headaches and dizziness, couldn't touch one without minor pain. The fellow couldn't even feed himself, because all the restaurants and stores were computerized -- he had to beg strangers to use his credit card for him. The authorities saw to it that he could always buy what he needed, but he was incapable of mak

      • Re:no way, jose (Score:3, Insightful)

        by m50d ( 797211 )
        Forced labour would hardly be "rewarding" what he did. It's just punishing him in a way that gives more benefit to the rest of society.

        And I think you're being excessively hard. If that's how things should work, why don't we just execute everyone, first time, for any crime? We believe people can be reformed, that they should go to prison or do community work or pay a fine, somehow pay their debt to society, and then be allowed to start over.

        • They tried that with Westley, and it didn't work. The Stupid Interdimentional Sky God let him go.

          Damn Picard's extremely high Charisma Modifier!
      • Why does society punish? For revenge? Or for self protection?
        I think the goal is to rehabilitate the individual for him to become a useful member of society.
      • It's about practical living in our society. We spend $30-40K:y average on incarceration. Afterwards, especially with the detailed and thoroughly used recordkeeping you're talking about, the ex-con has little alternative but to steal or otherwise commit crime to survive. Even with alternatives, keeping them in jail, punishing them, with only other criminals to turn to for society, cranks out more and harder criminals. They're people, not animals, so they can always be made worse by abusing them.

        I say, encou
    • He is not a danger to society

      I don't know if it was mentioned in this article, but I've read others about this case. This guy was trying to sell subscribers' credit card and social security numbers and you call that "not a danger to society." That's pretty dangerous to society, or have you never heard of identity theft?
      • Accoriding to the article, HE DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO CREDITCARD NUMBERS. "Jacobsen had access to some customers' Social Security numbers and dates of birth, voicemail PINs, and the passwords providing users with web access to their T-Mobile email accounts. He did not have access to credit card numbers."
        • I could have sworn another article said he had access to credit card numbers.

          Needless to say, in another post, I linked to a statement that he offered to sell social security numbers and other critical information about customers which would allow someone to steal said person's identity.

  • He now works for the secret service (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Maximum of five years and a $250,000 fine is the maximum for a single felony. From the previous article:

    The same source also offers an explanation for the secrecy surrounding the case: the Secret Service, the source says, has offered to put the hacker to work, pleading him out to a single felony, then enlisting him to catch other computer criminals in the same manner in which he himself was caught. The source says that Jacobsen, facing the prospect of prison time, is favorably considering the offer.

    It s
    • It used to be standard bahaviour (apparently) to use hackers to catch hackers. I knew people in the 80s who were busted by the phone company here in the Land of OZ and were hired by said company to catch the other hackers. Don't forget that hacker slang even used to have a phrase for hackers who are caught and used by THEM to catch other hackers.

      Incidently, the word is "narq".
    • When they say "working for the secret service", that means basically finding other thieves and turning them over for prosecution. He ain't getting a gun and a badge.

  • T-Moblile (Score:2, Insightful)

    by victorhooi ( 830021 )
    Hi, Is it just me, or does somebody at Slashdot have a personal vendeta against The Society for Correct Spelling? *rolls eyes* It's happened so many times in the past few weeks that I was starting to think it was intentional, some clever attempt to subvert the Establishment and show how progressive they are....or, maybe I'm over-analysing it.... Anyway, back to the topic - I wonder if the FBI will cut a spill-the-beans deal with him? I mean, breaking into a major telco...that's gotta be worth at least a

    • Re:T-Moblile (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 17, 2005 @05:50AM (#11697764)
      That's "vendetta"

      HTH
      The Society For Correct Spelling.
    • Hi, Is it just me, or does somebody at Slashdot have a personal vendeta against The Society for Correct Spelling?

      It wasn't a spelling error. The person who typed "T-Moblile" didn't do so because they didn't know how to spell it. It was a typo. An error, but of a different kind.

      What you should be talking about is The Society for Correct Editing.

    • I tend to get pissy with people who are too anal about spelling (particularly in people's posts) -- but in the article itself, it's pretty unprofessional. Would it be that difficult to have articles run through ispell before they can be posted?
  • ...will we be seeing the 'candid' photos? It's not like Paris Hilton and her ilk could embarrass themselves any further.

  • Standard Slashdot Responses... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mumblestheclown ( 569987 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @05:10AM (#11697669)
    • He was a "private security researcher."
    • He never stole anything
    • People like him do the world a service by exposing the weaknesses of such systems (to.. uhh.. people like him).
    • 5 years! Compare this to $LESSERSENTENCEDCRIME.
    • who cares if he stole something or not. he invaded the privacy of other people. this reminds me of a guy back in college. about a month after moving in the dorms, i was stuck in the elevator with this guy. on the way up he was snickering and laughing, and finally let out a "you won't believe this... you have to come to my room". this guy was a loner, and a bit of a weirdo. but i figured fuck it, and went to see what he had. it was a big ass radio which could be tuned to listen in on wireless phones. he had
    • He tried to sell subscribers' social security numbers. He's pretty dangerous. If you claim not, you're a moron, plain and simple.

      Here [internetnews.com] he tries to sell materials from an ongoing federal investigation that he accessed through the break-in
      Here [arstechnica.com] he tries to sell social security numbers and other identifying information so others can steal those identities.

  • 'Honest, Judge... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Sensible Clod ( 771142 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @05:11AM (#11697674) Homepage
    I thought I was accessing my WiFi AP. Its SSID was T-Moblile!"

  • Throw the book at him... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ttys00 ( 235472 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @05:48AM (#11697757)
    ... and hope nobody realises that if this guy can read secret service emails by himself, foreign government intelligence agencies (ie. whatever the KGB is called these days) with more resources and more staff must be finding it laughably easy.

    • Re:Throw the book at him... (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Oh dear god! Foreign Nationals can read DECLASSIFIED interdepartmental e-mails from the Secret Service!

      Meanwhile, anything of importance isn't sent OVER THE AIR, UNENCRYPTED...

  • A mere pittance (Score:5, Funny)

    by QCompson ( 675963 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @07:16AM (#11697959)
    $250,000? That's nothing! At least he wasn't caught sharing four or five songs...

  • why hackers get caught (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The only real reason why hackers get caught is because they always have to boast about what they have done.

  • Cat's out of the bag (Score:3)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Thursday February 17, 2005 @02:14PM (#11702254) Homepage Journal
    "Sources say the hacker was also able to download candid photos taken by Sidekick users, including Hollywood celebrities, which were shared within the hacking community."

    Where are these photos?
  • Great Read - Scroll straight to Page 20. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:DVOASBgoZ8EJ: www.4law.co.il/jacob2.pdf+Peter+Cavicchia&hl=en

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