On Friday, Paige Thompson, a former Amazon software engineer, was convicted for wire fraud and hacking by a Seattle jury. She was accused of intentionally stealing users’ private information from a Capital One’s breach in the US.
According to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is an anti-hacking law, Ms. Thompson is guilty of five charges of accessing an unauthorized computer and making a protected computer out of order. While she was charged for wire fraud, she had been not found guilty of identity theft and access device fraud.
In 2019, she saved more than 100 million people’s personal information from Capital One. But her lawyers compared her to professional hackers who were hired by companies to check their software bugs.
However, the Justice Department argued that she had not and was not willing to report Capital One that she had the access to the private information. Besides, it stated Ms. Thompson utilized her particular access to Capital One servers for cryptocurrency mining.
“Ms. Thompson used her hacking skills to steal the personal information of more than 100 million people, and hijacked computer servers to mine cryptocurrency,” said Nicholas W. Brown, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, in a statement. “Far from being an ethical hacker trying to help companies with their computer security, she exploited mistakes to steal valuable data and sought to enrich herself.”
After adjudicating, Ms. Thompson’s lawyers refused to comment on the verdict.
The tech industry was paying attention to this case as well as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Some industry stuff criticized the law as “too broad” and it may cause troubles for company-employed ethic hackers.
In July 2019, a woman who had a conversation with Ms. Thompson about the data she attained reported this issue to Capital One. Ms. Thompson was arrested after Capital One sent the information to the FBI.
In 2020, the bank paid $80 million in claim for compensation. And it had agreed to pay another $190 million to the people whose information had been leaked out in December.
Ms. Thompson will be sentenced on Sept. 15.
According to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is an anti-hacking law, Ms. Thompson is guilty of five charges of accessing an unauthorized computer and making a protected computer out of order. While she was charged for wire fraud, she had been not found guilty of identity theft and access device fraud.
In 2019, she saved more than 100 million people’s personal information from Capital One. But her lawyers compared her to professional hackers who were hired by companies to check their software bugs.
However, the Justice Department argued that she had not and was not willing to report Capital One that she had the access to the private information. Besides, it stated Ms. Thompson utilized her particular access to Capital One servers for cryptocurrency mining.
“Ms. Thompson used her hacking skills to steal the personal information of more than 100 million people, and hijacked computer servers to mine cryptocurrency,” said Nicholas W. Brown, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, in a statement. “Far from being an ethical hacker trying to help companies with their computer security, she exploited mistakes to steal valuable data and sought to enrich herself.”
After adjudicating, Ms. Thompson’s lawyers refused to comment on the verdict.
The tech industry was paying attention to this case as well as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Some industry stuff criticized the law as “too broad” and it may cause troubles for company-employed ethic hackers.
In July 2019, a woman who had a conversation with Ms. Thompson about the data she attained reported this issue to Capital One. Ms. Thompson was arrested after Capital One sent the information to the FBI.
In 2020, the bank paid $80 million in claim for compensation. And it had agreed to pay another $190 million to the people whose information had been leaked out in December.
Ms. Thompson will be sentenced on Sept. 15.
