Journalist Matthew Keys Convicted Of Helping Anonymous Hack LA Times

A California jury found journalist Matthew Keys guilty on three criminal counts related to helping members of the Anonymous hacking collective gain access to a former employer’s computers, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

Keys was indicted in 2013 after being accused of providing Anonymous (remember them?) with login credentials for the Tribune Company, and encouraging them to “f*** shit up”.

Matthew Keys, 28, who formerly worked for a television station under the Times’ parent Tribune Company, was found guilty of conspiracy to cause damage to a protected computer, transmission of malicious code, and attempted transmission of malicious code. He faces three to five years in prison, according to experts on federal sentencing guidelines.

In a statement to Reuters, a spokesperson for Tribune Media said the company was pleased the justice system worked. After providing log-in credentials, Keys allegedly encouraged the Anonymous members to disrupt the website. Federal prosecutors in Sacramento say he wanted payback.

The subsequent defacement was minor – a story about a tax cut package in Congress was altered with a few mentions of “CHIPPY 1337” – and Keys’ defense said it was reversed within an hour.

Keys, who works as a managing editor for Grasswire, a news curation website, said he will continue to report until his sentencing.

The alleged events in the indictment occurred before Keys joined Thomson Reuters as a Reuters.com editor in 2012. According to federal authorities, Keys provided a username and password for Tribune servers to hackers in an online chat room after he left KTXL in late October 2010.

Prosecutors wrote in the indictment that Tribune spent more than $5,000 responding to the attack and restoring its systems.

Lessig raised $1M for his wonderful, unprecedented presidential bid, where he promises that, if he wins, he’ll immediately pass campaign finance reform and then resign, handing over the presidency to his running-mate. “Although he did no lasting damage, Keys did interfere with the business of news organizations, and caused the Tribune Company to spend thousands of dollars protecting its servers”.

Keys, who was allowed by the judge to remain free without having to post bail after the verdict, is scheduled to be sentenced January 20. “Those who use the Internet to carry out personal vendettas against former employers should know that there are consequences for such conduct”.