A&M hacker gets 10-month federal sentence
Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 at at 12/13/2007 10:26:00 PM by nullA Texas A&M graduate has received a 10-month sentence for hacking into the university's computer system and capturing students' and faculty private account information.
Luis Castillo, 23, will serve five months in prison and the remaining five months of his sentence under house arrest, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ruled Monday. The judge also ordered that Castillo pay restitution totaling $67,401 to the university.
University officials first discovered in February that the school's private computer network had been hacked several times.
A joint investigation with the FBI, university administration and law enforcement revealed that Castillo had logged onto the university's network from a residence in Oregon in that month, gaining unauthorized access to passwords and IDs.
"He is extremely remorseful," said Kirk Lechenberger, the Dallas-based attorney who represented Castillo. "Luis wants to make amends, wants to put this chapter behind him and make things right."