Romanian Programmer Convicted of Hacking U.S Navy, NASA and Dept. of Energy

Victor Faur, a Romanian accused of hacking the U.S Navy, NASA and Department of Energy systems between 2005 and 2006 have been accused of illegally breaking into unauthorized computer systems.

Victor Faur, found guilty of hacking into NASA, Dept. of Energy and U.S. Navy systems

At the end of a 10 months trial, the 28 years old computer programmer received a 16-month suspended prison sentence  and will have to pay 230 000$ to the 3 organizations. Victor Faur will have to pay to NASA 214,200 dollars, to the US Department of Energy 15,032 dollars and to the US Navy some 8,856 dollars[1].

Faur told the audience that he hacked into the system to expose the flaw, as he was part of a group called the “White Hat” team[2].

It is still unknown if Faur will face the same fate as British hacker Gary McKinnon[3], who fights extraditions to the U.S. At the beginning of the trial, Thom Mrozek, the U.S attorney’s spokesman, said that the hacker would face a trial in Los Angeles after the Romanian trial. If convicted in a US court, he could end up in jail for 54 years.

See also:

“US Navy hacker avoids Romanian jail“, John Leyden, The Register, November 11, 2008 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/11/us_navy_hack_sentencing/ (accessed on November 11, 2008)

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[1] “Romanian Victor Faur receives suspended sentence for illegally accessing NASA files”, HotNews, November 6, 2008, http://english.hotnews.ro/stiri-top_news-5072386-romanian-victor-faur-sentenced-prison-time-for-illegally-accessing-nasa-files.htm (accessed on November 11, 2008)

[2] “Romanian NASA hacker gets suspended sentence”, Associated Press, November 10, 2008, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hfpRlmAltvPNjKBY6nCLqoRg-26AD94C54SG1 (accessed on November 11, 2008)

[3] “‘Hacker’ extradition case reopens”,  BBC News, February 14, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4712700.stm (accessed on November 11, 2008)