Top computer hacker gets leniency

NEW YORK — A top computer hacker who helped investigators disrupt at least 300 cyberattacks on targets ranging from the U.S. armed forces and Congress to a TV network and a video game maker was spared additional prison time Monday after prosecutors argued for leniency.

Hector Xavier Monsegur could have faced more than 26 years behind bars for his confessed cyberattacks as a former member of the Anonymous and LulzSec hacking collectives.

But U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska imposed a term of seven months behind bars — the exact equivalent of what he'd already served — which means Monsegur was a free man after his sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court.

Federal prosecutors argued Monsegur merited the far lesser punishment because he "was an extremely valuable and productive cooperator" whose help led to the arrest and conviction of eight co-conspirators.

They did not specifically name the targets saved from potentially crippling cyberattacks as the result of Monsegur's cooperation. But they estimated in a government sentencing memorandum filed Friday that his actions "prevented at least millions of dollars in loss to these victims."

"Monsegur's cooperation was complex and sophisticated, and the investigations in which he participated required close and precise coordination with law enforcement officers in several locations," Manhattan Assistant U.S. Attorney James Pastore wrote in the memo.

Among other specifics, Pastore credited Monsegur's assistance in the 2012 arrest of Jeremy Hammond, who at the time was the FBI's number one cybercriminal target. Hammond pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a 120-month prison term in November 2013.

Monsegur's assistance was invaluable because he was a trusted member of hacking groups involved in numerous hacking episodes. Using the online alias "Sabu," he was known for analyzing computer code for vulnerabilities that could be exploited, Pastore wrote.

Some of those cyberattacks listed in the sentencing memo ! included the hack that compromised the database of the Fox reality TV show X-Factor, and attacks on PBS, Sony Pictures, Nintendo and Infragard Unveillance, an FBI affiliate in Atlanta.

Monsegur pleaded guilty to computer-hacking crimes in August 2011 as part of a government cooperation deal after FBI agents confronted him about his online activities. He served the seven months imprisonment because the government moved to revoke his bail in 2012 after he made unauthorized online postings.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Monsegur could have faced 259 months to 317 months imprisonment. But the U.S. Probation Office recommended in a pre-sentence report that he not spend additional time behind bars.