Renowned social media journalist Matthew Keys is looking towards two years in prison after he was charged Wednesday on the counts of conspiring to hack into a news website. The latest reports state that Keys conspired with the famed hacking group self-proclaimed as Anonymous to get inside the Los Angeles Times’ online platform in order to change a publishing.
Matthew Key’s conviction could’ve taken a more severe route considering he was facing up to 25 years for three counts of hacking, according to Reuters. Interestingly enough, Keys was able to provide the hacking group with website login credentials to the newspaper website.
Getting those credentials was possible thanks to the journalist’s previous experience as a former worker for Tribune Media Company. Conspiring to get the hacking group Anonymous access to the website and make unauthorized changes was only one of three accounts credited to Matthews on court this Wednesday. He’ll be serving time on the counts of transmitting malicious code as well as another count of attempted transmission of malicious code, according to statements given by US District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.
According to Key’s former employer, FOX40, the crooked journalist kept a secret access point to the website after being fired six years ago. It’s worth noticing that both the Los Angeles Times and FOX40 are owned by Tribune Media, which also factored in the ability of Keys to provide credentials to the hacking group. His case gained attention from the public as he was found guilty late last year for trespassing the legal boundaries stated in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Key’s fought the law and the law won
Even when Matthew Key’s case served only as a reminder for people who intend to attack the security protocols from websites that law always prevails. According to the US District Judge involved in the Matthew’s case, the defense case for Keys was based on making sense out of what he did for a short amount of time.
Still, regardless of the time he was actually helping hackers to get credentials to the LA Times’ website, the effects of his actions surely went beyond the time he actually invested on this. The District Judge identified as Kimberly J. Mueller said he showed arrogance as he took upon himself to alter the content of a publishing from the LA Times website.
A bold move from the accused considering his certainty, yet he was still convicted to spend the next couple of years in prison which is set to start on June 15. Furthermore, Matthew Keys gave a few statements as he got out of court on Wednesday where he continued to claim his innocence. His lawyers even tried to vow an appeal to the case, according to Key’s attorney Jay Leiderman.
Source: Ars Technica