Detention for teenager who hacked US spies
A TEENAGER who rocked the US intelligence community when he hacked his way into top officials’ accounts in a campaign of “cyber terrorism” has been locked up for two years.
Kane Gamble, 18, founder of Crackas With Attitude (CWA), admitted targeting high-profile figures such as then-CIA chief John Brennan and his wife, and FBI deputy director Mark Giuliano from his family home on a Leicestershire housing estate when he was just 15 and 16.
Between June 2015 and February 2016, he accessed email and phone accounts to get his hands on “extremely sensitive” documents on military and intelligence operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Old Bailey was told.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave handed him a deterrent sentence of two years in youth detention. He said Gamble had “revelled” in the attacks, adding: “This was an extremely nasty campaign of politically motivated cyber terrorism.”
The court heard he impersonated his victims and conned call centres at communications giants Comcast and Verizon into divulging confidential information.
After targeting Mr Brennan and his wife Kathy, Gamble posted anonymously on Twitter saying: “@CIA set your game up homies. We own everything. #freepalestine #CWA.”
Other victims working under President Barack Obama included James Clapper, director of national intelligence; deputy national security adviser Avril Haines; senior science and tech- nology adviser John Holdren; the secretary of homeland security Jeh Johnson and FBI special agent Amy Hess.
Gamble taunted them, using a TV in Mr Johnson’s family home to post the message “I own you” and left a disturbing voicemail message for Mr Johnson’s wife Susan DiMarco asking: “Hi spooky, am I scaring you?”
Mr Giuliano’s passwords were reset and he and his family were bombarded with phone calls, resulting in them getting police protection.
Gamble was supported by his mother when he appeared at court wearing a green hoodie, black trousers and Nike trainers.
Prosecutor John Lloyd-Jones QC said aggravating features included the “invasion” of victims’ professional and private lives as well as their families’.
Mitigating, William Harbage QC said: “In a naive, immature and childish way, he thought he could make a nuisance of himself by targeting people in America and that would somehow get them to change US policy as a result of what he was doing from his bedroom.”