Crime scene

The 23-year-old man believed to be responsible for hacking the PlayStation Network has avoided a serious jail spell after destroying evidence linking him to the crime. Todd Miller of Columbus, Ohio was sentenced to a year on house arrest for obstructing a federal investigation after he smashed his computers and disposed of the hard drives that may have contained verification of his role in the virtual attack. We’re going to suspect that he had something to hide, given the actions taken.

According to US district judge Peter Economus, the suspect was a member of an organised hacking group known as the KCUF Clan, which started its operation against Sony in 2008. Its endeavours are thought to have culminated in the PSN being taken offline in 2011, though the details are a little sketchy. Naked Security reports that Miller was first interviewed by the FBI shortly after the attack, but when they returned with a search warrant, they found that he had damaged all of his computers.

Apparently, the suspect told the judge that he was “immature and ignorant and caught up with the wrong people at the wrong time” when he destroyed the hardware, but that the judge “will not see [him] again”. Should the FBI’s suspicions have been proven, Miller may have been forced to spend up to 20 years in prison. As it stands, Economus decided that there was no purpose for a prison sentence, as Miller has a full-time job and “some stability” despite a “troubled childhood”.

[source dispatch.com, via nakedsecurity.sophos.com]