In an update to yesterday’s story, online hacker Sabu was spared any added time in prison after his prosecutors argued for leniency. Sabu helped stop at least 300 cyber-attacks that ranged from the United States armed forces to Congress to television networks, according to USA Today.
Sabu, whose real name is Hector Xavier Monsegur, was facing some 26 years in prison for admitting to his cyber-attacks while a member of Anonymouse and LulzSec.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska sentenced Monsegur to seven months in jail, which is equal to what he already served. This means that Monsegur became a free man following his hearing in Manhattan federal court. He will be under supervised release for one year.
Prosecutors for the federal government said that Monsegur required a lesser sentence because he “was an extremely valuable and productive cooperator.” His help caused the arrest and conviction of eight co-conspirators.
“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.
Pastore also said that Monsegur was vital in the arrest of Jeremy Hammond in 2012. At the time of the arrest, Hammond was the top cybercriminal target of the FBI. Hammond was sentenced to 120 months in jail this past November.
“The fact that Monsegur immediately chose to cooperate and went back online . . . allowed the extraordinary cooperation,” said Preska.