Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to Anonymous Attack on Koch Industries

WICHITA, KS—A Wisconsin man has pleaded guilty to taking part in a cyber attack on Koch Industries in Wichita sponsored by a group known as Anonymous, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Eric J. Rosol, 37, Black Creek, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of accessing a protected computer. In his plea, he admitted that on February 28, 2011, he took part in a denial of service attack on the web page of Koch Industries, Kochind.com. From Wisconsin, he used software called a Low Orbit Ion Cannon Code, which was loaded on his computer. He took part in the attack for approximately one minute. The attack, which was organized by a computer hacking group known as Anonymous, caused Kochind.com to go offline for approximately 15 minutes.

Koch Industries had hired a consulting group to protect its websites at a cost of approximately $183,000. The parties agree that the cost attributed to the defendant’s attack is less than $5,000.

Sentencing is set for December 2. He faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and restitution in an amount to be determined by the judge. Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.