Man Who Targeted FBI and Jefferson County Computer Systems Sentenced in New York

Jeremy Hammond, a/k/a “Anarchaos,” was sentenced on Friday in a New York federal court to 10 years in prison in connection with his role in, among other hacks, the October 2011 hack of computer systems used by the Jefferson County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office and the June 2011 hack of computer systems used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Virtual Academy, a web-based training system.

FBI Birmingham Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Richard D. Schwein, Jr. and Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale issued the following statements in response to the sentencing:

“I hope this serves notice that we are serious about prosecuting these kind of criminals that believe they can do their damage and hide in the cyber world. We will track you down. Working with our federal partners, we have shown that we can and will be a force to be reckoned with in these type cases. This criminal chose to do damage to law enforcement officers personally and law enforcement agencies collectively. We take great pride in the fact that he was caught; he isn’t as bright as he thought he was, and justice has been served. We want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of the agencies that worked to right this wrong, most especially the FBI,” said Sheriff Hale.

“Mr. Hammond’s password has expired, and he now pays the consequences for his crimes. The FBI continues to work closely with our state, local, and international law enforcement partners and others to mitigate these cyber threats. Because of these partnerships, our ability to unmask and prosecute the anonymous perpetrators of cyber crimes has never been stronger,” said SAC Schwein.

- Related U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York press release