Some Notorious Cyber Criminals
1. Vladimir Levin: The first known Internet bank robber. Via a laptop in London, Levin accessed the Citibank network, obtained a list of customer codes and passwords, and then logged in 18 times over a three-week period, transferring approximately $10.7 million through wire transfers into his accounts. He was convicted and sentenced to three years in jail on charges of conspiracy to fraud and stealing millions of dollars. He was also ordered to make a restitution of $240,015 to Citibank.
2. Gary McKinnon: Believing that the US was withholding information regarding aliens from the rest of the world, between February 2001 and March 2002, McKinnon hacked into dozens of US army, air force, navy, and Department of Defense computers, in addition to 16 NASA computers to find classified documents regarding UFOs. The US fought for 10 years to have McKinnon extradited and jailed, but British prosecutors ultimately ruled that he would not face charges in the UK due to mental illness. He controversially remains under the protection of the British government today.
3. Adrian Lamo: Adrian Lamo earned the title ‘the homeless hacker’ due to his illegally hacking high-profile networks such as those of America Online, Yahoo, Microsoft, and The New York Times while living a nomadic lifestyle around the United States. Lamo was ordered to six months of house arrest, two years of probation, and to pay more than $64,900 in restitution.