[MSNwar]

Lamo could face five years in prison, hefty fines.

Adrian Lamo, the so-called "homeless hacker," pleaded guilty this week to charges that he broke into the internal computer network of The New York Times.

The 22-year-old could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine at a sentencing hearing in April, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. However, Lamo is likely to be sentenced to less time than the five year statutory limit, said Herbert Hadad, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In an appearance in Manhattan federal court before Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, Lamo acknowledged hacking into the Times' network in February 2002 and accessing a database containing personal information for more than 3000 individuals who contributed editorials to the paper's Op-Ed page. Lamo also acknowledged setting up user accounts through the Times account with the LexisNexis online information service, which Lamo used for more than 3000 searches over a three month period, according to information provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Damages were said to be "in excess of $5000," a far cry from the more than $300,000 in damages that the U.S. Attorney's office said in September that Lamo caused.

Source: PCWorld

[piaqt]

I think he's Jayson Blair in disguise.