Sony Hackers Plead Guilty in UK Court

By Brian P Rubin | 25 June 2012 | 10 Comments

A post on Eurogamer today reports that two teenagers who were arrested for allegedly participating in DDoS attacks against video game companies like Sony, Nintendo, Bethesda, and more, have pleaded guilty to the charges against them in Southwark Crown Court in the UK.

The two accused, 19-year-old Ryan Cleary, and 18-year-old Jake Davis, “pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to do an unauthorized act or acts with intent to impair, or with recklessness as to impairing, the operation of a computer or computers.”

In addition, the two have admitted to being a part of Lulzsec, the group that claimed responsibility for the massive takedown of Sony back in 2011. The article notes that there are two other men who’ve been arrested and accused of participating in the attacks, but who deny the allegations.

Cleary was arrested in June of 2011, while Davis was apprehended two months later in August. Also, I made this image for the article, which is still one of my favorites:

Why is Master Chief arresting someone for hacking Sony networks? Because Master Chief doesn’t care about platform…HE ONLY CARES ABOUT JUSTICE.

Via Eurogamer

10 Comments

Posted by George. G. Crickmore, Esq. on 25 June 12 at 2:05pm

Knowing our law, these guys will likely get away with nothing more than a fine of £1000 or a community service order. There human rights will likely also mean that they can’t have their computers confiscated. Damn EU courts and soft justice. Sigh…
- Posted by Adhoc on 25 June 12 at 8:41pm
  
  In a just world they’d have to spend the rest of their lives paying off the damages they caused to these companies and their customers, plus a penalty for committing the crime itself.
Posted by George. G. Crickmore, Esq. on 25 June 12 at 2:05pm

Sweet picture though.
Posted by Mugenite on 25 June 12 at 2:08pm

That’s right. Master Chief is the symbol of hope this gaming city needs. He seeks out those who piss off Sony and gives them a prostitute, six hundred dollars, two hundred euros, and a 12 month subscription to xbox live. Master Chief is the vigilante we want him to be; the hero we need him to be… He also spawned an era of teabaging, so… there’s that…
Posted by Mr. Me on 26 June 12 at 11:39am

@adhoc
What damages? All they did was a Ddos attack.
- Posted by Oliver on 27 June 12 at 6:16am
  
  They restricted the access to the Sony networks. Thus disabling PSN which also disabled the purchase of games and such. Really who lost money here was Sony. Potential future sales might also be impacted from this.
Posted by cartenman on 26 June 12 at 11:47am

The big question is this though – When this kid is done with doing his time or payed his dues to the court and society…will he still be relevant? Will he start his own venture of online security? Will some jaded person who was affected by this incident come around one day and shoot him down? All it will take is a pissed off investor who has probably lost millions or thousands in damage to find out where his family lives to teach this kid a lesson. I wouldn’t put is past Sony to have some affiliation with Yakuza in Japan…
- Posted by smr on 26 June 12 at 4:00pm
  
  “I wouldn’t put is past Sony to have some affiliation with Yakuza in Japan…”
  Of course they do. Why do you think it’s a PS2/3 exclusive?
  - Posted by cartenman on 27 June 12 at 5:50am
    
    Hahah touche man.
Posted by DarthPrince on 26 June 12 at 4:37pm

MASTER CHIEFFF