14 DAY TRIAL // Matthew Keys, a former Reuters employee, working for the Tribune Media company (now Tribune Publishing) at the KTXL Fox 40, a Sacramento, California TV station, has been found guilty of three counts of hacking by a US court.
The events took place back in 2010 when Keys was working as a producer for the Sacramento TV station, and as a social media editor for Reuters.
After he was fired from his job, the FBI claims that Mr. Keys logged on the #internetfeds IRC channel under the name of AESCracked and got in contact with other users claiming to be members of the LulzSec hacking crew, one of Anonymous' most active divisions at that time.
Keys provided a username & password for Tribune Media websites
He offered the hackers his former company's CMS login credentials, with the mention of "i did not give you those passwords for 'research.' i want you to [expletive][expletive] up."
The hackers used the details provided by Mr. Keys to log on the Tribune Media CMS and change the title of a Los Angeles Times article. This was possible due to the fact that the Tribune Media CMS was shared among all Tribune subsidiaries, not just the KTXL Fox 30 TV station.
The article was only defaced for 30 minutes until one of the LA Times webmasters was alerted and reverted the hackers' doings.
A federal investigation was started, and after seizing Mr. Keys' laptop, official charges were brought forward in 2013 on three accounts of hacking: conspiracy, computer hacking, and password trafficking.
California vs. Keys: A controversial case
Controversy followed this entire case, with Keys waiving his Miranda rights when the FBI came knocking on his door with a warrant, giving an oral, filmed interview, admitting to his crime.
He later recanted on this event and said he had taken a double-dose of Trazodone, a prescription drug for treating anxiety and depression, just before he gave the interview and was not in his normal train of thought.
During his defense, Keys and his lawyer argued that this entire case was not about hacking, but the FBI taking revenge against a journalist that did not want to cooperate and give up his laptop for inspection when they first came to him, forcing them to get a warrant instead.
He and his lawyer also argued that Mr. Keys did not perpetrate the actual hacking, and the whole event was fixed in less than an hour, leaving no real damage to LA Times.
Mr. Keys can face up to 25 years in prison
The judged did not agree and ignored their plea to dismiss the recorded evidence and the data found on his laptop.
He was found guilty of all charges on October 7, 2015, and his sentencing is scheduled for January 20, 2016. Legally, Mr. Keys could face up to 25 years in prison, but the investigators said they won't seek more than five years.
Below you can see a tweet from Mr. Keys' lawyer announcing their plans to appeal, and the official indictment brought forward by authorities.
Matthew Keys was found guilty. We'll proceed forward to sentencing and look forward to appealing this verdict.
— Jay Leiderman (@JayLeidermanLaw) October 7, 2015