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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] Mitnick's hacker accomplice pleads guilty
From:       cult hero <jericho () dimensional ! com>
Date:       1999-04-27 4:23:34
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Forwarded From: darek milewski <darekm@cmeasures.com>

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,0-35656,00.html?st.ne.fd.mdh.ni
Mitnick's hacker accomplice pleads guilty
By Dan Goodin
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
April 26, 1999, 2:05 p.m. PT

     Lewis DePayne, the accomplice to notorious hacker Kevin Mitnick,
today pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for his role in a series
of computer break-ins that took place over a three-year period, the U.S. 
Attorney's office in Los Angeles said. 

     DePayne, 29, admitted that he took part in a plan to obtain sensitive
software from cellular telephone maker Nokia by posing as a company
employee. The count was 1 of 14 brought against him in a 1996 criminal
complaint.  DePayne entered his plea in federal court in Los Angeles
before Judge Mariana Pfaelzer. 

     Last month Mitnick pleaded guilty to 5 of 25 counts in the same
court. DePayne's attorney was not immediately available for comment. 

     DePayne is scheduled to be sentenced July 12. Under a plea agreement,
U.S. attorneys will recommend that DePayne receive six months' detention,
five years of probation, and up to $3,000 in fines, said assistant U.S. 
attorney Chris Painter. He also will have to tell investigators and the
companies he is accused of defrauding exactly how he and Mitnick were able
to penetrate security systems. DePayne, who lives in Northern California,
has been free on bail, Painter said.

     DePayne and Mitnick are known for their ability to hack computer
systems and to "social engineer" employees responsible for security at
high-tech companies.

     When Mitnick was trying use cell phones to break in to computer
systems, he called Nokia posing as an employee and asked that software be
sent to him. When that didn't work, DePayne posed as the fictitious
employee's supervisor. Suspecting the requests were a hoax, Nokia recorded
the call and provided investigators with tapes. 

     Mitnick's exploits made national headlines after his capture was
reported in The New York Times and later in the book Takedown. Mitnick,
39, is accused of breaking in to numerous computer networks, accessing
thousands of credit card numbers, and stealing software between 1992 and
1995. 

     U.S. attorneys fighting high-tech crime appear to be on a roll. Two
weeks ago, investigators tracked down the man they say posted a bogus
Bloomberg story that caused a publicly traded company's stock to surge
more than 30 points. Last week they identified the suspect in a case in
which anonymous email that threatened the lives of court officials was
posted on the Internet. 

     "Our offices and other offices around the country will be
investigating when people cause damage to companies, infrastructure, and
proprietary data," said Painter. "These companies ought to have
protection." 

-o-
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