Jury Convicts Palin e-Mail Hacker

Gregg Keizer writes on ComputerWorld:

After four days of deliberation, a federal jury today convicted 22-year-old David C. Kernell of two charges stemming from a 2008 break-in of an e-mail account used by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The former University of Tennessee student was convicted of felony destruction of records to hamper a federal investigation and of a misdemeanor charge that he unlawfully accessed a protected computer, reported the Knoxville News Sentinel and WBIR Radio, also of Knoxville.

Kernell broke into Palin's Yahoo Mail account during the 2008 presidential campaign by using the service's password reset mechanism. At the time, Palin was the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate.

He faces a maximum 20-year prison term on the felony charge, and a maximum one-year stint for the misdemeanor offense. Kernell also faces a fine of up to $250,000.

Kernell was acquitted today of a federal wire fraud charge.

More here.