Hacker gets 82 months in prison

A NEW HAMPSHIRE MAN was sentenced to 82 months porridge for taking part in an international computer hacking conspiracy and failing to pay taxes.

Asu Pala, 37, was ordered to forfeit $7.9 million and pay $2.2 million in back income taxes.

Pala pleaded guilty last April to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and five counts of failure to file a US income tax return.

The court was told that he infected German citizens' computers from 2003 to 2007 with a program that forced their modems to dial premium telephone numbers rented from German phone companies by his mates.

The phone companies charged the "callers" for added expenses on top of standard connection fees and sent a portion of the expenses to Pala's chums who gave him a cut.

According to the Boston Herald, Pala is believed to be the hacker who wrote all the software that made the scam work.

There seem to be a few issues he is going through. After he gets released from prison he apparently must get counseling for substance abuse, anger management, gambling, credit debt and other financial management problems. We would have thought that having to find more than £6 million would give many people a few financial management problems. µ