David Kernell, a 20-year-old University of Tennessee student, was indicted Tuesday by a Knoxville, Tenn., federal grand jury on one count of “intentionally and without authorization access[ing] a protected computer by means of interstate communication.” Kernell is accused of breaking into the personal Yahoo e-mail account of Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Upon hearing of the indictment, Kernell turned himself in to authorities. At an arraignment, he pled not guilty and was released on bond. According to the Associated Press, a trial is set for Dec. 16. If convicted, Kernell could serve up to five years in prison and be fined a maximum of $250,000, followed by up to three years of supervised release.
A spokesperson for the Sen. John McCain-Palin campaign described the incident as “deeply troubling” and “a blatant violation of the law.”
“We are certain that the proper authorities will pursue justice,” McCain-Palin spokesperson Tracey Schmitt said, “and send a clear signal to reassure all Americans that their personal e-mail accounts cannot be hacked into with impunity.”
The indictment charges that Kernell gained “unauthorized access” to [email protected] on Sept. 16 by using Yahoo’s password-recovery tool to reset Palin’s password. According to a posting on the image-sharing site 4chan.org, which has since been attributed to Kernell, it only took about 45 minutes of research to guess the answers to Palin’s secret security question (Wasilla High, where she met her spouse). The account has since been deleted.
“Once defendant Kernell established control over the e-mail account by changing the password,” the indictment alleges, “he read the contents and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content, and other personal information.” Those screenshots were posted to 4chan, along with Kernell’s explanation of how he gained access.
“The personal information included,” the indictment continued, “and was not limited to, other e-mail addresses of…