The federal government has filed charges against a 21-year-old Ohio resident who allegedly hacked into the computers of two Utah law enforcement agencies as a member of the Anonymous hacking collective.
John Anthony Borell III of Toledo faces two counts of computer intrusion. Borell hacked into the computers on two occasions in January and intentionally caused damage to servers hosting websites for two Utah law enforcement agencies.
On Jan. 19, Borell accessed a server hosting the Utah Chiefs of Police Association's website. On Jan. 31, Borell accessed the server hosting the Salt Lake City Police Department's website. Each hacking attack caused a loss of more than $5,000.
Borell was arrested in Ohio on March 20, following an investigation by the FBI. According to documents filed in court, a hacker, using his Twitter account, took credit for both of the intrusions and revealed his knowledge of the details of the intrusions by his online comments. FBI agents tracked the IP addresses used in these intrusions to Borell.
Borell has links to a group associated with the hacker-activist network Anonymous, which is a loose affiliation of individuals with no defined leadership or membership. The label Anonymous is the banner under which individuals or groups commit actions, including intrusions into computer systems, the complaint alleges.
The potential maximum sentence for each count of computer intrusion is 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.