22-Year-Old Hacker Pleads Guilty To 2014 Yahoo Hack, Admits Helping Russian Intelligence

Karim Baratov, a 22-year-old Kazakhstan-born Canadian citizen, has pleaded guilty to hacking charges over his involvement inwards massive 2014 Yahoo information breach that affected all iii billion yahoo accounts.

In March, the U.S. of A. Justice Department announced charges against 2 Russian intelligence officers (Dmitry Dokuchaev too Igor Sushchin) from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) too 2 hackers (Alexsey Belan too Karim Baratov) for breaking into yahoo servers inwards 2014.

While Karim Baratov (Kay, a.k.a Karim Taloverov, a.k.a Karim Akehmet Tokbergenov) was arrested inwards Toronto at his Ancaster dwelling past times the Toronto Police Department inwards March this year, Alexsey Belan too both FSB officers currently reside inwards Russia, unlikely to travel extradited.

In the federal district courtroom inwards San Francisco on Tuesday, Baratov admitted to helping the Russian spies too pleaded guilty to a full of nine counts which includes:

• One count of conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud too Abuse Act past times stealing information from protected computers too causing impairment to protected computers.
• Eight counts of aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors believe that FSB officers directed the Yahoo hack too contracted Baratov when their targets—which included journalists, regime officials, too technology companionship employees—used e-mail accounts exterior of Yahoo's system.

"Baratov's utilisation inwards the charged conspiracy was to hack webmail accounts of individuals of involvement to the FSB too ship those accounts' passwords to Dokuchaev inwards telephone commutation for money," his plea understanding reads.

However, according to Baratov's lawyers, at the fourth dimension of the crime, Baratov had no persuasion he was working amongst Russian FSB agents.

Baratov gained unauthorized access to at to the lowest degree eighty non-Yahoo e-mail accounts, including at to the lowest degree 50 Google accounts past times obtaining their credentials through "spear phishing" attacks.

Baratov's sentencing hearing volition travel held on 20th Feb adjacent yr inwards federal district courtroom inwards San Francisco, where he could facial expression upwards lxx to 87 months inwards jail for the get-go accuse too 24 months for the identity theft charges.

"The illegal hacking of private communications is a global work that transcends political boundaries. Cybercrime is non solely a grave threat to personal privacy too security, but causes corking fiscal harm to individuals who are hacked too costs the Blue Planet economic scheme hundreds of billions of dollars every year," U.S. of A. Attorney Brian Stretch said. 

"These threats are fifty-fifty to a greater extent than insidious when cybercriminals such every bit Baratov are employed past times unusual regime agencies acting exterior the dominion of law."

Besides whatever prison theatre sentence, Baratov has likewise agreed to pay compensation to the Yahoo victims too a fine upwards to $2,250,000 (at $250,000 per count).

Baratov's arrest is the solely ane inwards this investigation. The iii other men, including 2 FSB officers too ane criminal hacker, currently reside inwards Russia, amongst whom the U.S. of A. has no extradition treaty.

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