Sentencing scheduled for September 2020.
A jury found Russian hacker Yevgeniy Nikulin guilty for breaching the internal networks of LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring back in 2012 and then selling their user databases on the black market.
The jury verdict was passed on Friday during what was the first trial to be held in California since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
🌀 The three hacks
From here, the hacker stole roughly 117 million user records, data that included usernames, passwords, and emails.
This intrusion lasted from May 14, 2012, to July 25, 2012, and authorities say Nikulin was able to make off with a trove of information on 68 million Dropbox users, including usernames, emails, and hashed passwords.
The arrests, extradition, and US trial
Despite attempts to fight his extradition in the Czech Republic, the hacker was eventually sent to the US in the summer of 2017, where he was arraigned in front of a judge.
The actual trial was initially set for early 2020 but was delayed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During the trial, which took place under special circumstances and protective measures, Nikulin pled not guilty. US prosecutors proved their case, but they also tried to pin him to other hacks and criminal conspiracies.
The judge supervising the case called the prosecution's efforts into question just days before the trial ended, describing their efforts and evidence as "mumbo jumbo," wondered if the prosecutors were wasting the jury's time, and also asked out loud if the prosecutors had any real evidence against Nikulin besides private messages sent between two nicknames on internet chats.
However, despite the judge critiquing the prosecutors for their handling of the case, the jury found Nikulin guilty after only six hours of deliberations.
Nikulin's sentencing was scheduled for September 29, 2020.
A jury found Russian hacker Yevgeniy Nikulin guilty for breaching the internal networks of LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring back in 2012 and then selling their user databases on the black market.
The jury verdict was passed on Friday during what was the first trial to be held in California since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
🌀 The three hacks
From here, the hacker stole roughly 117 million user records, data that included usernames, passwords, and emails.
This intrusion lasted from May 14, 2012, to July 25, 2012, and authorities say Nikulin was able to make off with a trove of information on 68 million Dropbox users, including usernames, emails, and hashed passwords.
The arrests, extradition, and US trial
Despite attempts to fight his extradition in the Czech Republic, the hacker was eventually sent to the US in the summer of 2017, where he was arraigned in front of a judge.
The actual trial was initially set for early 2020 but was delayed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During the trial, which took place under special circumstances and protective measures, Nikulin pled not guilty. US prosecutors proved their case, but they also tried to pin him to other hacks and criminal conspiracies.
The judge supervising the case called the prosecution's efforts into question just days before the trial ended, describing their efforts and evidence as "mumbo jumbo," wondered if the prosecutors were wasting the jury's time, and also asked out loud if the prosecutors had any real evidence against Nikulin besides private messages sent between two nicknames on internet chats.
However, despite the judge critiquing the prosecutors for their handling of the case, the jury found Nikulin guilty after only six hours of deliberations.
Nikulin's sentencing was scheduled for September 29, 2020.
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