In May, DataBreaches.net began coverage of the prosecution of three men affiliated with Anonymous in Australia. The first, Mathew Hutchison (a/k/a, “Rax”) was charged with incitement and was sentenced in August to a two-year community corrections order and community service.
A second youth, known online as “Juzzy” or “Absantos,” among other aliases, had also been raided and charged, although his charges had nothing to do with his participation in the events that led to the charges against Hutchison. The charges he faced in 2014 were much more serious than what Hutchison faced, and this would be Absantos’s second run-in with the authorities, as chronicled in a post that also outlined some of his connection to the Lauri Love case.
Unlike his first arrest as a youth, this time, Absantos didn’t get off with just a good behavior bond.
According to information provided to DataBreaches.net by a spokesperson for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP), his sentence was based on:
- one count of unauthorized modification of computer data, contrary to s477.2(1) Criminal Code (Cth),
- one count of Attempt to Cause unauthorized modification of computer data, contrary to s477.2(1) & 11.1 Criminal Code (Cth), and
- two counts of Unauthorized access to data with intent to commit serious offence, contrary to s477.1(1)(a)(i) Criminal Code (Cth).
Also according to the spokesperson, a further seventeen matters of “Attempt to gain unauthorized access to restricted data, contrary to 478.1(1) and 11.1(1) Criminal Code (Cth)” were taken into account. He also reportedly:
hacked or attempted to hack into fifteen national and foreign government servers, as well as four private company servers. The offender was not operating as an isolated individual and communicated online with other hackers during parts of the offending.
With respect to the four private servers, he reportedly uploaded exploit programs to some of the systems and gained access privileges normally reserved for system and website administrators:
Using one hijacked system, he was able to obtain private information about the IP address and mobile phone model of a colleague who accessed the site. He also gained unauthorized access to private database material and discussed plans with others to further modify and impair the security of the server.
With respect to government servers, 47 servers were subject to cyber-attack but no access was gained as the systems were sufficiently protected by firewalls or not susceptible to the “heartbleed” vulnerability.
He was sentenced on October 15th to a total of three years imprisonment with twelve months to serve before being released on a three year recognizance.
Update: on February 4, 2025, this post was edited to remove his real name as he not only served his time but then turned his life around despite all the challenges of overcoming the bad press and reputation he had built. DataBreaches wishes him the best of luck in his new job and career.