Palin Hacker Indicted

David Kernell, the man accused of famously hacking to Gov. Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account, has been indicted in Tennessee.

It created a brief fuss when someone posted mails from the Yahoo e-mail account of Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, on WikiLeaks, indicating she’d breached the law by using private mail accounts for official business.

However, the hacker wasn’t too clever. He left enough clues to be quickly traced – and he was. David Kernell, the 20-year-old son of a Tennessee Democratic state legislator, was arrested for the offence, and how he’s been indicted. If found guilty, he faces a fine of up to $250,000 as well as possibly five years in jail.

Richard Lambert, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Knoxville Field Division, said:

"Cyber crime is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority. We would like to thank all of the Internet service providers and others who partnered with us to bring this matter to a quick and successful resolution."

Kernell was released on his own recognizance, but has been banned from owning a computer. He can go online only to complete coursework and check e-mail.