A computer hacker who helped the Islamic State by providing names of more than 1,000 US government and military workers as potential targets has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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Ardit Ferizi, a 20-year-old citizen of Kosovo known by his hacking moniker “Th3Dir3ctorY”, was sentenced in a United States federal court in Virginia, the Justice Department said.
Ardit Ferizi, provided ISIL with personal ID information for Military & Government personnel, understanding that ISIL would use the PII to “hit them hard”.
Speaking after the verdict, US Assistant Attorney General John Carlin described the attack as carrying a very real and unsafe threat to US national security.
Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Charles P. Spencer of the FBI’s Jacksonville Field Office made the announcement after the defendant was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Sentence: Under a plea agreement reached in June, the 20-year old Ferizi agreed to a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Ferizi, who was known online as Th3Dir3ctorY, was arrested in Malaysia in October 2015 and extradited to the USA in January this year.
Ferizi obtained the data by hacking into a USA retail company on June 13, 2015. He was arrested on October 6, 2015, at the global airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while trying to catch a flight back to Kosovo.
Ferizi hacked the computer server of a USA online retailer a year ago and stole the personal and contact details of about 1,300 US military personnel and federal officials, according to court documents.
Around this time, a group of ISIS hackers called the Islamic State Hacking Division (ISHD), believed to be led or created by British jihadi Junaid Hussain, posted the names and personal information of 100 American service member’s families online. From those records, he was able to cull personally identifiable information on 1,351 federal employees and active military personnel.
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“We are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts”, the document said in part, according to the Justice Department. The Malaysian authorities and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
