US Man Gets 10 Years in Prison for Cyber-Attack on Children’s Hospital

US Man Gets 10 Years in Prison for Cyber-Attack on Children’s Hospital
Advertisement

A Massachusetts man was sentenced on Thursday to more than 10 years in prison for carrying out a cyber-attack on a hospital on behalf of the hacking activist group Anonymous to protest the treatment of a teenager in a high-profile custody dispute.

Martin Gottesfeld, 34, was sentenced by US District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston nearly three years after he was rescued from a disabled powerboat off the coast of Cuba by a Disney Cruise Line ship after fleeing the United States amid a federal investigation.

A federal jury in August found him guilty of two counts, including conspiracy to damage protected computers related to cyber-attacks he carried out in 2014 on Boston Children's Hospital and another facility.

"Make no mistake, your crime was contemptible, invidious and loathsome," Gorton said.

Assistant US Attorney David D'Addio called Gottesfeld a "self-aggrandising menace" whose cyber-attacks put children's lives at risk and who could strike again once released from prison.

"It is terrifying to contemplate what he will do with the next cause he adopts," D'Addio said.

Gottesfeld, who beyond serving 121 months in prison must also pay nearly $443,000 in restitution, has been in custody since February 2016. He said he planned to appeal but had no regrets.

"I wish I could have done more," he said.

According to prosecutors, in late 2013, Gottesfeld, a computer engineer living in Somerville, Massachusetts, learned about a child custody dispute involving a Connecticut teenager, Justina Pelletier.

Pelletier had been taken into state custody in Massachusetts after a dispute over her diagnosis arose between her parents and Boston Children's Hospital, which determined her health problems were psychiatric in nature and believed her parents were interfering with her treatment.

Her case garnered headlines and drew the attention of religious and political groups who viewed it as an example of government interference with parental rights.

Gottesfeld, who disagreed with the hospital's diagnosis, began advocating online for her release, prosecutors said.

They said Gottesfeld in March 2014 launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack on a residential treatment facility called Wayside Youth & Family Support Network where Pelletier was a resident after her discharge from the hospital.

DDOS attacks shut down or slow websites by flooding them with data.

Gottesfeld later in April 2014 launched a DDOS attack on behalf of Anonymous that disrupted Boston Children's Hospital's network for two weeks and interrupted internet services used to treat patients, prosecutors said.

© Thomson Reuters 2019

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Cyber-Attack, Massachusettes, US, Anonymous
Samsung Quietly Shows Off 5G Phone Prototype at CES 2019, Launching in First Half of 2019
The Punisher Season 2 Trailer – Frank Castle Is Back for More in Netflix Series, Far From Reluctantly
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »