A New Jersey teenager was last week sentenced to five years in youth detention for taking part in a denial of service for hire scam. Jasmine Singh, 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of computer theft over attacks on online sporting goods stores said to have cost victims $1.5m. Judge Frederick DeVesa in Superior Court, New Brunswick also ordered Singh to pay $35,000 compensation.

Singh used networks of compromised machines to take out targeted websites at the alleged behest of Jason Arabo, 18, of Southfield, Michigan, who ran competing web sites called customleader.com and www.jerseydomain.com which specialised in selling retro sporting apparel. The main targets of the attack were Jersey-Joe.com and Atlanta-based Distant Replays though other etailers were also said to be affected. Charges against Arabo remain pending. ®

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