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Hack hack jailed 2 years

A journalist has been sentenced to 24 months in prison in the US for knowingly handing his work login details to hackers.

Matthew Keys was sentenced Wednesday for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) by giving his username and password to his news organization's content management system out in an IRC channel of Anonymous mischief-makers. Back then, in 2010, he worked for the Tribune Media company, and his login was used by miscreants to plant a fake article on the LA Times website.

Keys, also an ex-Reuters social media editor, plans to appeal. "I am innocent, and I did not ask for this fight," he blogged before sentencing. He was charged in 2013 and found guilty in October last year.

Unless he is able to stay or overturn the sentence, Keys must surrender himself to the authorities in June.

The case garnered worldwide media attention, as many protested the use of the CFAA to prosecute Keys and argued that the journalist should not have faced such harsh repercussions for his actions. ®

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