By Ron Coates, 14 June 2001 17:00
NEWS A 16-year-old Canadian hacker known as 'Mafiaboy' used a software package illegally when he mounted denial of service attacks on top sites last year. An RCMP cybercrime specialist said in a sentencing hearing that the attacks had lasted almost 165 hours over five days. Mafiaboy had ignored a warning on the software which said its use on the internet was illegal and could lead to prosecution. The defense pleaded that Mafiaboy was only testing the software. But an expert witness reportedly said: "The only test that can be run this way is: How fast can I take them down and how long can I keep them down." He had pleaded guilty in January to 56 charges related to his attacks on, Amazon, CNN, Dell, eBay, Yahoo! and two top US universities in February, 2000. The attacks made the headlines worldwide. Mafiaboy was 14 at the time and now faces up to two years in juvenile detention.
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