WiFi-hacking neighbor from hell gets 18 years in prison

[DainBramaged]

A Minnesota hacker prosecutors described as a “depraved criminal” was handed an 18-year prison term Tuesday for unleashing a vendetta of cyberterror that turned his neighbor’s lives into a living nightmare.

Barry Ardolf, 46, repeatedly hacked into his next-door neighbors’ WiFi network in 2009, and used it to try and frame them for child pornography, sexual harassment, various kinds of professional misconduct and to send threatening e-mail to politicians, including Vice President Joe Biden.

His motive was to get back at his new neighbors after they told the police he’d kissed their 4-year-old son on the lips.

“Barry Ardolf has demonstrated by his conduct that he is a dangerous man. When he became angry at his neighbors, he vented his anger in a bizarre and calculated campaign of terror against them,” (PDF) prosecutor Timothy Rank said in a court filing. “And he did not wage this campaign in the light of day, but rather used his computer hacking skills to strike at his victims while hiding in the shadows.

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/07/ardolffedssentencingmemo.pdf

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/07/wifi-hacking-neighbor-from-hell-gets-18-years-in-prison.ars

[nc4bo]

1. He definitely hacked in. This guy was something else. He terrorized these people.

Slashed tires, fake email accounts and accounts of social networking sites, sent communication to his job, everything..

OMG. Sick, psychotic jerk.

[geckosfeet]

2. He sound like such a nice man. I hope he enjoys his state sponsored housing.

And he did not wage this campaign in the light of day, but rather used his computer
hacking skills to strike at his victims while hiding in the
shadows. Over months and months, he inflicted unfathomable psychic
damage, making the victims feel vulnerable in their own home, while
avoiding detection. Significantly, he feels no remorse for his
crimes, explaining in his "Acceptance of Responsibility Statement"
CASE 0:10-cr-00159-DWF -FLN Document 109 Filed 07/08/11 Page 1 of 31
that he engaged in the actions against his neighbors because he was
"victimized."

Moreover, as the investigation in this case revealed, this was
not the first time Ardolf had engaged in such behavior. He had
stolen a former neighbor's mail, hacked into their wireless system,
stolen personal financial data off their computers, and sent
threats intended to terrify them - all because the personal care
attendants for the neighbor's disabled daughters parked in front of
Ardolf's house. And Ardolf would have gotten away with this
conduct if it were not for the search warrant in this case, when
investigators found financial information stolen from the former
neighbors on Ardolf's computers and connected Ardolf to the threats
the neighbors had received.

Barry Ardolf is a dangerous man. He uses his technical skills
both to inflict harm and to avoid getting caught. Indeed, there is
every reason to believe that the victims identified in this case
are not his only victims. When Barry Ardolf is released from
prison at the end of his term of commitment, he will do something
like this again to someone else who has angered him, only this time
he will be even more careful. The only way to prevent that is to
incarcerate him for a very long time.

CASE 0:10-cr-00159-DWF -FLN Document 109 Filed 07/08/11

[malaise]

14. Did Ardolf work with Murdoch?

:evilgrin:

[somone]

3. "He turned down a two-year plea agreement"

Good choice

[Jkid]

4. In light of all the evidence proving his activity.

That was really stupid.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

8. I Bet He Thought He Was So Skilled At Hacking............

...............that they'd never be able to prove that it was him. People who act like this generally are ridiculously arrogant.

[lpbk2713]

15. Their own vanity will be their downfall every time.

"Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" just doesn't work for them.

[valerief]

23. Stupid is as stupid does, I guess. nt

[Enrique]

5. who should play him in the Lifetime movie?

you know it's coming.

[Nye Bevan]

11. Steve Buscemi nt

[Glorfindel]

12. Tilda Swinton in drag

:hi:

[ChoppinBroccoli]

6. Sent "Threatening E-Mail To . . . Vice President Joe Biden"

What a surprise. A pedophile, sexual predator, psychotic, criminal, sociopath, and just a big A-hole in general.............who hates Democrats. I'm shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you!!!

I was actually reading this article expecting to see that the event that started this whole campaign of terror was either a disagreement over his neighbor's Obama yard sign/bumper sticker, or some other type of heated political argument.

[WatsonT]

9. Well, likely he was just trying to frame them for that

so he went after people who were in power.

If bush were still in charge he'd have sent a threat to him/cheney.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Renew Deal]

7. It might be better that he didn't wage his campaign in the light of day

That usually goes badly.

[Jkid]

10. All of this for being accused of being a pedophile?

He could have worked this out, but no he decided to wreck their lives over a petty thing.

[Bragi]

13. This man is deranged and should receive medical treatment

An 18-year sentence is ridiculous. This man should be treated as a someone with a mental illness, not a criminal.

Oh sorry, I forgot, most U.S prisons are filled with people who are mentally ill, but who are treated as criminals. So why should he be spared?

[DainBramaged]

18. And if he had destroyed your life?

[Bragi]

21. Irrelevant to my point

If your point is that I'd want revenge, you may be right, which is why victims should have no role to play in criminal trials and sentencing other than as witnesses.

Perhaps you aren't aware of it, but this is why the state -- not the victim -- prosecutes crimes. They are treated as offenses against society as a whole. This is as it should be.

[DainBramaged]

25. So letting him escape to treatment rather than treatment IN prison is OK with you?

Know what, this guy was a fucking menace. I wonder when he would have begun escalating if he hadn't been caught, and getting him OFF the street for a couple of decades is a good good thing.


Meh, meh and meh.

[-..__...]

19. Uhmmm, no....

he deserves exactly what he got.

What he did isn't all that much different from women that make false rape allegations.

His actions could have easily ruined someones life for a crime they didn't commit.

I'm a firm believer in sentencing people that provide false evidence/testimony (or in this case... setting someone up), to the same punishment

as the accused would have received if found guilty.

[Bragi]

22. I support not criminalizing mentally ill people /nt

[-..__...]

26. You keep asserting that he's "menatlly ill"...

yet, the only claim of that is your online diagnosis.

[WatsonT]

20. Being an asshole isn't a mental illness

if it were 90% of humanity would be locked up in a mental institute.

[Bragi]

24. He was convicted of a crime, not being an asshole

Given his mental illness, he had reduced liability and should been sent indefinitely for treatment, not given an 18-year sentence.

[DainBramaged]

27. Plead for him, use this thread to enhance your soapbox.

I'm sure you don't like PIT BULL OWNING, CIGARETTE SMOKING, PUBLIC BREAST FEEDING, OLIVE GARDEN EATING, FOOD STAMP CHEATING SODA POP DRINKING MOM WITH A GAZILLION KIDS either and figure they need treatment.....

[kmla]

30. You can diagnose mental illness over the internets????

That's pretty good - Bill Frist at least requires a video before he can render an accurate diagnosis.

[DainBramaged]

33. Soapbox internet psychiatrists, ain't they grand......

[WatsonT]

31. You diagnosed him over the internet via an article about him?

Impressive. Even Dr. Freud would you know, talk to people before declaring them crazy.

How do you know so much about this guy?

[Bragi]

34. That was not my actual diagnosis

I think the guy is obviously deranged, but that wasn't the diagnosis that prompted my posting.

What prompted my posting was observing an apparent outbreak of non-compassionate joy among several posters here celebrating amd making light of the harsh sentencing of this disturbed individual.

[WatsonT]

35. So is the guy certifiable or not?

If not then he's an asshole and it's right to wish him ill.

If he is then your argument may have merit but of course that's based on your internet-diagnosis which frequently does not hold up in court.

[DainBramaged]

37. (sigh) THIS GUY DESERVED TO BE FLOGGED

there is no JOY here, this guy is a fucking sociopath criminal and DANGEROUS, When he gets out, he'll be able to retire and by then computers will be embedded in our brains ad he'll ave NO clue how to hack even his diaper..

[backscatter712]

32. This guy's a psychopath.

You can't fix psychopaths.

I would have given him a life sentence.

[jmowreader]

38. What do you think, antisocial personality disorder?

You could go one of two ways on this. Really you could.

You could call him a sociopath, but sociopaths tend to commit crimes (hence the common term "criminal sociopath") and need to be in jail being punished for their crimes as well as being treated for their sociopathy.

Or you could just call him a fucking asshole who attempted to ruin a family's lives just for GP, and throw him in jail anyway.

[LeftishBrit]

16. Some people get 18 years in prison for constant malicious hacking...

and some get top jobs with News International.

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. wow.

[Liberal_in_LA]

29. paint that house

[Maru Kitteh]

36. Boundaries. Clearly this guy did not have them.

[octothorpe]

40. He's just misunderstood... I'm sure deep down he's a nice guy.

I wonder what the hell happened to this guy that made him such a horrible person.

[octothorpe]

39. Well, I think he took things a little bit too far...

Which is actually a good thing for the people he was targeting. Had he kept his antics less extreme, he probably would have done more harm overtime. What an asshole.