British Teenager Sentenced to 12 Months For Cyber Attack

A British teenager from Sutton­-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire in the UK, has been handed a twelve month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, for a cyber attack on a gambling television channel's website.

Max Whitehouse ,19, appeared before Nottingham Crown Court on 20 dock as he pleaded guilty to the charge that he bombarded the website with such a high amount of virtual traffic that it could no longer operate. His actions were estimated to have cost the company as much as £18,000.

Investigating officers discovered that two years prior to the attack taking place, Whitehouse, then only 17 years old, had used his mother's Twitter account to announce his plan for the DDoS style attack against the company in question.

When police arrived at his family home to conduct an authorised search, they discovered an alarming number of illegal weapons thought to have been purchased online from China. According to the teen's lawyer, Adrian Reynolds,

As well as receiving a suspended prison sentence Whitehouse was ordered to pay £200 towards prosecution costs, and the hoard of illegal weaponry was confiscated.

Judge Michael Stokes QC, one of Britain's most eminent judges, said the defendant spent far too much time in front of a computer screen and needed to get out more and live.

The judge also added “You were, at the relevant time, extremely naive. I am satisfied you had no intention whatsoever of selling or distributing any of those items.”