Man gets six years for hacking girls to extort photographs

A 32-year-old paraplegic was sentenced to six years in prison for infecting more than 100 computers in a quest for financial information, nude photographs and thrills.

Luis Mijangos worked as a freelance computer consultant in Santa Ana, California, earning about $1,000 per week writing programs and building websites. But he lived a double life, also earning as much as $3,000 per day hacking and stealing financial information from his victims.

He built virtually undetectable malware and used a variety of techniques to trick his victims into installing it on their computers. Then, he did more than just steal bank account numbers. "He read victims' e-mails and IMs, watched them through their webcams, and listened to them through the microphones on their computers," prosecutors said in court filings. "Often, he then used the information he obtained to play psychological games with his victims." Read more...