Jerome Heckenkamp
Encyclopedia
Jerome Heckenkamp is an Australian American
computer expert. After completing his education at a young age, he worked as a computer network engineer. He was later convicted of hacking
attacks on several prominent corporations and universities.
when he was young. He was homeschooled
as a child, and proved to be an exceptionally intelligent student
. He taught himself algebra
at age 8 and entered the University of Wisconsin–Waukesha at age 14. He later moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison
where he pursued a graduate degree in Computer Science
. He has also lectured on computer programming
at the University of New Mexico
.
as a computer network engineer. Officials at Los Alamos have stated that he never held a security clearance and did not work with classified information, although Heckenkamp has claimed that he worked in a highly sensitive area. Senator
Pete Dominici said of Heckenkamp, "He had the right kind of brain, but he didn't have the right kind of behavior."
, Juniper Networks
, E-Trade, eBay
, Lycos
, and others. According to victim testimony, these attacks caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. In December 1999 a UNIX
system administrator
at Qualcomm
noticed the attacks to computers in their external DMZ and from their externally accessible SSH
gateway host, Qualcomm
notified the FBI and began to track the attacks through several network hops, several days later they contacted the University of Wisconsin, where the originating attacks had been launched from. During their own investigation, University of Wisconsin system administrator
s then noticed that the connections had come from a University mail server, then using their own NetFlow
logs, they tracked the packets to an IP registered to one of the dorms. Allegedly, the IP responsible for the attacks was assigned to a second computer in Heckenkamp's dorm room. Having previously worked at the university's computer help desk, Heckenkamp had significant knowledge of the university networks. Although law enforcement had requested that they delay action, system administrators hacked into Heckenkamp's computer and gathered further evidence against him, citing the emergency threat to the university network after Heckenkamp gained root access
to their servers. Although Heckenkamp challenged the evidence gained through the search of his computer as an invasion of privacy, the legality of the university's actions was upheld on appeal.
, then the clinical director of the Center for Internet and Society
at Stanford Law School
. During the proceedings, however, he fired and rehired Granick several times. While representing himself in court, he insisted that the charges against him were not valid because the government capitalized every letter of his name on the legal documents, while he only capitalizes the first letter. He also claimed the prosecuting attorneys, representing the United States, had not brought their client to court. Neither of these tactics were successful.
Heckenkamp eventually entered into a plea bargain
in which he admitted guilt and was sentenced to time served
, after spending eight months in prison.
Australian American
An Australian American is a citizen of the United States who identifies with an Australian national background. This can include people of European, Asian, African or Pacific Islander backgrounds.-History:...
computer expert. After completing his education at a young age, he worked as a computer network engineer. He was later convicted of hacking
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
attacks on several prominent corporations and universities.
Early life and education
Heckenkamp was born in New South Wales, Australia. His family moved to Pewaukee, WisconsinPewaukee, Wisconsin
Pewaukee is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The population was 11,783 at the 2000 census. The city was incorporated from what was formerly the Town of Pewaukee. The Village of Pewaukee, which was incorporated out of the town before it incorporated as a city, is surrounded by the city...
when he was young. He was homeschooled
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
as a child, and proved to be an exceptionally intelligent student
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
. He taught himself algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
at age 8 and entered the University of Wisconsin–Waukesha at age 14. He later moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
where he pursued a graduate degree in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
. He has also lectured on computer programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
.
Career
The FBI had suspected that Heckenkamp was involved with hacking before he graduated, but did not immediately bring charges against him. After leaving his university, he was employed at Los Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
as a computer network engineer. Officials at Los Alamos have stated that he never held a security clearance and did not work with classified information, although Heckenkamp has claimed that he worked in a highly sensitive area. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Pete Dominici said of Heckenkamp, "He had the right kind of brain, but he didn't have the right kind of behavior."
Hacking
He was accused of hacking into the networks of multiple corporations, including QualcommQualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
, Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks is an information technology and computer networking products multinational company, founded in 1996. It is head quartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA. The company designs and sells high-performance Internet Protocol network products and services...
, E-Trade, eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, Lycos
Lycos
Lycos, Inc. is a search engine and web portal established in 1994. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, webhosting, social networking, and entertainment websites.-Corporate history:...
, and others. According to victim testimony, these attacks caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. In December 1999 a UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
system administrator
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...
at Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
noticed the attacks to computers in their external DMZ and from their externally accessible SSH
Secure Shell
Secure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client...
gateway host, Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
notified the FBI and began to track the attacks through several network hops, several days later they contacted the University of Wisconsin, where the originating attacks had been launched from. During their own investigation, University of Wisconsin system administrator
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...
s then noticed that the connections had come from a University mail server, then using their own NetFlow
Netflow
NetFlow is a network protocol developed by Cisco Systems for collecting IP traffic information. NetFlow has become an industry standard for traffic monitoring and is supported by platforms other than Cisco IOS and NXOS such as Juniper routers, Enterasys Switches, vNetworking in version 5 of...
logs, they tracked the packets to an IP registered to one of the dorms. Allegedly, the IP responsible for the attacks was assigned to a second computer in Heckenkamp's dorm room. Having previously worked at the university's computer help desk, Heckenkamp had significant knowledge of the university networks. Although law enforcement had requested that they delay action, system administrators hacked into Heckenkamp's computer and gathered further evidence against him, citing the emergency threat to the university network after Heckenkamp gained root access
Superuser
On many computer operating systems, the superuser is a special user account used for system administration. Depending on the operating system, the actual name of this account might be: root, administrator or supervisor....
to their servers. Although Heckenkamp challenged the evidence gained through the search of his computer as an invasion of privacy, the legality of the university's actions was upheld on appeal.
Legal battles
Heckenkamp has steadfastly maintained his innocence, claiming that someone else used his computer to launch attacks and that none of the evidence definitively links him to criminal activities. After being prosecuted he was represented by Jennifer GranickJennifer Granick
Jennifer Stisa Granick is an attorney at ZwillGen PLLC. Prior to joining ZwillGen in 2010, she held the position of Civil Liberties Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 2007-2010. Prior to that, she served as the Executive Director of the Center for Internet and Society at...
, then the clinical director of the Center for Internet and Society
Stanford Center for Internet and Society
The Center for Internet and Society is a public interest technology law and policy program founded in 2000 by Lawrence Lessig at Stanford Law School and a part of Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School...
at Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
. During the proceedings, however, he fired and rehired Granick several times. While representing himself in court, he insisted that the charges against him were not valid because the government capitalized every letter of his name on the legal documents, while he only capitalizes the first letter. He also claimed the prosecuting attorneys, representing the United States, had not brought their client to court. Neither of these tactics were successful.
Heckenkamp eventually entered into a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
in which he admitted guilt and was sentenced to time served
Time served
In criminal law, "time served" describes a sentence where the defendant is credited immediately after the guilty verdict with the time spent in remand awaiting trial. The time is usually subtracted from the sentence, with only the balance being served after the verdict...
, after spending eight months in prison.
External links
- US v Heckenkamp Decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...