Matthew Keys sentenced to 2 years in prison for Anonymous hack

Matthew Keys, a former social media editor at Reuters and other media outlets, was sentenced to serve two years in prison on Wednesday for helping hackers from Anonymous break into his ex-employer's computer network and deface the Los Angeles Times website.

In a post on Medium published shortly before Wednesday's hearing, Keys called the charges "baseless, absurd and entirely wrong." He also called the three years since he was charged, "exceptionally challenging," and added, "I hope that our combined efforts help bring about positive change to rules and regulations that govern our online conduct."

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Keys was found guilty in October of three computer fraud felony charges under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and faced up to 25 years in prison and additional fines.

At Wednesday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors, who had recommended a five-year sentence, continued to paint Keys as someone seeking vengeance on the Tribune Company, which owns the Times. 

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Keys' defense countered that he has matured since the incident occurred and pointed to his career after the incident.

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In a tweet published shortly after the sentence came down, Keys confirmed his legal team would fight the sentence.

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The Case

In 2010, after leaving the Tribune Company-owned KTXL Fox 40, where he was a web producer, Keys gave login credentials to members of Anonymous. The hackers accessed the Times website and changed an article on Dec. 15, 2010, to say that "Chippy 1337" was about to be "elected head of the [U.S.] Senate." Times editors undid those changes under an hour later.

Court documents claim the hacking cost Tribune $18,000 as employees spent 333 hours responding to the infiltration, according to The Associated Press. But Keys' attorney said fixing the story's headline, byline and first paragraphs cost less than $5,000, the threshold for a felony violation.

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The Fallout

While prosecutors have continued to pursue a heavy sentence for Keys, many rallied behind the editor, claiming the punishment hardly fit the crime. 

Vice's Sarah Jeong, who has covered the case extensively, noted in a report that the changes made to the story on the Times website, carried out by a hacker who has still not been identified and charged, was live for only 40 minutes and was changed three minutes after being discovered. Still, the Tribune Company claimed a loss of nearly $1 million in the wake of the hack. 

Many have voiced displeasure with what they see as a harsh sentence. 

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Keys is due to surrender on June 15, 2016. 

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