Teenage hacker convicted in Sweden

The Svea Court of Appeal convicted a Swedish teenager of intruding on the networks of three Swedish universities. He is also suspected of hacking into the computer network of Cisco Systems Inc. in the U.S.

Photo: Teenage hacker convicted in Sweden

Teenage hacker convicted in Sweden

Overturning an acquittal by a lower court, the Svea Court of Appeal gave the 19-year-old man a conditional sentence and ordered him to pay 160,000 kronor (US$25,000; €17,000) in damages to the universities.

The man, who could not be named under Swedish privacy rules, said he would appeal.

The court found him guilty of breaching the systems of the universities in Linkoping, Umea and Uppsala in 2004.

He is also suspected of breaches at San Jose, California, based Cisco Systems. FBI agents came to Sweden last year to interrogate him in that case, he said, adding that he was innocent.

The U.S. Department of Justice has now requested that Swedish authorities take over that investigation, prosecutor Catherine Rudstrom said.