WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Tennessee man has been indicted for hacking into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
David Kernell, 20, of Knoxville, turned himself in and will appear
before a U.S. judge on Wednesday, the Justice Department said. He faces
up to 5 years in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment, Kernell accessed Palin's account,
gov.palin@yahoo.com, on September 16 after correctly answering a series
of personal questions.
Yahoo allows users to change their passwords if they confirm
personal information such as their birth date and ZIP code and
correctly answer a personal question such as the name of their first
pet.
Kernell then posted some of the account's contents, along with the
password, to the online message board 4chan.org, the indictment says.
Kernell, known online as "rubico," also posted family members'
cellphone numbers and e-mail addresses online, the indictment says.
Kernell is the son of a Democratic state legislator, according to
local media reports. The legislator, Mike Kernell, did not immediately
return a request for comment.
Palin occasionally used the account to conduct state business,
according to media reports. Critics have charged that she uses the
account to get around public-records laws.
Palin is the running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the November 4 election.
Palin spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt called the hack "deeply troubling."
"We are certain that the proper authorities will pursue justice and
send a clear signal to reassure all Americans that their personal
e-mail accounts cannot be hacked into with impunity," Schmitt said in a
statement.
(Editing by Philip Barbara)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
