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 appearbefore a U.S. judge on Wednesday, the Justice Department said. He facesup to 5 years in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment, Kernell accessed Palin’s account,[email protected], on September 16 after correctly answering a seriesof personal questions.
Yahoo allows users to change their passwords if they confirmpersonal information such as their birth date and ZIP code andcorrectly answer a personal question such as the name of their firstpet.
Kernell then posted some of the account’s contents, along with thepassword, 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 tolocal media reports. The legislator, Mike Kernell, did not immediatelyreturn a request for comment.
Palin occasionally used the account to conduct state business,according to media reports. Critics have charged that she uses theaccount 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 andsend a clear signal to reassure all Americans that their personale-mail accounts cannot be hacked into with impunity," Schmitt said in astatement.
(Editing by Philip Barbara)
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