Donald Ryan Austin the guy who hacked the servers of Linux Kernel Organisation (Kernel.org) was arrested yesterday. Austin is 27 and lives in El Portal, Florida. He is the main suspect behind the security breach.
According to the four-count indictment, the guy gained access to the server credentials used by some individual associated with Linux Kernel Organization.
Austin used those stolen credentials to access four kernel.org servers that are located in a Bay Area data center.He modified the server configurations and then installed rootkits and other trojans.
The administrators at Linux Kernel Organization detected the intrusion and called on the FBI to investigate about the incident.
The FBI agents found that Austin was the guilty one, and a federal grand jury issued a four-count indictment on June 23.
The Officers from Miami Police Department arrested Austin during a common traffic stop last Sunday, on this August 28.
Austin made an first appearance in a Miami court on Monday, and the officials unsealed the indictment the next day.
The suspect appeared in court yesterday again, where a judge set bail fee for $50,000 and scheduled the next court appearance for this September 21, in a San Francisco federal court. Austin was released on bond.
For the crimes he did, Austin will face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, and a total fine of $250,000, and any other restitution.
The Linux Kernel Organization manages the kernel.org website and Linux Kernel development. The Linux Kernel Organization is very different from the Linux Foundation, which itself is a separate nonprofit foundation which supports the former.