Accused LulzSec hacker pleads guilty in Sony breach

Accused LulzSec hacker Cody Kretsinger pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court in California to taking part in an extensive computer breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment.Kretsinger, a 24-year-old who used the moniker "Recursion," pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy and unauthorized impairment of a protected computer in a deal with prosecutors. LulzSec, an offshoot of the international hacking group Anonymous, has taken credit for hacking attacks on government and private sector websites."I joined LulzSec, your honor, at which point we gained access to the Sony Pictures website," Kretsinger told the judge after entering his guilty plea.He testified that he gave the information he got from the Sony site to other members of LulzSec, who then posted it onto the group's website and on Twitter. Kretsinger flew from Decatur, Illinois, to Los Angeles for the hearing, and responded to the judge's questions calmly, with his hands clasped behind his back. He and other LulzSec hackers, including those known as "Sabu" and "Topiary," stole the personal information of thousands of people after launching an "SQL injection" attack on the website, and ultimately caused Sony Pictures Entertainment more than $600,000 in damages, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Vandevelde said. Click here for full story