A Massachusetts man who reportedly illegally accessed the cell phone of socialite Paris Hilton 10 years ago has agreed to serve four years in federal prison for a more recent hacking spree that targeted computer networks around the country, including those belonging to law enforcement organizations that stored sensitive data and communications.
Cameron Lacroix, 25, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, submitted a written agreement to plead guilty to two counts of computer intrusion and one count of access device fraud, documents filed in Boston federal court alleged. Over a two-year span beginning in May 2011, the man pursued a hacking spree that targeted a multitude of groups, prosecutors said. One of the hacked networks belonged to a local Massachusetts police department and exposed an e-mail account belonging to the unidentified department's chief of police. Lacroix is also accused of repeatedly penetrating the defenses of other law enforcement computer servers containing sensitive information, including police reports, intelligence reports, arrest warrants, and sex offender information.
Another prong of his alleged two-year hacking spree was the Bristol Community College. Prosecutors said Lacroix breached the college's servers on multiple occasions from September 2012 to December 2013 so he could change his grades and those of two other students. Lacroix allegedly used stolen login credentials belonging to three instructors to gain illegal access. The man is also accused of obtaining and possessing payment card data for more than 14,000 unique account holders. As part of the plea agreement, Lacroix is expected to be sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
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