One Of The World's Most Infamous Hackers Is Getting Freed From Prison

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Andrew "weev" Auernheimer, the hacker who notoriously released hundreds of thousands of iPad owners' email addresses in an effort to call out AT&T's lax security, was previously serving 41 months in prison, but will now go free due to a federal appeals court's decision.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled federal prosecutors wrongly filed the case against him in New Jersey so they could use a Garden State law to enhance the charges against him.

In reality, the court pointed out, none of the alleged crimes he committed actually took place in New Jersey.

"No protected computer was accessed and no data was obtained in New Jersey," the court ruled.

From the decision:

To enhance the potential punishment from a misdemeanor to a felony the Government alleged that Auernheimer's CFAA [Computer Fraud and Abuse Act] violation occurred in furtherance of a violation of New Jersey's computer crime statute.

The Third Circuit said this was problematic because prosecutors could enhance Auernheimer's punishment if they could prove that he was conspiring to violate the CFAA "in furtherance of a state crime."