US charges Briton with hacking into military, thousands other networks

US charges Briton with hacking into military, thousands other networks

US authorities have charged a hacker in England with breaching thousands of computer systems, including US military networks, to steal massive amounts of confidential data.

Lauri Love, 28, was charged with one count of accessing a US department or agency computer without permission, and one count of conspiracy, US Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey said.

Love, who lives in the Suffolk village of Stradishall, was arrested on Friday by authorities including the UK's National Crime Agency in a separate investigation, Fishman said.

US prosecutors said that between October 2012 and October 2013, Love and co-conspirators placed hidden "shells" or "back doors" within the hacked networks, allowing them to return later to steal data.

Among the networks they hacked into were those of the US Department of Defence's Missile Defence Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers, US prosecutors said.

Information accessed included budgeting data, the disposal of military facilities, and personal information on thousands of people including military personnel, they said.

Love also intruded into networks belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, the US prosecutors added.

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