A teenage hacker who paralysed top US Internet sites last year was in juvenile court in Montreal, Canada, today as a sentencing hearing got under way.
"Mafiaboy", whose real name cannot be revealed under Canadian law because of his age, has pleaded guilty to launching a series of attacks that shut down websites such as Yahoo! and CNN.com in February 2000.
The top sites that also include eBay.com, Amazon.com and Dell.com. argue the attacks cost them $1.7 billion but defense lawyers for the hacker dispute the figure.
"There is going to be a fight about that," said Mr Yan Romanoswki, Mafiaboy's defense lawyer. "Whatever the figure, from our point of view it is less than that."
An expert witness for the prosecution, Mr Alan Paller, told the court hacking into Internet sites required no special expertise and firms were virtually defenseless against hackers armed with a simple program.
More witnesses are to testify and Mafiaboy could be sentenced as early as next Tuesday when the hearing is scheduled to end, or later if Judge Gilles Ouellet decides to take his time considering the case.
"Mafiaboy" could face up to two years in prison and a $660 fine.
Once the verdict is issued the plaintiffs could file a civil case against the teenager from a wealthy Montreal suburb, seeking damages for their losses.
US officials have not ruled out a separate prosecution in a US court, if the Canadian court ruling does not satisfy them.
AFP