The Justice Department announced Wednesday that David Kernell, the son of Democratic Tennessee State Representative Mike Kernell, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday for hacking into the e-mail account of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Representative Kernell denied any involvement in the incident.
Kernell allegedly hacked into Palin's personal e-mail account by resetting the account password. He apparently answered a series of security questions, which allowed him to reset the password and gain access to her account.
Once he had gained access, Kernell allegedly made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information, which he then posted to a public Web site. He then apparently posted the new password that he had created, allowing other people access to Palin's e-mail.
According to the Justice Department, Kernell turned himself into federal authorities for arrest and would be arraigned today before a US Magistrate Judge. If found guilty, he could serve up to five years in prison, as well as face a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
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