'Blackshades' webcam spying ring leader gets over four years in prison
A year and a half following his arrest, the leader of the 'Blackshades' hacking ring is going behind bars. An American judge has sentenced Alex Yucel to 57 months (4.75 years) in prison after he pled guilty to charges that he distributed remote access malware to "thousands" of crooks, who used it for everything from swiping passwords to spying on women through their webcams. The decision is proof that this snooping is a "serious crime worthy of a serious punishment," the judge says. It's not the stiffest penalty possible -- prosecutors wanted Yucel to serve up to 7.5 years, and he likely got a break by promising that he wouldn't appeal a sentence under 7.25 years. Still, it's safe to say that his days of coding intrusive software are over.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew]
