WiFi-hacking neighbor from hell gets 18 years in prison

A Minnesota hacker prosecutors described as a “depraved criminal” was handed an 18-year prison term Tuesday for unleashing a vendetta of cyberterror that turned his neighbor’s lives into a living nightmare. Barry Ardolf, 46, repeatedly hacked into his next-door neighbors’ WiFi network in 2009, and used it to try and frame them for child pornography, sexual harassment, various kinds of professional misconduct and to send threatening e-mail to politicians, including Vice President Joe Biden.

His motive was to get back at his new neighbors after they told the police he’d kissed their 4-year-old son on the lips.

“Barry Ardolf has demonstrated by his conduct that he is a dangerous man. When he became angry at his neighbors, he vented his anger in a bizarre and calculated campaign of terror against them,” (PDF) prosecutor Timothy Rank said in a court filing. “And he did not wage this campaign in the light of day, but rather used his computer hacking skills to strike at his victims while hiding in the shadows. “Over months and months, he inflicted unfathomable psychic damage, making the victims feel vulnerable in their own home, while avoiding detection.” Ardolf’s attorney, Kevin O’Brien, said in a telephone interview that “it was a lengthy sentence for a
first time offender.”

I wish we had a weird or odd news section here on ATS, because this is where i would post this story! Oh My Lord!

Read full article here!!!

I agree with the sentance... To try and frame someone for child pornography is a cold and calculated thing to do.. He could have destroyed the lives of these people.. Which could have included being assaulted, abused and raped in prison...

I understand why he did it, to get back at them but i think he went to far..

I dont understand .Why couldnt the neighbours turn off their computer? or better yet Go next door ,sit down with the troubled angry man ,and proceed to smash his computer with a large hammer.

2 weeks to crack a WEP key ? It can take a couple of minutes to do. To anyone who uses a WEP key, switch to WPA. Much, much safer unless your password is listed somewhere in over 30gig of a text file.

In this day and age, it should be common practice for everyone to change their passwords frequently. Especially wireless. My laptop is the only system on my wireless network and I still change the password weekly.

Originally posted by Vio1ion
2 weeks to crack a WEP key ? It can take a couple of minutes to do. To anyone who uses a WEP key, switch to WPA. Much, much safer unless your password is listed somewhere in over 30gig of a text file.

LOL! No kidding!
2 WEEKS to crack WEP?

What a douchey thing to do.
Be gone, douchey guy.

They were looking out for and protecting their son....good parents. I am glad he is in prison.

Threads like this make me want to start paying for my own Wi-Fi access, because I don't fancy doing some porridge because my neighbour isn't bright enough to understand how vulnerable their network is. It helps that they're ass-hats.

Rev

Not a single post saying the sentence is disspraportionate to the crime? No-one died ffs, 18 years? People in the UK do less than a year for murder sometimes!

Casey Anthony Gets away with killing child - 4 weeks in jail

Hacking your neighbors WEP Key - 18 years in prison

Go Go Justice System!

reply to post by 12voltz


As to why they couldn't just turn off their computer -- The real problem wasn't with their computers, it was with their wifi router. If they shut that off, they would have lost their own internet access. PLus, if they shut down their computer to avoid it, they would have, well, lost computer access. And do you know something? that's giving in to the terrorist next door.

reply to post by Solasis

Unhook the router and mainline the connection to one computer...easy.

This is a BS sentence in my opinion. The neighbors told the police that he kissed his son on the lips insinuating that he had problems. I'd be pissed too...I likely wouldn't have done what he did but 18 years is too much.

Way Too Much.

That is a stupid sentence, real rapists and murderers get less time. Its a sorry tale for sure and he deserved some kind of punishment, but surely a community order (doing unpaid work for 500 hours or so) would have been much more suitable. This is another case of punishments not fitting the crime.

What the a new $30 wifi router would have solved the problem, what's up with you people. Or have you heard of the reset button on the wifi router, take about not have a clue of what to do.

No doubt the big issue in his sentence is the kiddie porn.

I wonder if folks who think his 18 years for harassment is too high would balk at a perv hoarding the porn getting just a year?

Perhaps if one could prove that the harasser had the porn all along because he was in fact a perv who just happened to be harassing this family would make the 18 years seem not so harsh after all?

Public opinion messes up the so-called "justice" system a lot. There are different punishments for different classes regarding the same crime. There are certain blacklisted offenses or traits to offenses that skew sentencing as well. In this instance its the porn. Until just a few weeks ago "crack" was worse than coc aine. Having a gun anywhere near the vicinity of a crime automatically boosts the offense regardless of the context.

Just more evidence the "justice" system in its entirety is a flawed monstrosity.

Look at how many people want Casey Anthony to fry despite not having actually been in her shoes and knowing nothing specifically incriminating about the situation but because a kid is dead and Nancy Grace hates her she should die.

It's one giant cluster#.

Im sitting thinking how the hell did this retard get caught if he had a brain

i didnt know people still use WEP lol im on a hacked WPA2 right now with full admin access to the router in a

little vpn. the man was a retard, revenge blinded this man if he got that far he should have did it right not that

porn crap, the dumbass was probably caught when the other man told his service provider and the cops, every

keystroke is recorded. I bet he was going to his own facebook and using the internet for non hack purposes also

the probley had is own named computer connected to the router lol cops look at the log in the router go across

to his house look at his system settings case closed lol what a spa

reply to post by MemoryShock


If they have two computers? Or if their computer is inconvenient to keep hooked up to their modem, like mine is? I was defending their actions against someone who thought that the two people living there should have dealt with the harassment themselves. They shouldn't have had to circumvent their conveniences to not be deluged with kiddy porn. Like I said, that is actually giving the harasser power that he shouldn't have. It's letting him change their lives.

They were being harassed. If the sentence is genuinely just for the harassment and hacking then, yes, it's BS. But like thatguyrightthere (hehe) said, it's probably more to do with his, you know, kissing a five year old and accessing child porn.

If i had him trying that with me he would be in more trouble then 18 years in jail.

Any night using just a cheap throwaway cell phone i could have the swat team breaking down his door to rescue a kidnap victim.
Have the cop drug dogs going nuts in his home.
Get him stopped from flying on aircraft, and likely a visit from the cops looking for bomb making chemicals.
The list goes on.
And i would not even need a computer.

I disagree. Why should the victims here (the parents) have to do anything at all? They did nothing wrong except protect their child. Then (from what I've read) this guy comes at them guns (keyboard) blazing. He threatens government officials and makes it look like the parents did it? Threating the V.P is and should be enough to put you away for a long time. As far as I know it's a felony. Making it look like the parents were involved with child porn?
!8 years isn't long enough for this nut.