Chicago (IL) - David Kernell, the 20-year old University of Tennessee student and son of Rep. Mike Kernell (D-Tennessee) who is accused of breaking into the Yahoo e-mail account of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, asked to dismiss the felony charge against him and requested a federal court to bar prosecutors from calling him a “hacker”.

Wade Davies, Kernell’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss the felony charge on October 27, and will appear in a hearing today to address his request. The filing states that the prosecutors improperly combined two identical misdemeanor provisions in an attempt to create a felony.

David Kernell allegedly broke into the private e-mail account of Palin after he read news stories that discussed her use of private e-mail for government correspondence.

Kernell was allegedly able to obtain access to the account through guessing the answers to security questions, and then resetting the password to the account to “popcorn”. Kernell has been accused of posting the new password on a forum at 4chan.org using the username This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and then bragging about his hack of the account.

The indictment states that as soon as Kernell was worried that law enforcement might be on his trail he “removed, altered, concealed, and covered up” files on his personal laptop computer.

Even though Kernell tried to cover his tracks, it did not take long at all for bloggers to trace the 4chan.org posting to Kernell. The FBI was able to trace the IP address to Kernell’s apartment located off campus in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is where he was indicted on October 7, 2008.

Kernell is only charged with one count that cites two separate statutes - The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Stored Communications Act. The stored communications act was utilized to turn what would typically be a misdemeanor into a felony.  

Davies filed a separate motion that asked the court to prohibit the prosecution, and witnesses from referring to Kernell as a hacker, or referring to his crime as “hacking”. Kernell’s attorney believes that those terms do not accurately describe the actions that Kernell performed. Davies stated that "hacking" is generally referred to the use of "specialized computer skills to break codes and often to do damage to remote computers" and does not refer to an individual who merely guessed the answers to security questions to gain access to someone’s account.

"Because of the negative connotations evoked by these terms, there is a significant danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues and misleading the jury," Davies wrote in his motion. "Hackers are commonly portrayed as dangerous criminals who are involved in malicious conduct such as credit card fraud, stealing, intentional disruption of legitimate activities and causing economic damages."

If he is convicted of the felony charges, Kernell will face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a three-year term of supervised release.

Well on a technicality

Nov 14, 2008 11:25     

He is a hacker, he broke into Palin's password code, and changed it, that is technically hacking.
Devon M report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +8

stupid dude

Nov 14, 2008 11:28     

You do a stupid act and got caught. You are stupid does mean you don't have to go to jail. Congressmen's son and all don't protect you. Good luck becoming someone else's bitch in jail!
Your jailmate report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +5

I finally get it

Nov 14, 2008 11:41     

His lastname is Kernell and he changed the password to popcorn. That's...kinda funny.
Nick B. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +6

Hacking it is.

Nov 14, 2008 11:45     

The most notorious hacker of all time, 'Mitnick', used all kinds of tricks to figure out passwords. One trick, is to call into a company, pretend to be an IT employee who has forgotten the network password. The fact that this kids actions led to personal info spread across the internet, and resulting in Palin's pregnant daughter receiving trash emails, in the middle of an expensive political campaign is pretty serious to me. As an Palin supporter, this kid needs to be put away for as long as possible.

sunshine report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -18

@ sunshine

Nov 14, 2008 12:02     

Put away? For guessing the answers and resetting a password? Really, the kid is just a kid, he's what, 19? What he did was wrong and he's on trial for it, but jail time hardly seems appropriate. Just keeping him away from 4chan would probably do wonders to help him reform.
Human1 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -12

Palin supporter?

Nov 14, 2008 12:22     

Are you f***ing mad? You're the one who should be put to jail.
Andrej M. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -8

Someone hacked my email

Nov 14, 2008 12:32     

I would agree with putting this guy away if he had hacked a government email account. He "hacked" a yahoo email account. He should be fined and have to wear a sandwich board that says, "I
Eric report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -3

Re: Palin supporter?

Nov 14, 2008 12:36     

Hit the nail on the head mate. Not only is Palin the epitome of anti-intellectualism, but she's totally ignorant of the vast majority of the issues that face this country. Every interview answer she conjures up from her own mind is a conglomeration of catch phrases and keywords with the sole purpose of circumventing the demonstration that she has no idea how to respond to the question. How anyone with an above average IQ can consciously support Palin is utterly beyond my understanding. In fact, to me it makes perfect sense that our society would be safer with a Palin supporter behind bars than it would be if Kernell was put away.

James report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -14

nothing to do with Palin.

Nov 14, 2008 14:11     

What if Obama's email account got opened up and posted on web by this kid? Then it's OK? This is nothing to do with who own this account. And it does not matter if he guess or call to get this account or whatever method he use to get the password. It's not his account and he is not authorized to login and then posted all the content online. It's like a bank's safe. It does not matter if you blow up the door or you guess the password. As long as you took the money out of it without authorization , you are robbing the bank and you go to Fed. Pen.

yo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +8

Palin supporter ?

Nov 14, 2008 14:14     

Well Said, James !!! I second That.
Yves report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -14

@Yo

Nov 14, 2008 14:57     

Bad comparison there... Robbing a bank and guessing a password to someones yahoo email is completely different. Second, I find it really lame that they are doing this to the kid... sure the kid broke a law, there is no question about that but the point is if it were your email at yahoo, I'm sure the FBI would laugh at your attempts at filing a claim against it with them. In other words, it wouldn't matter if it were McCains, Palins, Obama's, or Bidens email, they all would have been investigated because they are all high profile targets. (Don't mess with a candidate!) Do I believe the kid should go to jail? No. He should be fined, possibly put on probation and not allowed near a PC for a determined amount of time. (Anyone who actively posts on 4chan should suffer the same fate IMO) As for calling him a hacker... its a stretch, if you talk to another hacker (a real hacker) he will tell you no, I don't consider him a hacker. However, a hacker can be described simply as someone who illegally gains access into a restricted network... be it through guessing a password, reseting a password, or through a 3rd party program.

JackCrackerMan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Re: @Yo

Nov 14, 2008 15:14     

1. A crime is a crime. If the laws are wrong, change the law. 2. A 19 year old is an adult. The laws apply. 3. Exploiting flaws in a system to get a password is hacking. Just like Visual Basic is still programming even though C developers don't think so ;)
Shaun report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +6

Hacking it is (I agree)

Nov 14, 2008 15:45     

I think it is funny how people use the excuse that they think Palin is unqualifed to say that they guy shouldn't be prosecuted. The two have nothing to do with each other. If it was any other high profile politican, I would think the same. It shouldn't matter. As pointed out, one of the most notorious hackers of all time Kevin Mitnik. Basically guessed passwords. He called up motorola's 800 number and said he wanted to talk to someone who was working on their new cell phone. The operator said "Paul was in charge of the program, but he was on vacation so I'll put you through to Mary." When he got put through, on the smae phone call, he said, "Hello Mary, This is John. Paul said to contact about the cell phone code. Can you email me the source code?" That was considered hacking. How is this any different? Obtaining unauthorizied access is hacking. Do I think he needs to be put away for the rest of his live. Probably not, but a fine, probation, community service, be banned from 4chan, at the very least, and I don't think a little stay in prison would be out of the question.

Mark report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hacking and results`

Nov 14, 2008 16:51     

I live in Georgia.. and here, every act, including what he did, is a felony.. infact, its considered a terrorist act, and it gets you 5yrs w/o parole. Infact, there was a system admin here, that i believe was looking at about 200years.. b/c he installed Seti@Home on the computers in his lab at the college he worked at.. He didn't get much media support.. and you guys are going to standup for this little punk kid? Makes me wonder just how many of the ppl that posted supporting this guy, have actually done this very thing.. to SO's.. to enemies.. and they just don't like the idea they could goto prison for it themself.

AoW777 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -3

Palin Supporter

Nov 14, 2008 16:58     

I am a supporter of Palin too. Why don't you little boys come down to rural Texas and spew your BS? I'll send ya back to whatever rock you crawled out from under with a good ole Texas ass whoopin'...but you won't. Wimps like you hide behind the confidentiality of the internet. You're pathetic.
Big Tex report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -13

@human1

Nov 14, 2008 17:21     

no, not for guessing answers and changing a password, for spreading someones private mail all over the internet and bragging about it. See how you feel when someone goes into your house and steals some stuff, say if you didn't have the door locked at the time or left a window open. "Your Honor, I didn't burglarize the house, the door/window was wide open and there was stuff just lying around, I didn't know it belonged to human1."

MorituriMax report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Palin Supporter....NOT!!!!

Nov 14, 2008 20:15     

Hey Tex only two things come from Texas and you are not a steer. Excellent James she should be put in prison!!!
Myka1007 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -8

RE: Palin Supporter (Big Tex)

Nov 15, 2008 04:06     

Original: I am a supporter of Palin too. Why don't you little boys come down to rural Texas and spew your BS? I'll send ya back to whatever rock you crawled out from under with a good ole Texas ass whoopin'...but you won't. Wimps like you hide behind the confidentiality of the internet. You're pathetic. ..Seriously? Have you no intellect whatsoever? Firstly, you saying that instead of settling matters through debate, we should do a fist fight? And second, you think we're "little boys" because we won't go all the way to Texas (apologies to anyone who does live close to, or in Texas). Seriously. Okay, Mr Big Tex, if you're so buff, come to Hong Kong. Seriously. Come to Hong Kong, and I'll whoop your butt. Never mind the fact that I could be a four year old girl. If you don't come to Hong Kong, you're scared of a four year old girl. Nice logic. Regarding the actual article, I agree with Kernell; it's not actually "hacking", and the most he should get is probably a few hundred hours of community service.

chris report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Missing the point

Nov 16, 2008 16:18     

This wouldn't even be a thing if Palin hadn't broken the law by using a personal email account to conduct government business. When is she going to be held accountable for that?
xrkn report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hacking is hacking

Nov 16, 2008 17:02     

No matter how you spin it, he broke in to someone elses email account. If Palin was using it for goverment business then thats something the FBI or what not needs to take care of. If he gets away with it then some other 19 year old will brake in to someone elses email.
ThomFrost report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

My Definition

Nov 16, 2008 23:36     

What about hacking together a tool from mismatched parts to complete a job? I define hacking as employing any unorthodox method to complete a task.....password guessing to login is definitely hacking by that definition. And I agree....a felony for this isn't warranted.
Anonymous report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

Helped to elect Obama

Nov 17, 2008 01:24     

What he did was not stupid at all. This was just one more pie in the face of Palin that helped dirty her general image and the image of McCain, so let us be glad and thankful to Kernell for doing us a public service. It proved that Palin WAS using her personal email accounts for government business, and, even though there wasn't much of substance in these specific sets of emails...we know that where there is smoke, there is fire.

Eyal report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -5

Not "True" Hacker

Nov 17, 2008 11:57     

A true hacker would probably have used a public network and essentially be untraceable instead of their own network connection. That way they wouldn't get caught in the act. Silly college boy.
No report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

More anti-Palin bull$hit

Nov 17, 2008 11:59     

Funny how so many morons think what he did was ok just because they hate Sarah Palin. This jerk didn't just hack her email, he plastered it all over the internet and gave other people the password. That's like breaking into your house, showing off your stuff, and then inviting others to come take a look. It's illegal no matter who he does it to. I guess it's only criminal for you guys if it happens to a democrat. FYI to the morons giving him credit. He didn't prove that she was using her email for inappropriate government activities. If he did, that would have ended up as part of the investigation she was already under. It didn't. If you had read the emails he posted on the net you'd know that.

Task report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

I think you are missing the point...

Nov 17, 2008 14:32     

So many of you are just venting your frustrations. 1. Boo-Hoo my candidate did not get elected, now lets sentence this kid to death. or 2. Woopie Sarah Palin is a ditsy broad and deserved it. I think we should focus more on the penalty that fits the crime. Who was damaged by this kid? Sarah Palin did more damage to herself and her own reputation than this kid ever did. Was this a national security breach? Did this change anything in the world at all? The sentence they are throwing to pin on this kid is ridiculous. Give him a long probation and a reasonable fine. This is about the least important thing happening in the world right now. Don't we have bigger fish to fry? BTW: I don't think this qualifies as hacking, just my opinion. BTW: Big Tex should be banned from posting his hate speech here. Cheers! Vote For Pedro

Pedro report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Here you can find your email Palin.

Nov 17, 2008 15:31     

All your emails got printed out and sent to country named "South Africa". You can take Air South Africa to get there. :P
ITBalagyi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

This is not hacking

Nov 18, 2008 00:06     

He did not use technology to find a weakness in a system and exploit it, he did not social engineer a situation to gain access to secure information system. He guessed a password of a personal yahoo email account. Linking him to any thing else is just semantics. BTW Who would use an insecure system with an easy to guess password for anything important enough to warrant the involvement of the FBI. I think it says a lot about the person who had her account exposed.

David McMillan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Re: This is not hacking

Nov 18, 2008 09:22     

David, can't you take five seconds to read an article before posting something so completely wrong? He didn't guess her password. He used the "forgot your password" feature of yahoo to CHANGE her password. He was able to obtain enough personal information to get through the filters and guess the answer to her secret question. Regardless, it is STILL A CRIME. Is a burglar not guilty if you leave your front door unlocked? Do you really think that defense would EVER hold up in court. As I said before, this is just more anti-Palin bull$hit. And Pedro, I'm not saying this kid deserves death. He's an adult and knew he was committing a crime and should be sentenced based on the punishments outlined in the state and federal laws.

Task report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

Re: re: this is not hacking

Nov 19, 2008 12:37     

Comparing this to burglary? Give me a break. This is more like peeping in someone's windows, determining that no one is home, and then telling everyone you know. Trespassing, maybe, but not burglary.
Bob Smith report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

Re: re: Re: this is not hacking

Nov 20, 2008 12:04     

It's a little worse than peeping in windows, really. It's more like going up to a house that has a door with one of those really cheap locks you can open using a credit card. You unlock the door, grab some of the person's mail from inside the house, go out and tell everyone you meet what you just did, and then read the mail out loud using a megaphone. Do I think he should be put in jail for it? Maybe for a year or two. After that, put him on probation where he is not allowed to use a computer for 5 to 10 years or so. If he does something like that again, then put him in jail for a longer period of time. To the people saying she's stupid for making her password reset code so easy: If someone knows your full name, they can find out pretty much anything about you for a nominal fee just by using the Internet. Criminal history, credit score, address, etc. With enough information, someone could guess YOUR email reset code, too.

Adam report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

How are you gentlemen...

Nov 24, 2008 00:27     

HELLO IF IT WASN'T FOR WIKIPEDIA HE WOULDN'T OF GOT IN TO HER ACCOUNT IN THE FIRST PLACE. You can't say information on a site like that is "secret". You will be a target if you go by an obvious handle AND especially if you lack the common sense to secure your information. Yahoo accounts get broken into on a daily basis, but you don't see anyone else crying about it, if anything he proved how incompetent she is in the field of confidential information.

Hi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2