Dutch hackers brought before criminal court for breaking into servers and installing file sharing software

Five Dutch hackers suspected of having broken into the servers of university networks in Western Europe and the U.S. are brought before the criminal court of Rotterdam today.

On the servers the hackers installed file sharing software to distribute illegal copies of computer games and films. They are accused of violation of the Dutch Copyright Act, computer hacking, theft of passwords and access codes and participation in a criminal organization.

The hackers were arrested in 2008. They probably risk a prison sentence of up  to six years, a common punishment for computer crime, said a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service to Tweakers.net. The verdict will be delivered in about two weeks.

Source: Tweakers.net, Nu.nl