WiFi Hacker Sent to Jail for How Long for Cyber-Terrorizing Neighbors?

It started with an odd spat between next-door neighbors in Blaine, Minnesota. Matt Kostolnik was creeped out when Barry Ardolf picked up his four-year-old son, who had wandered into Ardolf’s yard, and then carried the boy back to Kostolnik’s property, giving him a kiss on the lips before depositing him.

The police were called, and while nothing become of it, Ardolf was offend and vowed revenge. What followed is a series of events that earned Ardolf an 18-year jail sentence this week.

According to testimony, Ardolf got a Wi-Fi hacking program which allowed him to bypass Kostolnik’s encryption. Next, he created a fake MySpace page for Kontolnik, and used it to send child pornography to Kontolnik’s co-workers.

Ardolf also sent death threats against Vice President Joe Biden from Kontolnik’s Yahoo! account, which got Kontolnik a visit from the Secret Service when they were able to trace the email’s back to the Kontolnik’s household IP address.

The law firm that Kontolnik works for eventually hired a firm to look into what was going on with him, and they uncovered evidence implicating Ardolf.

Kontolnik’s two-year nightmare came to an end when the FBI charged Ardolf with identity theft, making threats against Biden, possession of child pornography and the distribution of kiddie porn.

[Yahoo!]