loco502
September 8th, 2003, 10:18 PM
LOS ANGELES -- A 19-year-old college student from Hollywood was sentenced Monday to six months home confinement for stealing confidential documents from DirecTV's law firm, then posting the information on the Web.
Igor Serebryany also was ordered to serve five years probation and pay about $146,000 in restitution to DirecTV and the law firm, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Spertus said.
Serebryany was arrested in early January for stealing trade secrets related to El Segundo-based DirecTV's "smart cards" -- technology the company uses to limit and sell access to satellite channels.
He pleaded guilty to one count of stealing trade secrets.
The University of Chicago student acknowledged that he took the documents last fall while helping his uncle do work for a copy service hired by DirecTV's law firm, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.
He admitted that he kept digital images of papers relating to the design of an advanced access card, then sent the images to the pirate Web site DSSHackers.com.
The files he stole were evidence in a legal battle with one of DirecTV's technology partners, and were "so secret and valuable ... that DirecTV has previously maintained the information only in an encrypted format on computer hard drives at secure facilities," according to an FBI statement made after Serebryany's arrest.
Prosecutors say there is no evidence Serebryany was paid for the documents, and Marc Zwillinger, an attorney for DirecTV, has said the company does not believe many people saw the information.
The defendant's attorney, Nina Marino, said earlier this year that her client did "a dumb kid thing" without realizing there could be consequences.
She said Serebryany "has taken full responsibility for his actions ... he's learned a hard lesson."
Marino said Monday that she was pleased her client would not serve time behind bars.
Spertus said the government feels "the sentence was fair."
The plea agreement filed in April states there have been no known security breaches of the access card that Serebryany stole information about.
The company spent $68,048 and Jones Day spent $78,037 investigating the theft and attempting to limit potential losses, according to the plea agreement.
In addition to the restitution, U.S. District Judge Lourdes Baird ordered Serebryany to limit his computer use to academic pursuits.
Igor Serebryany also was ordered to serve five years probation and pay about $146,000 in restitution to DirecTV and the law firm, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Spertus said.
Serebryany was arrested in early January for stealing trade secrets related to El Segundo-based DirecTV's "smart cards" -- technology the company uses to limit and sell access to satellite channels.
He pleaded guilty to one count of stealing trade secrets.
The University of Chicago student acknowledged that he took the documents last fall while helping his uncle do work for a copy service hired by DirecTV's law firm, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.
He admitted that he kept digital images of papers relating to the design of an advanced access card, then sent the images to the pirate Web site DSSHackers.com.
The files he stole were evidence in a legal battle with one of DirecTV's technology partners, and were "so secret and valuable ... that DirecTV has previously maintained the information only in an encrypted format on computer hard drives at secure facilities," according to an FBI statement made after Serebryany's arrest.
Prosecutors say there is no evidence Serebryany was paid for the documents, and Marc Zwillinger, an attorney for DirecTV, has said the company does not believe many people saw the information.
The defendant's attorney, Nina Marino, said earlier this year that her client did "a dumb kid thing" without realizing there could be consequences.
She said Serebryany "has taken full responsibility for his actions ... he's learned a hard lesson."
Marino said Monday that she was pleased her client would not serve time behind bars.
Spertus said the government feels "the sentence was fair."
The plea agreement filed in April states there have been no known security breaches of the access card that Serebryany stole information about.
The company spent $68,048 and Jones Day spent $78,037 investigating the theft and attempting to limit potential losses, according to the plea agreement.
In addition to the restitution, U.S. District Judge Lourdes Baird ordered Serebryany to limit his computer use to academic pursuits.