Hacker gets three years in prison for selling 'rooted' cable modems

A 28-year-old Oregon man has been sentenced tothree years in prison for selling illegal products and services that allowed users to bypass restrictions imposed by ISPs. Ryan Harris, known online as DerEngel, reportedly earned between $400,000 and $1 million over several years through the illegal activity, which included the modification of cable modems to remove filters set by ISPs, allowing users to enjoy faster connections sans limitations without the provider's blessings.


It's reported that through his company, TCNISO, Harris sold hacked cable modems for up to $100 that supplied buyers with free Internet. He also offered various hacking products including "Sigma," "Blackcat" and "DreamOS" that granted free or enhanced Internet access. One product, "Coax Thief," intercepted MAC addresses and configuration data from neighbors. Harris went as far as writing a book titled "Hacking the Cable Modem: What Cable Companies Don't Want You to Know."


"Mr. Harris acted with absolute, knowing malice," said prosecutor Mona Sedky, adding that he was motivated by greed and a desire to "punish" cable companies. "He acted on a grievance, as a lot of young people do," said Charles McGinty, Harris' federal public defender. McGinty insisted that while Harris was misguided, he was motivated by anger that ISPs could control the speed and quality of a customer's connection.


Laurie Jill Wood, director of security for Charter Communications, commented on the case Wednesday, claiming the company spent years combating Harris' wrongdoings. Because he cloned so many modems, Harris caused various headaches for Charter, including the accidental disconnection of legitimate subscribers. Even worse, Charter has been unable to identify users suspected of unrelated computer crimes.


"I think you committed a very serious crime," US District Judge Mark L. Wolf told Harris. In addition to a three-year prison sentence starting September 4, Harris will have three years of supervised release and must pay roughly $200,000 in fines and restitution.

Charter upgrades its speeds for free, offers 100Mb/s plan

Charter has drastically increased the speeds of its most popular Internet plans in DOCSIS 3.0 markets (95% of its total coverage area). The boost comes at no additional cost to customers. The Charter Internet Express offering has been bumped from 12Mb/s to 15Mb/s downstream and 1Mb/s to 3Mb/s upstream. Charter Internet Plus has been increased from 18Mb/s and 2Mb/s to 30Mb/s and 4Mb/s, while the company's premium residential offering has been elevated from 60Mb/s download to 100Mb/s with 5Mb/s upload.

"The Internet is changing the way we watch TV, communicate with our friends and family, and engage in social and professional networks. When you're posting content online, we know it's important to have a fast, reliable connection, and we're committed to enabling the rapid sharing of content," said Charter VP of Product and Strategy Rich DiGeronimo. "With multiple connected devices in your home, you don't have to make tradeoffs with Charter Internet. You can use multiple gadgets simultaneously, and enjoy a rich experience with each one," he continued.

Although you'll have faster speeds, it doesn't seem like Charter has adjusted its Acceptable Use Policy, which outlines various data caps for the different packages. Lite and Express customers are limited to 100GB per month, while Plus and Max subscribers are afforded 250GB -- the same as Comcast's residential cap. Ultra100 (the new name for Charter's best consumer plan) are given 500GB per month. If you overstep those boundaries, you can expect a call prompting you to reduce your consumption or upgrade your package.

This boost comes as experts warn about the coming rollout of usage-based billing. Analyst Craig Moffett claimed last week that Time Warner, Cox and Charter are eyeing metered bandwidth planssimilar to mobile providers. One could argue that the faster your connection is, the more data you're inclined to consume and ultimately, the more revenue ISPs are likely to generate. In other words, Charter's move could be a precursor to lining its pockets with usage-based billing. Naturally, we have no proof of such accusations, but it's food for thought.