The hacker who broke into the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has plead guilty to violating the UK Computer Misuse Act in a London Court today.
Jeffrey admitted to gaining unauthorized access to data and a computer with the intention of compromising its operation.
James Jeffrey stole over 9,000 personal records on on March 8th from BPAS and compromised the confidentiality of people who contacted BPAS to inquire about information and services regarding STDs, testing, sterilization, abortion, and other women’s health services.
The 27 year old was brought before Westminster Magistrates court in London after he attempted to break into BPAS’s site 26,000 times within a six hour period. He plead guilty to the offense and accepted responsibility for defacing the website with an image of Anonymous.
On Friday we covered the details of Jeffrey’s arrest in an article that I posted on Friday. Jeffrey was arrested by the Metropolitan police at his home in Wednesbury, West Midlands last week after “he boasted of breaking into the BPAS by tweeting details of the exploit, including the login for the BPAS sysadmin, under the name Pablo Escobar.”
According to The Inquirer, BPAS stated that the incident was an extreme example of how anti-abortion activity has been becoming more agressive in its efforts to target abortion providers. Prosecutors told the court Jeffery targeted the BPAS website after two women he knew had terminations.
Judge Daphne Wickham described him as a “zealot with an anti-abortion campaign” and refused to grant Jeffrey bail, saying that he was an “able hacker” who could target other organizations.
Jeffery remains in custody and will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court at a later date.