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Hacker Goes to Prison for Broadcasting Porn on Moscow Billboard

by Amar Toor on March 24, 2011 at 02:20 PM

garden ring road
Last year, a hacker named Igor Blinnikov infiltrated a video billboard, and used it to broadcast porn above a busy road in Moscow. Though the 40-year-old prankster eventually confessed to the crime, calling it a "bad joke," he wasn't able to avoid his legal comeuppance. Today, Blinnikov was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Blinnikov reportedly hijacked the billboard from the comfort of his own home, in a city more than 700 miles from Moscow. The hacker told reporters that he downloaded the pornographic video from the Web, and randomly chose to stream it across a billboard above a major thoroughfare in Moscow. He wouldn't provide any more details on the operation, however, claiming that "[it] would take too long to explain."

The hijacking drew instant attention from Russian media, and, not surprisingly, led to a major traffic jam on Moscow's Garden Ring Road. But Blinnikov says he meant no harm with his prank, claiming he was simply looking "for something to do." He's already planning to appeal the decision, the severity of which clearly surpassed his expectations. "I expected a bit less," he explained.

Tags: Billboard, hacker, igor blinnikov, IgorBlinnikov, law, moscow, porn, prison, russia, security, top, video, Web

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