12:44 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 6, 2005

KVUE.com

Christopher Andrew Phillips was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $170,056 restitution for hacking the computer system at the University of Texas.

In June the former UT student was found guilty of computer fraud and possessing stolen Social Security numbers.

In 2002, Phillips stole more than 37,000 Social Security numbers and cost more than $100,000 to the university's computer system after his hacking shut it down.

U. S. District Judge Lee Yeakel also ordered that Phillips cannot access the Internet except under the supervision of his probation officer and only for school or work purposes.

“Computer hacking is a serious crime. Mr. Phillips is now a convicted felon and owes over $170,000 to the University of Texas for the damage that he caused. Today, he found out the hard way that breaking into someone else's computer is not a joke,” stated United States Attorney Johnny Sutton in a press release.

Phillips had faced a maximum of five years in jail.

Back in June the jury found him not guilty of intent to defraud, believing the defense's argument that Phillips never intended to use the stolen Social Security numbers to commit a crime.