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Hungarian charged over Ericsson hack
'Well, I thought it was a better bet than the job centre...'

By Jo Best

Published: Thursday 10 March 2005

A 26-year-old Hungarian man has been charged by Swedish authorities with hacking into the networks of Sony Ericsson and Ericsson for purposes of industrial espionage, according to Swedish and UK press reports.

Csaba Richter accessed the companies' intranets over a period of several months, obtaining commercially sensitive information. He is alleged to have been intending to sell them for profit.

Richter, an IT consultant, claimed he was hacking into the network to highlight the security vulnerabilities in the companies' networks and hoped to land a job after the phone companies saw his skills, according to the chief prosecutor on the case, Thomas Lindstrand.

Richter has been in prison since his arrest last October and could be facing a jail sentence of several years if convicted.

According to reports, some of the information accessed by Richter could have jeopardised Swedish national security.