Philip Gabriel Pettersson, aka “Stakkato Charged with Hacking and Theft of Trade Secrets Related to Alleged Computer Intrusions at NASA and Cisco

May 6, 2009

Philip Gabriel Pettersson, aka “Stakkato,” 21, a Swedish national, was indicted on intrusion and trade secret theft charges, announced the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello for the Northern District of California.

The five-count indictment includes one intrusion count and two trade secret misappropriation counts involving Cisco Systems Inc. (Cisco), of San Jose, Calif., which is a provider of computer network equipment and producer of Internet routers. According to the allegations in the indictment Pettersson intentionally committed an intrusion between May 12, 2004, and May 13, 2004, into the computer system and network of Cisco. During the alleged intrusion some Cisco Internetwork Operating System code was allegedly misappropriated.

The indictment also charges two intrusion counts involving the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including computers at the Ames Research Center and the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division, located at Moffett Field, Calif. The indictment alleges Pettersson committed these intrusions on May 19, 2004, May 20, 2004 and Oct. 22, 2004.

Cisco and NASA cooperated in the government’s investigation. Following the incident, Cisco reported that it did not believe that any customer information, partner information or financial systems were affected.

The Department of Justice will continue to work cooperatively with the Swedish authorities on the case.

An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt. The maximum penalty for each charge of intrusion and theft of trade secrets is 10 years in prison, a three year term of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI; U.S. Secret Service; NASA Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Computer Crimes Division; and numerous additional federal agencies. Mark L. Krotoski, presently at the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Paralegal Lauri Gomez and Assistant Netterie Lewis. CCIPS Senior Counsel Kimberly Peretti also assisted in the prosecution. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has assisted on international coordination issues in the case.