An Arizona man was sentenced to 20 months in prison and fined after he plead guilty to launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against several municipalities, including Madison, Wis., which resulted in taking down the city's 911 system.
Randall Charles Tucker, 23, of Apache Junction, Ariz. was sentenced in the District of Arizona and must pay $69,331.56 in restitution for his criminal activity. He pleaded guilty on April 17, 2017, to one count of intentional damage to a protected computer. The fine will be divided among several victims, including Madison, Dane County, Wis.; Chandler and Mesa, Ariz.; Moore, Okla.; and Vision Internet (provider for City of Mesa).
The damage was caused by a series of DDoS attacks that hit Madison between March 9-14, 2015 disabling the city's main website and also crippling its internet-connected emergency communication system. This caused delays in taking calls, caused serious issues with the ability of first responders to connect to the 911 center and degraded the system used to dispatch the closest emergency vehicle to a call.
“Tucker, referring to himself as the “Bitcoin Baron,” boasted about his attacks via social media,” the Department of Justice said.
