The United States Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that the District Court in Seattle has sentenced 21-year-old Ryan Hernandez to three years in prison for crimes related to hacking and possession of child pornography, with seven years of supervised release following prison, and a requirement to register as a sex offender.
According to the announcement, Hernandez, who also went by the name "Ryan West" and the online handle "RyanRocks," had used phishing methods in 2016 (when he was still a minor) to gain access to confidential information held by Nintendo, and used it to leak details on the then-upcoming Switch console. The FBI later contacted Hernandez and his family the following year, and he had promised to stop any further hacking. However, Hernandez had continued his activities from 2018 to 2019, and leaked further maliciously acquired information online.
The FBI conducted a search of Hernandez' residence in June 2019, confiscating numerous electronic devices, which not only contained data from Nintendo, but also videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct located in a folder named "Bad Stuff".
According to the announcement, Hernandez, who also went by the name "Ryan West" and the online handle "RyanRocks," had used phishing methods in 2016 (when he was still a minor) to gain access to confidential information held by Nintendo, and used it to leak details on the then-upcoming Switch console. The FBI later contacted Hernandez and his family the following year, and he had promised to stop any further hacking. However, Hernandez had continued his activities from 2018 to 2019, and leaked further maliciously acquired information online.
The FBI conducted a search of Hernandez' residence in June 2019, confiscating numerous electronic devices, which not only contained data from Nintendo, but also videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct located in a folder named "Bad Stuff".
