http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/nyregion/hacker-who-helped-disrupt-cyberattacks-is-allowed-to-walk-free.html By Benjamin Weiser The New York Times May 27, 2014 The New York man whose cooperation helped the authorities infiltrate the shadowy world of computer hacking and disrupt at least 300 cyberattacks on targets that included the United States military, courts and private companies was given a greatly reduced sentence on Tuesday of time served and allowed to walk free. Federal prosecutors had sought leniency for the hacker, Hector Xavier Monsegur, citing his efforts in helping the Federal Bureau of Investigation take down an aggressive group of hackers who were part of the collective Anonymous, with which he had been involved, and its splinter groups, which had taken credit for attacking government and corporate websites. Mr. Monsegur’s information, the authorities said, led to the arrest of eight “major co-conspirators,” including Jeremy Hammond, whom the F.B.I. had called its top “cybercriminal target” and who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in November. The judge, Loretta A. Preska of Federal District Court, gave Mr. Monsegur time served, calling his cooperation “truly extraordinary”; he had spent seven months in custody in 2012. […]