Pirate Bay Founder Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

One of The Pirate Bay's founders has been sentenced to two years in prison in his native Sweden. Gottfriend Svartholm Warg was convicted of multiple data intrusions, aggravated fraud, and attempted aggravated fraud.

The verdict was handed down in Sweden's Nacka District Court late last week.

It's worth noting that the two-year sentence was not related to Warg's activity as a co-founder of controversial filesharing site The Pirate Bay. Instead, the convictions are related to Warg's role in several hacking operations.

IT Services Firms, Banks Targeted

One of those operations involved the Swedish division of IT services firm Logica (now known as CGI), which provided tax services for the Swedish government.

Warg participated in the break-in and then helped publish the personal data of thousands of people associated with the company. (Source: pcworld.com)

Warg was also found to be involved in the hacking of major Scandinavian bank Nordea. In that case, more than 24,000 Danish crowns (about $4,300 USD) was stolen.

Warg also apparently attempted to steal a much larger sum, 683,000 euros ($915,500) but was unsuccessful.

Hacker's Defense Rejected by Court

Warg's defense team had claimed that an unknown hacker used his computer to carry out the attacks. However, the Nacka District Court rejected those arguments.

Warg wasn't the only person found to be involved in the hacks, though the 36-year-old accomplice's name has not yet been released. That person received probation rather than a prison sentence.

Warg has been in custody since August 2012, when he was arrested in Cambodia and subsequently deported to Sweden.

The Pirate Bay's co-founder will now be extradited to Denmark to face new charges relating to the hacking of IT services firm CSC.

Warg will also face charges relating to the illegal accessing of the European Union's Schengen Information System, which contains the personal information of criminal suspects from across the EU. (Source: theregister.co.uk)

It's unclear when the extradition will be executed or when Warg's new trial will begin.