Romanian hacker charged for cracking NASA, Navy networks

The U.S. government alleges that Victor Faur, 26, of Arud, Romania, was the leader of a hacker gang called the "WhiteHat Team," which broke into the networks because that are considered some of the world's most secure, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Faur, who faces a 10-count indictment that accuses him of conspiracy, unauthorised access to government computers and causing intentional damage to computers, could be sentenced to 54 years in prison if convicted. He will be brought to Los Angeles for trial after Romanian authorities finish their own case.

The government claims Faur cost it about US$1.5 million due to computer loss over the past two years.

NASA's computers are a familiar target for foreign hackers.Just last month, a hacker gang, called the "Byond Hackers Crew," were arrested in Chile. The group was accused of hacking into more than 8,000 websites, including that of NASA, the University of California at Berkeley and the Chilean Finance Ministry.

Click here to email Frank Washkuch Jr.

chargecrackingfedsforhackernasanavynetworksromaniansecurity