David c. kernell

David Kernel was brought to public notoriety as the individual who began an intrusion into a poorly protected email account of Sarah Palin. An article about the event can be found at "Sarah Palin email hack". David Kernell,was 21 year old college student who read about the then governor of Alaska's possible use of private email for government business in an article written in the Washington Post. He guessed her security questions and entered her email account quite easily using a feature of the account that allows users to recover a forgotten password. According to court testimony Kernell was proud of his act and tried to boast about it on a internet chat board, only to find that no one believed him. He posted screen shots of her inbox and two attached pictures from email on to the chat site in an effort to convince others. In an attempt to further prove that he had been successful, he posted the new password on the site. Up to 14 others quickly entered the account, one called the "Whiteknight" changed the password and took control, blocking Kernell from access. This individual posted several emails and pictures on different internet sites which where picked up by the mainstream media, specifically Fox news. The resulting media storm led many to much discussion about email security, its use and limitations. Only Kernell was charged and put on trial for his entry. Many speculate that his prosecution is an attempt by the justice department to legally define the internet. Constitutionguard