Man Pleads Guilty To Church of Scientology DDOS Attack

A second man has pleaded guilty in connection to the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on web sites belonging to the Church of Scientology.

Brian Thomas Mettenbrink of Grand Island, Nebraska, will plead guilty to the misdemeanour charge of unauthorised access of a protect computer. Under the deal, he will serve one year in prison, federal authorities announced.

According to authorities, Mettenbrink participated in the attack on the Scientology websites that orchestrated by a group operating under the name “Anonymous”, which announced it was launching an offensive against the Church of Scientology in January 2008. In documents filed 25 January, Mettenbrink admitted downloading computer software from an “Anonymous” message board and using it to bombard Scientology websites in a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

Another man, Dmitriy Guzner of Verona, New Jersey, plead guilty for his role in attacking Scientology websites and was sentenced last year to one year and one day in federal prison.

Mettenbrink was scheduled to go to trial on the charges 9 February, but is expected to formally plead guilty next week in federal court in Los Angeles next week. The cases against Guzner and Mettenbrink are part of an ongoing investigation by the US Secret Service Electronics Crime Task Force, composed of the FBI, LAPD, US Secret Service and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation.