Man who Hacked British Abortion Provider Pleads Guilty

A man who hacked into Britain's largest abortion provider's computer system and stole information on 10,000 women has pleaded guilty to the charges. James Jeffery was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for stealing the information from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). He said he was prompted to steal the information because he disagreed with two women he knew who decided to have abortions. Jeffery intended to publish the women's information online.

BPAS has said that since Jeffery's arrest, there have been 2,500 additional attempts to hack their system. None of these attempts have been successful and no medical records are kept on the site. Many of the attempts originated in North America and BBC reports that half of the IP addresses were American. However, due to the nature of the attacks, it is unclear if these attempts came from the US.

Media Resources: AP 4/19/12; BBC 4/18/12

© Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms. magazine

If you liked this story, consider making a tax-deductible donation to support Ms. magazine.