David Kernell, Mike Kernell, and Gabriel Ramuglia

UPDATE, November 14, 2008: Student's trial delayed in Palin hacking case
______________

UPDATE, October 8, 2008: Alleged Palin e-mail hacker goes to trial in December
______________

David Kernell, economics major at the University of Tennessee, and his family are going through a difficult period.

I can understand that. Being the subject of an investigation by the FBI can't be a lot of fun.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI searched the residence of the son of a Democratic state lawmaker in Tennessee over the weekend looking for evidence linking the young man to the hacking of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Monday.

David Kernell, 20, has not returned repeated phone calls or e-mails from the AP since last week. His lawyer said Monday the family is going through a difficult period.

"The Kernell family wants to do the right thing, and they want what is best for their son," said attorney Wade V. Davies of Knoxville. "We are confident that the truth will emerge as we go through the process. David is a decent and intelligent young man, and I look forward to assisting him during this difficult period."

Kernell is the son of state Rep. Mike Kernell, a Memphis Democrat and chairman of Tennessee's House Government Operations Committee. The father declined last week to discuss the possibility his son might be involved in the case.

"I had nothing to do with it, I had no knowledge or anything," Mike Kernell told the AP last week.

"I was not a party to anything of this nature at all," he added. "I wasn't in on this — and I wouldn't know how to do anything like that."

No one answered the door at Mike Kernell's home in Memphis on Monday, and he did not return repeated phone calls Monday from the AP.

...A hacker last week broke into one of the Yahoo Inc. e-mail accounts that Palin uses, revealing as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.

...During the break-in, the hacker used an Internet address that traced to David Kernell's apartment complex in Knoxville. The FBI obtained logs Saturday establishing the connection from Gabriel Ramuglia of Athens, Ga., who operates an Internet anonymity service used by the hacker.

Ramuglia told the AP the FBI asked him to confirm the address appeared in his records, and it did. Ramuglia said his logs showed the hacker visiting Yahoo's mail service, resetting Palin's password and announcing results of the break-in on a Web site where the hacking was first disclosed.

"I think he just didn't realize the severity of what he was doing until afterwards," Ramuglia said.

Technology is a wonderful thing.

This is damning evidence. The Internet address locates the hacker at David Kernell's apartment complex. It's kind of like technological DNA, strong evidence.

Once again, the supposed anonymity of the Internet crumbles. When will people learn that what they do online leaves a trail?

Perhaps the hacker believed he was safe because he was using Ramuglia's anonymity service. That was a serious error in judgment.

Ramuglia was smart to cooperate with the FBI. I'm sure he's not in the business of providing safe haven for people interested in committing crimes, or at least he realizes it wouldn't be in his own best interest to withhold evidence in a federal investigation.

Ramuglia is quoted as saying that he thinks the hacker didn't get the severity of his actions until afterwards.

I disagree with Ramuglia's assessment. A 20-year-old computer savvy college student gets it.

What 20-year-old thinks he can hack into the personal e-mail account of the Republican vice presidential candidate and then brag about his exploits online without realizing that what he's done is serious stuff?

No, I don't buy that excuse. I don't buy the "I'm young and naive" defense. Kernell and those of his ilk get it. I think they just have an air of invincibility and an arrogance about them. They think they're smarter than everyone else. They overestimate their abilities.

This AP report includes some interesting information on David Kernell's father, Tennesse lawmaker Mike Kernell, 56.

Kernell has a straight-laced reputation among his colleagues.

"Mike Kernell is your quintessential Boy Scout," said state Rep. John Deberry, another Democrat. "Mike follows the rules. He will almost get on your nerve as far as making sure things are done by the book."

"If Mike had known anything about this, he would have had a fit on his son," Deberry said. "When I saw his reaction when he first heard about it, the absolute fear and shock that was on his face, I realized then he had absolutely nothing to do with it."

Was the reaction on his face an indication that he had absolutely nothing to do with it, or was it the reaction of fear and shock that his son's alleged illegal activities had been discovered?

I don't know Mike Kernell. I'm willing to believe that he really didn't know what his son was allegedly doing. Still, the fact that he's a Dem elected official does raise questions as to what he knew and when he knew it, legitimate questions. That needs to be investigated as well.

Even if Mike Kernell had no knowledge of his son's alleged hacking, it casts a pall on him. That's not fair. His son is a big boy and Mike Kernell can't be held responsible for the actions of his adult son, if it's true that Mike Kernell had no involvement.

Experts said the hacker apparently left an easy trail for investigators.

"He might as well have taken a picture of his house and uploaded it," said Ken Pfeil, an Internet security expert. "He should have just set up a big beacon that said, 'Here's my house,' or confessed. If they can't catch this guy based on all the information posted on the Web then all bets are off."

Not too bright. I think the hacker probably put a lot of faith in Ramuglia's service. That was a mistake to think it gave him cover.

I assume that Ramuglia has stated policies outlining that he will cooperate with law enforcement in criminal investigations.

Maybe the hacker didn't read the fine print.

In the end, I hope justice is done.

The criminal needs to be held accountable for the violation of Sarah Palin's privacy.

This really is no different from breaking into her home or office and pawing through Gov. Palin's personal correspondence, hoping to find something to derail her candidacy.

It was no game.

Unfortunately, there's no end in sight to assaults that are being waged on Sarah Palin. The Dems know that she poses a threat. It's war.