Sarah Palin email hacker found guilty

The student who hacked into Sarah Palin’s email account and then posted the contents online has been found guilty.

David Kernell was found guilty by a federal jury of obstruction of justice and unauthorised access of a computer. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Kernell admitted that he hacked the account by simply guessing some of Palin’s “secret questions”.

“If there’s any unauthorised access to computers, the Department of Justice takes that very seriously,” prosecutor Mark Krotoski said after the verdict was released.

While Kernell’s defence argued he merely wanted to conduct a prank, prosecutors said he was attempting to harm the McCain-Palin campaign.