John Smedley, former boss of Sony Online Entertainment and currently head of Planetside 2 studio Daybreak Game Company, has spoken out against Lizard Squad hacker Julius “Zeekill” Kivimaki, following a court's decision to give the teen given a two-year suspended sentence for more than 50,000 charges, and no prison time.
Posting on Twitter, Smedley recounted having his flight from Dallas to San Francisco grounded in September 2014 as a result of a bomb threat--an act which hacking group took responsibility for--and said Kivimaki in particular was to blame for instances of harassment against him, including leaking his personal information.
Smedley warned Kivimki directly on Twitter, claiming he could take further legal action, ending his message by stating "I'm coming for you".
that was the piece of garbage that brought my plane down, leaked my information and did all kinds of other crap to me.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 8, 2015
I got to talk to this dirtbag once when he called and pretended to be someone else.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 8, 2015
I also got to listen to the entire conversation between him and American Airlines the day he called in the bomb threat.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 8, 2015
His parents need to be held accountable for his actions in addition to his going to jail. @what_security - So I'm coming for you Julius.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 8, 2015
According to a Finnish newspaper, Kivimaki has been "ordered to fight against cyber crime," and did not receive a prison sentence for his actions. Smedley, however, believes he may still go to jail as he has "15 other criminal cases awaiting prosecution in Finland."
Smedley added that he "may still go after his parents in civil court" and called him "a dirtbag."
"He still has 15 other criminal cases awaiting prosecution in Finland," he said. "I may go after his parents in Civil court too. Little dirtbag."
When questioned about his decision to publicly announce his intention to pursue Kvimaki further, the former Sony Online Entertainment boss reiterated that he would be using the legal system, emphasising the impact the hacker's action had on his life.
@j_smedley "I'm coming after your family, dirtbag," more or less. How graceful.
— Adam (@sukTHEfac) July 8, 2015
@Haze2K1 I'm 46. I've had my identity stolen, tax returns filed, I've been swatted and many other things. So yeah, I'm pissed.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 8, 2015
Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for a number of high-profile network and website takedowns, including Xbox Live and PlayStation Network during Christmas Day and New Year's period in 2014. During the downtime, Sky News aired an interview with Kivimaki, in which he indicated he had no regrets over the attack.
In response to his suspended sentence, Kivimaki Tweeted MC Hammer's U Can't Touch This.
Moral of the story: https://t.co/w3DvdvkQML
— Lizard Squad (@LizardLands) July 7, 2015