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Feds charge editor

Reuters employee Matthew Keys seen here as pictured on his LinkedIn site — is facing a charge that carries a 10-year prison term for allegedly hacking into the LA Times’ computer systems.

Reuters employee Matthew Keys seen here as pictured on his LinkedIn site — is facing a charge that carries a 10-year prison term for allegedly hacking into the LA Times’ computer systems. (Reuters)

A 26-year-old deputy social media editor at Thomson Reuters has been charged with helping Internet group Anonymous hack the Los Angeles Times’ website and alter a story.

Matthew Keys, of Secaucus, NJ, faces up to 10 years in prison after he was charged in the Eastern District of California with three felony counts for the security breach.

Keys, a Reuters employee since January 2011, allegedly provided a password for a computer server owned by Tribune Co., which publishes the Times.

Keys was a Web producer for KTXL, a Tribune-owned TV station in Sacramento, Calif., until he was fired in October 2010, according to the Justice Department.

Just two months later, he allegedly delivered log-in credentials to Anonymous, urging the group to “go f–k some s–t up.”

The group didn’t disappoint, according to the indictment. The headline on a political story about Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was changed to read: “Pressure builds in House to elect Chippy 1337.”

According to the Justice Department, the story read: “House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer sees ‘very good things’ in the deal cut which will see uber skid Chippy 1337 take his rightful place, as head of the Senate, reluctant House Democrats told to Suck it Up.”

The hacker group said that the story was taken down about a half-hour after it was discovered. Keys allegedly said he would attempt to regain access after he learned that the original hacker had been locked out.

Keys tweeted the news of his own indictment: “I am fine. I found out the same way most of you did: From Twitter. Tonight I’m going to take a break. Tomorrow, business as usual.”

“We are aware of the charges brought by the Department of Justice against Matthew Keys, an employee of our news organization,” Reuters said in a statement. “Any legal violations or failure to comply with the company’s strict set of principles and standards can result in disciplinary action.”