"NEW YORK — Two environmentalists told a federal judge Thursday that the public was the real victim of a global computer hacking campaign that targeted those fighting big oil companies to get the truth out about global warming.

A climate scientist and the director of a fund that creates initiatives to address climate change spoke at the sentencing of an Israeli man who prosecutors said enabled the hacking of thousands of individuals and entities worldwide.

Aviram Azari, 52, of Kiryat Yam, Israel, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for his role in a global computer-hacking network that authorities say targeted environmentalists, companies and individuals.

“I was the target, but the public at large was the intended victim,” said Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy and chief scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts."

Larry Neumeister reports for the Associated Press November 16, 2023. [2]