Swedish Hacker Fined For Harassment

A teenage hacker who played havoc with emergency phone systems in the United States was fined $350 Wednesday for harassment.

The 19-year-old dialed into 11 Florida emergency-service systems on their confidential numbers, tying up lines dedicated for emergency calls, in January and March 1996. His name was not released, in line with Swedish practice.

Swedish authorities said the teen, from the city of Goteborg, called one emergency switchboard claiming he had glued his genitals to a wall and needed help. The operator kept him on the line long enough for the call to be traced to Sweden, according to the Swedish news agency TT.

Prosecutor Gunnel Skeppholm, was quoted by TT as saying he would have liked to have tried the teen for the more serious crime of sabotage, but Swedish law limits that to crimes in Swedish territory.