BOSTON (AP) - A Harvard University fellow studying ethics has been accused of using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s computer network to steal nearly 5 million academic articles.
A federal indictment released Tuesday accused 24-year-old Aaron Swartz of stealing the documents from JSTOR, a subscription service that offers digitized copies of articles from more than 1,000 academic journals.
Prosecutors say Swartz hacked into MIT’s system between September and January after breaking into a computer wiring closet on campus. The indictment says Swartz was a fellow at Harvard’s Center for Ethics at the time. Prosecutors say he intended to distribute the articles on file-sharing websites.
Swartz was released on $100,000 unsecured bond after pleading not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday to charges including wire fraud. He faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted.
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