Karim Baratov sentenced to five years for Yahoo hack

A Hamilton man who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a massive data breach at Yahoo has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Karim Baratov, 23, pleaded guilty to breaking into millions of Yahoo emails in 2014.

Some of the stolen information was used to obtain unauthorized access to the contents of accounts at Yahoo, Google, and other webmail providers.

U.S. federal agents say the hacking was directed by a Russian intelligence agency but Baratov’s lawyers said he didn’t know he was working for Russian agents.

Baratov has been in custody since his arrest in Hamilton last year.

At his sentencing hearing Tuesday, he told the judge that his time behind bars has been “a very humbling and eye-opening experience” and promised to obey the law upon his release.

The judge said Baratov will likely be deported once he is released from prison.

Baratov was also fined $250,000.