Stephen Heymann

Heymann is the son of former United States Deputy Attorney General Philip Heymann, with whom Ortiz worked on judicial reform in Guatemala.

According to the National Law Journal,{{when|date=December 2019}} "Heymann{{clarify|which Heymann? Philip? or Stephen?|date=December 2019}} has long been recognized as a national expert in electronic crimes, prosecuting cutting-edge cases."

In wake of the United States v. Swartz case two petitions, collectively signed by over 90,000 people, called for Heymann to be fired. However The White House responded with; "We do not believe this is the appropriate forum in which to do so".{{cite web | url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2866549/white-house-declines-to-act-on-petitions-to-fire-aaron-swartz-prosecutors.html | title=White House declines to act on petitions to fire Aaron Swartz prosecutors }}

Heymann was a career federal prosecutor.{{when|date=December 2019}}Greenberg, Andy [https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/02/11/white-house-owes-response-to-petition-to-fire-prosecutor-of-aaron-swartz-and-other-hackers/ White House Owes Response To Petition To Fire Prosecutor Of Aaron Swartz And Other Hackers], Forbes, February 11, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2013.

He was formerly{{when|date=December 2019}} a Special Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime Strike Force, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office.{{cite web|url=http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/digitaldiscovery/biosfc.htm|date=June 26, 2003|accessdate=January 15, 2013|title=Panelist Biographies: October 10 Workshop for the First Circuit Judicial Conference|author=Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University}} He headed{{when|date=December 2019}} that office's Internet and Computer Crimes Unit, one of the first offices of its kind in the U.S.{{update after|2019|12|29}}

In 1995-1996, Heymann supported lead prosecutor Jacqueline E. Ross and worked with investigators[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/31/us/first-internet-wiretap-leads-to-a-suspect.html First Internet Wiretap Leads to a Suspect], New York Times, March 31, 1996. Retrieved March 23, 2013. in the lead-up to the arrest, prosecution and convictionhttps://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/1996/March96/146.txt {{Bare URL plain text|date=March 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/news/1998/05/arditasnt.htm|title = Argentine Computer Hacker Agrees to Waive Extradition and Returns to Plead Guilty to Felony Charges in Boston}} of Julio César "Griton" Ardita, an Argentine man accused of hacking into NASA and Department of Defense computers. The court-ordered wiretap that made it possible to identify and prosecute Ardita was the first of its kind.

From his apartment in Buenos Aires, Ardita accessed a computer network at Harvard.{{cite magazine|last1=Stutz|first1=Michael|title=Argentine Hacker Pleads Guilty|url=http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1997/12/8996|magazine=Wired|accessdate=December 25, 2016|date=December 5, 1997|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027063005/http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1997/12/8996|archivedate=October 27, 2012|df=mdy-all}} He stole passwords as Harvard users accessed other networks. By the time he was caught, Ardita had hacked into the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center, the Naval Research Laboratory, and the Naval Command Control and Ocean Surveillance Center.

Heymann said investigators worked with Harvard so they could track an intruder without violating users' privacy. He said the compromised Harvard network comprised 16,500 accounts and 13,000 users, sending out about 60,000 email messages daily. Investigators, he explained used a high-speed computer to sift through messages, focusing on 10 to 15 keywords that matched the suspect's profile. According to Heymann, investigators believed there were only two instances in which they had read a complete message that did not come from Ardita.

In a press release after the warrant for Ardita's arrest was announced, Attorney General Janet Reno said, "This case demonstrates that the real threat to computer privacy comes from unscrupulous intruders, not government investigators", going on to praise the creation of procedures that focused on the intruder's unlawful activities. "This is doing it the right way," she said. "We are using a traditional court order and new technology to defeat a criminal, while protecting individual rights and Constitutional principles that are important to all Americans." At her weekly press conference, she elaborated: "This is an example of how the Fourth Amendment and a court order can be used to protect rights while adapting to modern technology."

The case was complicated by the fact that Ardita resided in Argentina, where the charged felonies were not extraditable offenses. Two years after the warrant issued, Ardita voluntarily traveled to the U.S., pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to three years probation and a fine of $5,000.

Heymann led the investigation of computer hacker Albert Gonzalez-associates Jonathan James, Stephen Watt and Damon Toey for computer intrusion and identity theft from the TJX CompaniesVijayan, Jaikumar, [http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9114579/Man_accused_in_TJX_data_breach_pleads_guilty Man accused in TJX data breach pleads guilty], Computerworld, September 12, 2008, Retrieved March 23, 2013. and from retailers like BJ's, DSW, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Forever 21.

Watt and Toey were convicted.[http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-watt-talks-steve-heymann-2013-1 Rogers, Abby, Ex-Con Shares How Hard It Is To Be Targeted By One Of Aaron Swartz's Prosecutors], Business Insider, January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013. James, an alleged "unindicted co-conspirator,"{{cite news | last = Zetter | first = Kim | authorlink = Kim Zetter | title = TJX Hacker Was Awash in Cash; His Penniless Coder Faces Prison | publisher = Wired | date = June 18, 2009 | url = https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/watt/ | accessdate = January 27, 2013}} was never prosecuted in the case, having committed suicide two weeks after the U.S. Secret Service raided his house. Gonzalez was never charged in the TJX case.

Heymann was instrumental in successfully prosecuting Gonzalez for the theft of data from 130 million transactions at Heartland Payment Systems.{{cite news |first=James |last=Verini |title=The Great Cyberheist |date=November 10, 2010 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/magazine/14Hacker-t.html?pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |accessdate=January 14, 2013}} He was honored with the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/aaron-swartz-carmen-ortiz_n_2472146.html Carter, Zach, Ryan Grim and Ryan J. Reilly, Carmen Ortiz, U.S. Attorney, Under Fire Over Suicide Of Internet Pioneer Aaron Swartz], The Huffington Post, January 14, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013. by Attorney General Eric Holder for his work on "the largest and most successful identity theft and hacking investigation and prosecution ever conducted in the United States."[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/October/10-ag-1207.html Attorney General Holder Recognizes DOJ Employees and Others for Their Service at Annual Awards Ceremony, 27 October 2010, DOJ Press Release.] Retrieved January 27, 2013.

{{main|United States v. Aaron Swartz}}

Heymann's conduct in the prosecution of Internet activist Aaron Swartz is widely considered to be inconsistent with professional ethics.{{cite news |first=Aaron |last=Ricadela |author2=Dan Hart |title=Web Activist's Family Blames MIT, Prosecutors in Death |date=January 13, 2013 |url= http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-01-12/aaron-swartz-programmer-turned-activist-dies-at-26-nyt-says |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130116062800/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-01-12/aaron-swartz-programmer-turned-activist-dies-at-26-nyt-says |url-status= dead |archive-date= January 16, 2013 |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |accessdate=January 14, 2013}}{{cite news | first = Ryan | last = Grim |author2=Ryan J. Reilly | title = Aaron Swartz Lawyers Accuse Prosecutor Stephen Heymann Of Misconduct | date = March 13, 2013 | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/13/aaron-swartz-prosecutorial-misconduct_n_2867529.html | work = The Huffington Post | accessdate = March 15, 2013}} Two White House web site petitions to fire him for his handling of the case garnered a combined total of more than 90,000 signatures in less than a month.{{cite web |title=Fire Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Heymann. |work=White House Petitions |publisher=The White House |date=January 12, 2013 |url=http://wh.gov/Ex1n |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218075325/http://wh.gov/Ex1n |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 18, 2013 |accessdate=February 9, 2013 }} One attorney for Swartz accused Heymann of using the case to gain publicity for himself.{{cite news |first=Ryan J. |last=Reilly |author2=Gerry Smith |author3=Zach Carter |title=Aaron Swartz's Lawyer: Prosecutor Stephen Heymann Wanted 'Juicy' Case For Publicity |date=January 14, 2013 |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/aaron-swartz-stephen-heymann_n_2473278.html |work=The Huffington Post |accessdate=January 14, 2013}} Two others submitted a complaint to the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility, accusing Heymann of prosecutorial misconduct and alleging the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence and undermined Swartz's right to a fair trial.[http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/HeymannOPRletter.pdf A copy of the January 28, 2013 letter to the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility In Re: U.S. v. Swartz.] posted by The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 17, 2013.

Swartz killed himself on January 11, 2013, before his trial. According to attorney Andy Good, Swartz's initial attorney, "I told Heymann the kid was a suicide risk. His reaction was a standard reaction in that office, not unique to Steve. He said, 'Fine, we’ll lock him up.' I’m not saying they made Aaron kill himself. Aaron might have done this anyway. I’m saying they were aware of the risk, and they were heedless."{{Cite web|url=http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/15/humanity-deficit/bj8oThPDwzgxBSHQt3tyKI/story.html|title=On humanity, a big failure in Aaron Swartz case - the Boston Globe|website=The Boston Globe}}{{cite journal |last=Silverglate |first=Harvey |title=The Swartz suicide and the sick culture of the DOJ |journal=Mass Lawyers' Weekly |date=January 23, 2013 |url=http://masslawyersweekly.com/2013/01/23/the-swartz-suicide-and-the-sick-culture-of-the-doj |accessdate=March 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129065612/http://masslawyersweekly.com/2013/01/23/the-swartz-suicide-and-the-sick-culture-of-the-doj/ |archivedate=January 29, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}

Ortiz has defended the prosecution: "We thought the case was reasonably handled and we would not have done things differently. We're going to continue doing the work of the office and of following our mission."[https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/22/no_hacking_prosecution_ortiz/ Thomson, Iain, Swartz suicide won't change computer crime policy, says prosecutor], The Register, January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013[http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/01/ortiz_says_suicide_will_not_change_handling_cases Cassidy, Chris and Christine McConville, Ortiz says suicide will not change handling of cases], The Boston Herald, January 21, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013. Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder called the case "a good use of prosecutorial discretion."{{cite web|last1=Masnick|first1=Mike|title=Holder: DOJ Used Discretion In Bullying Swartz, Press Lacked Discretion In Quoting Facts|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130306/13444122220/holder-doj-used-discretion-bullying-swartz-press-lacked-discretion-quoting-facts.shtml|publisher=TechDirt|accessdate=December 25, 2016|date=March 7, 2013}}

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Category:United States attorneys for the District of Massachusetts

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