Hacker indicted after illegal access to military, NASA, other computers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An alleged computer hacker was to appear in court today after being indicted on charges of breaking into computers belonging to NASA and the U.S. departments of energy, defense and transportation, according to federal prosecutors.

Max Ray Butler, 27, of Berkeley was ordered held on $100,000 bail during the hearing in a San Jose courtroom Wednsesday. On March 15, he was indicted on 15 criminal counts. He turned himself in Tuesday in Oakland

Butler, who also goes by the name of Max Vision, had been an FBI source, helping agents solve computer crimes.

He is accused of breaking into computers and causing damage, intercepting electronic communications and having unauthorized ''access devices.''

The facilities the grand jury indicted him for allegedly intruding into belonged to the following facilities: the Argonne National Laboratories in Illinois, the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., the Marshall Space Center in Alabama, IDSoftware in Mesquite, Texas, the office of the Secretary of the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C., and unspecified facilities of the Department of Defense.

Butler's attorney did not return a telephone call seeking comment late Tuesday.

In an affadavit filed to support a search of Butler's home, an FBI agent also alleged that Butler focused his attacks on the U.S. Air Force.

The following bases were allegedly victims: McChord in Washington state; Offutt in Nebraska, Tinker in Oklahoma, Scott in Illinois, Maxwell in Alabama, Kirtland in New Mexico, Kessler in Mississippi, Robins in Georgia and Sacramento Air National Guard in California.

The same agent alleged that Butler broke into systems at the Lawrence Berkeley National lab, the University of California, Berkeley, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. departments of the interior and commerce.

The investigation of Butler took 22 months, according to the Justice Department.