Chinese Red Cross hacker sent to jail

The Sichuan earthquake devastated large areas of the province in May 2008

A Chinese man has been sentenced to two years in jail after hacking into a Red Cross website set up to collect funds for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake.

Yang Litao, 23, was found guilty of fraud and sentenced by a court in eastern Jiangsu province, state media reported.

Yang managed to obtain the site administrator's username and password and altered details on the site so that donations went straight into his bank account, rather than to the charity, the court heard.

The man also infected the site with malware, causing it to be shut down. Repairing the damage took 72 hours, during which time no money could be accepted.

The site tipped off the authorities and Yang was arrested before significant funds could be transferred to his account.