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Reuters' Matthew Keys indicted for conspiring with hacker group 'Anonymous'

An excerpt from the indictment. Matthew Keys used the nickname AESCracked.

Matthew Keys, a deputy social media editor at Thomson Reuters, has been charged in a federal indictment for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacker group “Anonymous” to hack into the Los Angeles Times, the Justice Department announced today.

Keys, a former web producer for the Tribune Co-owned television station KTXL FOX 40, in Sacramento, Calif., was charged with providing members of the group with log-in credentials for a computer server belonging to the Tribune Co., the L.A. Times parent company, according to the DoJ's press release.

(UPDATE: Thomson Reuters 'investigating' Matthew Keys after 'Anonymous' indictment.)

"According to the indictment, Keys identified himself on an Internet chat forum as a former Tribune Company employee and provided members of Anonymous with a login and password to the Tribune Company server," the DoJ press release reads. "After providing log-in credentials, Keys allegedly encouraged the Anonymous members to disrupt the website. According to the indictment, at least one of the computer hackers used the credentials provided by Keys to log into the Tribune Company server, and ultimately that hacker made changes to the web version of a Los Angeles Times news feature."

Keys faces three counts in all -- for a conspiracy to transmit information to damage a protected computer, for transmitting information to damage a protected computer and for attempted transmission of information to damage a protected computer.

"Each of the two substantive counts carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000," according to an updated version of the press release. The indictment also contains a notice of forfeiture provision for property traceable to the offense.

The arraignment is set for April 12 in Sacramento.

Keys left KTXL FOX 40 after he was terminated from the Tribune Co. in 2010 and joined KGO-TV before moving to Thomson Reuters in Jan. 2012.

(WATCH: Obama: Hacking is a "big problem")

Reuters spokesperson David Girardin told POLITICO the company was "looking into" the matter (SEE UPDATE).

Keys has not responded to a request for comment. The Tribune Company declined to comment.

The full indictment can be read here.

For the record, a reader notes Keys' first blog entry for Reuters, from Feb. 2012:

My first blog entry at @reuters: "Details in leaked FBI call could prove uncomfortable for Anonymous" - blogs.reuters.com/matthew-keys/2… — Matthew Keys (@TheMatthewKeys) February 3, 2012

This post has been updated to reflect the Department of Justice's updated press release.