Kevin Mitnick, 36, could be released from prison next January due to the amount of time he has already spent behind bars. Mitnick had been the most sought after computer hacker before Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials arrested him in February 1995.

He is accused of penetrating computer systems at Motorola, Sun Microsystems, the Finnish cellular phone company Nokia and the Japanese firms Fujitsu and NEC.pAccording to authorities, Mitnick had obtained or tried to obtain the firms' software worth several million dollars.

US judge Mariana Pfaelzer also ordered Mitnick to pay each of the companies that were victims of his hacking $ 4,125, a sum even she said was ``strangely low''. State prosecutors had asked the judge to impose a fine of $ 1.5 million but Pfaelzersaid she believed Mitnick would not be able to pay so much.

Supporters of the hacker turned up outside the Los Angeles courthouse to protest his arrest, carrying signs saying ``Free Kevin''. But even more supporters can be found on the internet at his official site or others. Followers of the hacker closed down the website of The New York Times on September 13 after one of the newspaper's reporters wrote an unfavorable book about him. The rights to a film adaptation of the book were acquired by Miramax, and the film, ``Takedown'', is expected to be released by the end of the year.

According to the deal worked out with authorities, Mitnick pleaded guilty to computer fraud and promised to pay his victims profits from any books or films based on his criminal activities during the seven years after his release. In addition, he is forbidden to use a computer for three years after his prison discharge.