The potential impact of a hacking crime is massive. Millions to billions of dollars and a real impact on people's lives for well over 2-3?! years. If someone suffers identity theft, invasions of privacy, etc. the direct impact could easily go beyond a few years and secondary impacts almost surely would.
The sentencing guidelines make available remedies for those cases - and I can imagine large scale attacks which should be punishable by life in prison.
Do the merits of this case warrant max staycations in prison? I dunno, but the government should have the flexibility for the lulz.