Actually, if anyone needs to go to jail over it, it's the management team that didn't care to implement any security. After all, no hacking was done, just simple URL editing. If that's a crime, leaving the server open that way is a far bigger one.
The very idea that this dude is trying to compare himself to Swartz is laughable at best and in very, very poor taste.
edit: to clarify, in no way do i think the punishment he might get fits the crime. the feds are being completely overzealous here. i just don't like that a guy who gets busted doing something completely self-interested tries to jump on the coattails of a genuine tragedy to stir up public support.
This case is absolutely like Aaron's, an over-zealous prosecutor doing absolutely nothing useful for society and pursuing a non-issue to potentially life-running levels.
And it's not that this guy is or is not a white-hat, but that AT&T and the government are effectively black hats. It's not his duty to hold their hands, but it's AT&T's duty not to lie or misrepresent the situation and it's the prosecutor's duty to serve the public good.