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Teen Hacker Caused $20 Million in Damage

March 08, 2008 in News comments 15

A New Zealand based hacker has been tracked down and arrested, facing up to 10 years in jail if convicted. He's one of the many people who helped operate botnets and used them to steal money from unsuspecting peoples' bank accounts. Arrests of this kind are somewhat rare in comparison to the number of people doing this kind of thing, but it's refreshing to see that at least it's not going completely unnoticed by the authorities.

The FBI has put the losses caused by the Netherlands-sited botnet at US$20 million, most of it siphoned from the bank accounts of victims across the globe. Walker, who operated under the handle 'AKILL', now faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty under New Zealand law.
Deathman48 via pcworld.com »
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  • 1
    Storm Mar 8, 08
    I really like the picture to go along with this here story. The saying 'quit while you're ahead' comes to mind, because sooner or later, they get caught.
  • 1
    Twisted Mar 8, 08
    Holy crap. How would someone do all that :S
    • 0
      Shadow of Death Mar 8, 08
      Do you mean 'why?' If so, well, for $$$ obviously, and perhaps 'rep' too >_>

      If I were to do this stuff, I'd do it (if possible) in a non-extradition country under and alias >_>
  • 1
    Bale Fire* Mar 8, 08
    Trust me this guy is a small fry compared to other hackers out there
    • 1
      jmac353 Mar 8, 08
      The real hackers steal and cause millions of dollars and don't get caught.
  • 2
    The Primagen Mar 8, 08
    Silver mirror is right, this guy is just some script kiddy going along with the crowd.. Remember Phoenix? thankfully he no longer "rapes the internet" as he so elegantly put it.
  • 2
    RikuNova27 Mar 8, 08
    Meh, I've seen better hackers than this. Those hackers cause much more trouble and yet they don't get arrested.
  • -2
    devil link Mar 8, 08
    I wish i could hack . 20 MIL! OMFZG!
  • 1
    ShinyMilotic Mar 8, 08
    Even though this might not be as big as some other hackers, it is still pretty big, $20 mil 0_o
  • -1
    Underated Mar 9, 08
    Wow, it's cool in a way, the guy's an idiot, though.
  • 3
    BANDITO ATTACK Mar 9, 08
    10 years for 20$ million? come on. they can do better than that.
    • 0
      Jai Poke Manic Mar 9, 08
      Yeah you do have a point there BANDITO ATTACK.$20 million for 10 years isnt enough.
  • 0
    Jai Poke Manic Mar 9, 08
    Why do poeple hack stuff there a bit *bleep*ed dont you think so.

    ~Jai~
  • 0
    The Primagen Mar 9, 08
    You could put it that way Jai, but we cant stop them now. The hacking community is far more widespread than anyone could've foreseen 10 years ago, Besides, They aren't all Black hat uber criminals, some just poke around and observe and some even fix problems.
  • 0
    Capn Droid Mar 10, 08
    Wow. A teen did this. That's pretty independent stuff right there.

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