SA:Adelaide hacker infected 22,000 computers

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2010
SA:Adelaide hacker infected 22,000 computers

By Tim Dornin

ADELAIDE, Dec 1 AAP - An Adelaide computer hacker infected more than 22,000 computers
in Australia and overseas with a program to capture banking details, a court has heard.

Anthony Scott Harrison, 20, used the internet to teach himself the necessary hacking
and programming skills to launch his attack in 2009 but was caught when suspicious web
activity was spotted and tracked by federal police.

He also modified and sold software to allow others to infect computers, with his offending
flowing from his obsession with the world of cyber fantasy.

Harrison pleaded guilty to seven charges including four counts of modifying computer
data to cause harm.

Defence counsel John Edwards told the South Australian District Court on Wednesday
that from the age of 14 his client had become obsessed with playing online computer games
and had become "immersed in the world of cyber fantasy".

At one stage he was playing online for up to 15 hours a day, often using a simulated
hacking game called Slave Hack.

Mr Edwards said Harrison became quite skilled at computer programming and had the capacity
to commit serious offending.

But he said a clear distinction should be drawn between what he had the potential to
do and what he actually did.

Harrison took only small amounts of money, and his actions were mostly experimental
or the result of youthful curiosity, the court was told.

"He never had any intention to make it a large-scale, criminal enterprise," Mr Edwards said.

He asked Judge Paul Rice to impose a suspended jail sentence and told the court Harrison
was interested in becoming an internet security consultant.

Prosecutor Tracey Nelson said 22,370 computers had been infected, and the impact of
Harrison's offending had the potential to be felt across the globe.

"Any of us could become a victim to this type of offending very, very easily," she said.

Harrison will be sentenced on January 13. The judge was told there had been no similar
cases across Australia to guide him in regard to what penalty to impose.

AAP tjd/lk/de

KEYWORD: HARRISON

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