Morgan C. Culbertson pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to designing and trying to sell Android phone hijacking malware on Darkode, an online marketplace for criminals and hackers.
The Carnegie Mellon University student from Churchill confessed to conspiring with another hacker from the Netherlands. The malware makes it possible for criminals to read private texts, steal files, take photos and record conversations without the owners of Android phones knowing.
Mr. Culbertson, 20, admitted to committing a crime and expressed some remorse before U.S. District Judge Maurice Cohill Jr. In December the defendant will be sentenced to up to a decade in prison.
By designing the malware and entering into a marketing scheme with several programmers on the so-called Dark Web, Mr. Culbertson has proven himself not only tech-savvy, but also criminal-minded. His danger to society should not be underestimated because of his youth and academic privilege.
His sentence should reflect the seriousness of his crime, which had the potential of exposing the private property of countless people to Internet predators who would wreak mischief, damage and loss on them.
Ten years in prison without online access would be a deterrent to other young hackers who are tempted to use their computer expertise to rob the rest of us. Mr. Culbertson has admitted his guilt, so it’s up to Judge Cohill to respond to that confession with a stiff sentence.
View the original content and more from this author here: http://ift.tt/1LIuXTt
from hacker samurai http://ift.tt/1UjrIRL
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment