A UK teenager, described as a digital “gun for hire”, has been sentenced for taking part in a cyber attack that became known as the biggest in history.
Now aged 18, Seth Nolan Mcdonagh received 240 hours of community service at Southwark Crown Court for his part in the 2013 attack on anti-junk mail group Spamhaus, which slowed the internet around the world.
Evidence was presented in court that revealed how Mcdonagh’s criminal activity started when he was aged just 13. The teenager had already pleaded guilty to five charges but reporting restrictions in place due to his age meant that details were withheld until now.
The nightmare for Spamhaus began on 15 March 2013, when the firm was hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack (which crashes servers by bombarding them with so many requests for data that they cannot cope).
At its height, the attack was funnelling 300 gigabits of traffic per second to Spamhaus computers. This was the biggest DDoS attack ever witnessed at that time.
Mcdonagh’s role in the attack was to take down websites on behalf of those willing to pay. Other individuals may have been involved, the court was told. One of the sites he targeted was the BBC on 24 February 2013.
The court heard how £72,000 was discovered in Mcdonagh’s bank account following his arrest in April 2013, as well as source code used in the attacks on machines in his London home. He was also found in possession of 1,000 credit card numbers – which appeared to be from German financial institutions.
Mcdonagh avoided a a custodial sentence due to the fact that since his arrest, his rehabilitation has been “remarkable”. The teen has shown “complete and genuine remorse”, said Judge Pegden. There was virtually no risk of further harm or re-offending, he said.
At the time of the attack Mcdonagh was suffering from a severe mental illness, said Ben Cooper, his defence lawyer. He told the court that his client is now completing his A-levels and hoping to go to university.
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