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2/27/2019
02:30 PM
Dark Reading Staff
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Former Albany College Student Charged with Computer Damage

Vishwanath Akuthota has been accused of using a 'USB killer device' to destroy dozens of computers, officials report.

Former Albany College student Vishwanath Akuthota has been arrested and charged with intentionally causing damage to protected computers owned by the College of Saint Rose.

A criminal complaint states that on Feb. 14 Akuthota entered several buildings at the Albany college and damaged more than 50 student-used computers by inserting a device similar to a USB stick. This sent a series of power surges into the devices, rendering them inoperable. The Department of Justice reports the damage done exceeds $50,000.

Akuthota, an Indian citizen residing in the United States on a student visa, appeared in federal court in Raleigh, N.C., where a US magistrate judge ordered him detained and transported to the Northern District of New York. As of this writing, the charges in the complaint are accusations.

The charge with which Akuthota was arrested carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, fine of $250,000, and supervised release term of three years, maximum.

Read more details here.

 

 

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RyanSepe
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RyanSepe,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/28/2019 | 11:42:44 AM
Re: And he wanted to accomplish what?
Agreed, this was quite foolish. No direction in mind outside of causing havoc. If USB was his approach then he would have been better off dropping them around the campus. USB's are cheap and people are curious. Not that I am giving advice but there really wasn't much thought put into this.
REISEN1955
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REISEN1955,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/27/2019 | 3:48:05 PM
And he wanted to accomplish what?
No ransom, no theft - just destruction pure and simple.  He wanted possible revenge for something slighted or imagened so .... and this is dumb.  He left a trace obviously or people simply saw him put the stick into the system and WHAMMO done, gone and moved on.  Look at the tine and time in pen.  Hysterical that one could be so stupid and think one can get away with it.
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