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.
Join Dark Reading LIVE for two cybersecurity summits at Interop 2019. Learn from the industry's most knowledgeable IT security experts. Check out the Interop agenda here.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like
The fuel in the new AI race: Data
April 23, 2024Securing Code in the Age of AI
April 24, 2024Beyond Spam Filters and Firewalls: Preventing Business Email Compromises in the Modern Enterprise
April 30, 2024Key Findings from the State of AppSec Report 2024
May 7, 2024Is AI Identifying Threats to Your Network?
May 14, 2024
Black Hat USA - August 3-8 - Learn More
August 3, 2024Cybersecurity's Hottest New Technologies: What You Need To Know
March 21, 2024