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September 06, 2006, 03:19 PM ET
A Spurned Student Becomes a Publicity-Happy Hacker
Eric McCarty, a student from San Diego, was none too pleased when the University of Southern California decided he wasn’t exactly Trojan material. So he hatched a plan to get revenge on the university: Hack into its computer system, and make sure that the security breach turns into a big story.
Mission accomplished. In June 2005, Mr. McCarty did indeed break into USC servers, making off with personal details on a number of students. And he drew publicity by reporting his feat to the Web site Security Focus and by boasting of the breach on his own blog. (“All the hot USC girls, I got your phone number, ladies,” read one post.)
But it seems that the last laugh may, in fact, be on Mr. McCarty. He pleaded guilty this week to a felony count of unauthorized computer access, and he’ll likely have to pay nearly $37,000 in restitution, reports the Associated Press. —Brock Read
Categories: Legal-Troubles, Security
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