14 DAY TRIAL // A 17-year-old youth from Australia, suspected of being a member of Anonymous, was charged on Friday with hacking-related offences.
According to the Australian Federal Police, the suspect “committed serious offences” on behalf of Anonymous.
He is charged with six counts of unauthorized modification of data to cause impairment, one count of unauthorized access with intent to commit a serious offence, one count of possession of data with intent to commit a computer offence, and 12 counts of unauthorized access to restricted data.
The first two offences carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each. For the other two crimes, the youth faces a maximum penalty of 3, respectively 2 years.
“Protesting through computer intrusions and website defacements is not an appropriate method to raise public awareness about any issue,” Commander Glen McEwen, manager of cybercrime operations for AFP, explained.
“The AFP investigates various types of cybercrime and will continue to take a strong stance against these perpetrators.”