Jun 23, 2011 16:52 GMT  ·  By

A former University of Central Missouri (UCM) student accused of stealing a database with the personal data of thousands of people, pleaded guilty to hacking charges.

Daniel J. Fowler, 21, of Kansas City, Mo., was an UCM student and community advisor between March 2009 to March 2010, when together with a co-conspirator he created a trojan and began infecting computers around the university.

He tricked other students into letting him plug his USB memory stick into their computers by claiming that he has vacation pictures to show them.

Together with his partner they also infected public machines in the computer labs and the library. The malware allowed them to record keystrokes and hijack other people's accounts.

Fowler admitted that he infected at least one administrator's computer and the information obtained allowed him to gaim access to the university's private network.

The two students downloaded a large database containing the personal information of thousands of UCM students, faculty, and alumni, which they later tried to sell.

They also succeeded to transfer money into their student accounts and attempted to alter grades without success. When learning that the FBI was asking around the campus about their activities, the two threatened potential witnesses and cleaned out the dorm room where they were based.

When FBI agents arrived to execute a search warrant all they found was a sticker on an old monitor that read: "Too late! :)" but this didn't helped them run from the law for too long.

Fowler pleaded guilty yesterday to computer hacking conspiracy and computer intrusion causing damage. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $500,000. Joseph A. Camp, 26, believed to be his co-cospirator, pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him. His trial is scheduled for October 24.