New Zealand teenage hacker gets job as security consultant

25 Mar 2009

1

A top New Zealand telecommunications company has hired a teenager who admitted to taking part in an international cyber-crime network.

TelstraClear, the New Zealand arm of Australia's largest telecoms firm Telstra, said former hacker Owen Thor Walker was advising corporate customers on Internet crime. He was discharged without conviction as an 18-year-old last year after admitting six cyber-crime charges.

He was the alleged brain behind a group of international hackers who used his programs to access personal data, send viruses around the world and commit other crimes, causing losses of $20 million dollars, police said last year. Walker - who went under the online name of "Akill" - designed an encrypted virus that was undetectable by anti-virus software, they said.

He had been detained in the North Island city of Hamilton in 2007 as part of an investigation with US and Dutch police into global networks of hijacked PCs, known as botnets. A botnet can be controlled over the Internet by a single computer. It installs malicious software on PCs to collect information such as login names, bank account details and credit card numbers.

Walker had not taken money from people's accounts, but he was paid nearly $31,000 for software he designed that gave the cyber-ring access usernames, passwords and credit card details. The charges were dismissed and he was released without a criminal record after paying a fine and forfeiting cash paid by the criminal group for his expertise.

He has the skills that can help senior executives and customers understand the security threats to their computer networks, TelstraClear spokesman Chris Mirams told National Radio on Wednesday. Walker already has delivered a series of seminars for TelstraClear, advised senior security and management staff at the company and has taken part in an advertising campaign, Mirams said.

"He was able to give advice on how to mitigate the risks and what makes them (cyber criminals) tick, what motivates them," Mirams said. "He really wants to put his information, his unique insight, to the good for New Zealand businesses." Walker is under contract to Telstra until late this year, he added.

Business History Videos

History of hovercraft Part 3...

Today I shall talk a bit more about the military plans for ...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of hovercraft Part 2...

In this episode of our history of hovercraft, we shall exam...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Hovercraft Part 1...

If you’ve been a James Bond movie fan, you may recall seein...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Trams in India | ...

The video I am presenting to you is based on a script writt...

By Aniket Gupta | Presenter: Sheetal Gaikwad

view more