Student uses "USB Killer" to destroy $ 58,000 worth of computers in his former college – BGR



[ad_1]

In a rather strange tale, a former MBA student who attended the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York recently destroyed nearly 70 college-owned computers in various campus computer labs. His mode of attack? A "USB Killer" that he bought online. Initially brought to light via ZDNetthe incident occurred on February 14 and, oddly enough, the student accused of the crime – named Vishwanath Akuthota – filmed this whole ordeal.

As its name suggests, a USB Killer is essentially a cheap USB drive that completely deepens any computer to which it is plugged in by quickly pulling the USB port power and then unloading it quickly. It's worth noting that people have even used a USB Killer to disable infotainment centers on cars.

As for the case, Akuthota pleaded guilty earlier this week to destroying the school property and causing damages of $ 58,471.

The plea agreement reads in part as follows:

On February 14, 2019, the defendant, without the authorization of the College, entered several computer work rooms on the College campus. The defendant, without authorization from the College, then inserted a "USB Killer" device purchased online, using his own money, into Universal Serial Bus data ports located on 59 Microsoft Windows workstations and seven Apple iMac workstations. .

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Justice, Akuthota has since agreed to pay for any damages.

The press release notes:

Akuthota admitted that he had deliberately destroyed the computers and had registered using his iPhone, including making statements such as "I will kill this man" before inserting the USB Killer into the USB port of a computer.

Akuthota is expected to be sentenced next August and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $ 25,000. It is doubtful, however, that he is being sentenced to such severe punishment, while the Government indicates that he "has demonstrated that he accepts responsibility for the offenses".

Akuthota's motives are still a little obscure, but his threat of "killing" an unnamed person suggests that he had an unsolved problem with someone in college. It so happens that I remember a story as strange as that of when I was in college. At the time, a student who, not seeing himself offered employment in a computer lab on campus, undertook to carry out a joke intended to irritate the laboratory administrators. One evening, while the lab was empty, he entered and created a screen saver containing an obscene message that was propagated from one computer screen to the other. Apparently, vengeance-fueled farces were much less destructive during the day.

Image Source: Andrii Spy_k

[ad_2]

Source link