A Northern Territory hacker who allegedly caused millions of dollars of damage to government systems this week blamed segregation and "stress" for his crime.
According to a report from the Northern Territory News, computer engineer David Anthony McIntosh, 28, allegedly crashed several government services at Berrimah prison, Royal Darwin Hospital and the Supreme Court on 5 May this year. McIntosh also allegedly deleted over 10 thousand public servants from the system.
McIntosh is alleged to have breached the systems of CSG, a large Darwin-based ICT firm, a month after he quit his job at the company. CSG holds a contract to maintain key pieces of government ICT infrastructure.
The Northern Territory News reported that McIntosh said he felt "isolated" and "stressed" due to his physical segregation from the rest of his team. McIntosh is allegedly to have used his colleague's log-in and IP address to breach the systems.
McIntosh is facing charges of property damage over $50,000 and up to 10 years jail if convicted.
I reckon that punishment seems fair, considering all the damage he did.
I don't think there has been many previous computer crimes on this scale, so let's hope they set a reasonable precedence.
We wouldn't want another person mimicking the actions of this hacker, and not getting a severe punishment.