Dennis Su isn’t the one who hacked Australian telecoms giant Optus final September, in one of many greatest information breaches within the nation’s historical past.
However he did try to use the hack which uncovered the private particulars of as many as 10 million buyer Optus accounts to his personal profit.
Su, who was 19 years outdated on the time of his bungled crime spree, despatched SMS textual content messages to 92 Optus prospects telling them that their private particulars could be offered to fraudsters inside days until AU $2,000 (roughly US $1,400) was transferred right into a checking account.
First mistake: Su didn’t demand his ransom fee in cryptocurrency, which might have been tougher for the authorities to trace. As an alternative, he gave his supposed victims the checking account particulars… of his 15-year-old brother.
Second mistake: When Su despatched the SMS textual content messages, he despatched them from his personal cell phone quantity.
In case you’re questioning, Australlian police didn’t have an excessive amount of hassle figuring out who was accountable…
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Su, who reportedly noticed “a chance to make fast cash” as he was “having a tough time being unemployed,” was hardly demonstrating his intelligence to any future employer with these form of elementary bungles.
“He was going to be caught fairly simply, I’d have thought. It wasn’t a classy methodology of hiding behind encrypted accounts,” stated Justice of the Peace Emma Manea at Sydney’s Downing Centre Native Courtroom.
In keeping with local news reports, Su has apologised for his crimes.
Clearly recognising that Su assisted the police with their investigation and that jail won’t be the most effective place for him, Ms Manea sentenced Su to an 18-month group corrections order and 100 hours of group service.
Maybe the largest punishment of all might be Dennis Su’s title being endlessly related to an awfully inept and cack-handed try to frighten individuals out of cash.
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