KEY POINTS:
A young Whitianga computer hacker who pleaded guilty to charges relating to an international cyber-crime ring will be sentenced in the High Court in Hamilton today.
Owen Thor Walker, 18, pleaded guilty in Thames District Court in April to six charges between January 30, 2006, and November 28, 2007.
Walker was charged with accessing a computer for dishonest purpose, damaging or interfering with a computer system, possessing software for committing a crime and accessing a computer system without authorisation.
Walker, who was remanded on continued bail, was due to appear for sentencing in Thames District Court in May, but due to procedural issues the matter was referred to the High Court for sentencing.
Walker was allegedly the mastermind of a "botnet" coding group said to have infected a million computers and caused millions of dollars of damage.
According to police, Walker - known on-line as "Akill" - received just under $40,000 for his part in the attacks, which included a global adware scheme and the collapse of a computer server at the University of Pennsylvania.
The investigation was carried out by the New Zealand police in conjunction with the FBI, the United States Secret Service and Dutch authorities.
- NZPA
