Hacker jailed after spying on webcams
Wednesday 24 November 2010
An internet hacker has been caught spying on thousands of computer users by tampering with their home webcams.
Matthew Anderson, a father of five, sent out 50million ‘spam’ emails containing an attachment for recipients to click on. The estimated 200,000 who did had their computer infected with a virus that left it ‘enslaved’.
Anderson was then able to view personal files and photographs – and even switch on the computers web cameras attached to.
From his mother's front room in Scottish Highlands, the 33-year-old could spy into the living rooms or bedrooms of unsuspecting strangers - who were completely unaware of his presence.
When Anderson was finally caught in a four-year police operation, officers found he had pictures and film of dozens of his victims that the Peeping Tom had saved.
Among clips was a 16-year-old girl who had burst into tears when Anderson began changing words on her computer screen. He later bragged to a fellow hacker about it and revealed that he had been watching her webcam for hours; viewing her sisters, and complained that they weren’t naked.
Anderson was part of a global hacking gang called ‘m00p’ with at least three others. Only one other, from Finland, has been caught.
He was jailed for just 18 months today after pleading guilty to ‘unauthorised modification of computer systems’ at Southwark Crown Court in London.
What’s more, he’s likely to serve just nine months.
As well as private home computers, Anderson targeted the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Oxford University and government computers. When caught, he was found to have profited by £12,000 by selling on to legitimate marketing firms email addresses harvested from computer address books.
But it was the webcams and personal information he saw, including nude photos and bank account details, which is particularly worrying.
Anderson and his fellow gang members operated for years – with around one in 250 spam recipients being infected. During police monitoring, Anderson successfully enslaved 1,743 computers in just 90 minutes.
The father of five claimed through his barrister that he joined online chatrooms after being left house-bound by panic attacks. Publicly he ran a computer security firm – which ironically promised to protect customers from people like himself.
Simon Ward, defending, said Anderson was motivated by ‘the feeling of power that comes from the knowledge that you have control over something that others don’t know you have the control of’.
Feeling of power? We wonder how powerful he’ll feel locked up for the next few months.
By Ruth Connors
Posted by n.s
RE: Hacker jailed after spying on webcams
Nine months!! Wow what a punishment. The people he has targeted must feel violated and sick whe they think of all the private things he's seen in their own home. Not to mention all the private information he has about these people from their computer's, and the money he has made from them.
Sick bastard, he'll be at it again as soon as he's out.
Posted 25/11/2010 11:29:57
Posted by sugar sweet
RE: Hacker jailed after spying on webcams
this is so worrying! i know we need technology nowadays but theres so many dangers and surely it will only get worse as technology gets more advanced and so will the hackers! one way to solve the web cam thing would be to unplug it when your not using it then they couldn't spy. this is sick.
Posted 26/11/2010 11:35:20
Posted by XxImSoRichIcouldCryxX
RE: Hacker jailed after spying on webcams
What a sick bastard!
But that is why I turn my webcam away to the wall.
Posted 08/01/2011 20:06:00