A New Zealand man accused of leading an worldly cybercrime network was convicted Tuesday of computer hacking after pleading guilty to six charges.

Owen Thor Walker, 18, known by his online name “AKILL,” was involved in a network accused of infiltrating 1.3 million computers and skimming millions of dollars from victims’ bank accounts.

The case against Walker is part of an universal crackdown on hackers who assume control of computers and amass them into centrally controlled clusters known as botnets. The hackers can thereupon use the computers to steal credit card knowledge, manipulate stock trades and even crash industry computers, authorities said when the case first surfaced in late November.

Eight humans have been indicted, pleaded guilty or have been convicted since the observation began last June. Thirteen additional warrants have been served in the U.S. and overseas in the study.

The charges against Walker do not directly address his alleged role as kingpin of the network, and police

have released only a few details of the operation. They have not filed charges linked to the alleged skimming of millions of dollars.

Walker’s lawyer said Tuesday that “complicated reparation issues” would be dealt with on the day Walker is sentenced, but he did not elaborate.

Walker pleaded guilty in the Thames District Court to two charges of accessing a computer for dishonest purpose, two charges of accessing computer systems without authorization, one of damaging or interfering with computer systems and one of possessing software for committing crime.

He faces a maximum penalty of several prison terms of up to five years.

Judge Arthur Tompkins released Walker on police bail until sentencing on May 28. Tompkins said he would consider home detention, community detention, community work and a fine for Walker. He did not mention the possibility of prison moment.

Walker was arrested after an 18-month observation by New Zealand…

Orginal post by Top Tech News