Indian Student Sentenced to 1 Yr in Prison for Damaging College Computers

An Indian student has been sentenced to 12 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, for intentionally damaging computer equipment of a college in Upstate New York.

World. (File Image)

Washington, Aug 14 (PTI) An Indian student has been sentenced to 12 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, for intentionally damaging computer equipment of a college in Upstate New York.

Vishwanath Akuthota (27) has also been ordered to pay USD 58,471 as restitution charge, United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith said on Tuesday.

Pleading guilty, Akuthota admitted that on February 14 he inserted a 'USB Killer' device into 66 computers as well as numerous computer monitors and computer-enhanced podiums owned by the College of St. Rose in Albany.

The device, when inserted into a USB port, sends a command causing the computer's on-board capacitors to rapidly charge and then discharge repeatedly, thereby overloading and physically destroying the USB port and electrical system.

Akuthota has been in custody since his arrest in North Carolina on February 22.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)

Share Now

Share Now