Jailed Cyber Criminal Hacks his Prison’s Computer System

It’s a lesson of modern times for security officials everywhere: Don’t let a cyber crook anywhere near your computer.

In this case, a jailed 21-year-old who ran the notorious GhostMarket.Net cybercrime website, enrolled in his prison’s Information Technology course and managed to hack into the institution’s mainframe computer.

Nicholas Webber, 21, was jailed for five years in 2011 in Britain for the running the site which sold stolen credit card details and gave advice to would-be criminals on how to commit identity theft.

GhostMarket had more than 8,000 members and the fraud involved had an estimated value of $22.5 million.

Authorities at the UK prison, HMP Isis in South London, refused to divulge exactly what Webber accessed and tried to play down the incident, the Daily Mail reports.

The hacking happened in 2011, but it only came to light this month when the IT class’ teacher filed a claim for unfair dismissal.

He said he wasn’t aware of Webber’s cybercrime past and that it wasn’t his decision to enroll him in the class.

GhostMarket has been linked to frauds around the world and it is thought 65,000 bank accounts were breached. Webber also used stolen details to fund nights in luxury hotels and pay for computers and iPhones.

Share your thoughts. Sign up for FREE today and leave a comment below.