Student charged with hacking his college
 |
Christopher Andrew Phillips, center, leaves the federal courthouse in Austin, Texas on Friday.
Story Tools
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Authorities filed federal charges Friday against a 20-year-old student accused of hacking into a University of Texas computer system and stealing Social Security numbers and other personal information from more than 55,000 students, faculty and staff members.
Christopher Andrew Phillips, a computer science major at the Austin campus, was charged with unlawful access to a protected computer and unlawful use of a means of identification.
He turned himself in on Friday morning and was released without bail under orders not to use a computer without permission.
No harm intended?
He told officials he had no intention of using the information to harm anyone, according to court papers.
Phillips said he wrote and executed a computer program to access a university Web site that tracks employees who attend training classes, authorities said.
If convicted, he could get up to eight years in prison.
Family friend Gene Baltusknis said Phillips is "fine young man" who has never before been in trouble with the law.
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
