Hacker admits attacks on websites used by police and two major universities

Lewys Martin, 21, previously of Dover Road, Walmer, has admitted the charges under the Computer Misuse Act in relation to the attacks on the corporate websites of Kent Police, Cambridge University and Oxford University.

Martin attempted, using his “Sl1ink” online identity, to cause disruption to the sites by overwhelming them with requests for information in “denial of service” attacks.

He caused the Kent Police site to go off-line for one hour 17 minutes, the Cambridge University site to be off-line for one hour 20 minutes and the Oxford University website to be down for around 30 minutes.

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Richards, of Kent Police, said: “We have robust systems in place to prevent our website being compromised.

“The attack on ours and other public-facing websites was serious and Martin’s intention was to cause as much disruption and failure as possible.”

Prosecutor Ken Goss said: “Cyber crime is a rapidly expanding area of criminal activity and can take many forms.

“In this case, Martin was attacking not only large organisations, but individuals.

“Anyone who has been the
victim of cyber crime knows how devastating it can be, but for
organisations, the impact can
be just as damaging, both to
their business and their reputation.”

Martin pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to five counts of unauthorised acts with intent to impair operation of or prevent/hinder access to a computer, two of unauthorised computer access with intent to commit other offences, one of unauthorised computer access with intent to commit other offences and one of unauthorised access to computer material.

He is due to be sentenced in May.