An Australian man has been arrested for creating and distributing software for cyber demons around the world.
The 24-year-old hacker was charged with trespassing for creating remote access trojan software designed to steal personal data and spy on victims.
In total, the hacker has earned an income of USD 300 thousand, since he started making and selling the spyware at the age of 15, as quoted by Techspot, Monday (1/8/2022).
Jacob Wayne John Keen, 24, is the man's name. He was arrested for allegedly creating and selling a trojan called Imminent Monitor to cybercriminals, domestic criminals, to other criminals spread across 128 countries.
The software it sells has various capabilities. From stealing personal data belonging to victims, monitoring information stored in documents, to spying on victims using webcams and microphones on the victim's device.
Keen's arrest was part of the first major global operation since 2017 under the name Operation Cephus. This operation was carried out after the Australian Federal Police (AFP) received information from the FBI and Palo Alto Networks.
The software sold by Keen is fairly cheap. When he was 15 years old, this software was sold at a price of USD 35. Total sales until the end of 2019 were estimated to be between USD 300 thousand to USD 400 thousand.
The sale of the software ended after AFP confiscated all hardware and assets associated with the spyware. Keen was later arrested based on evidence AFP compiled from law enforcement agencies around the world.
According to AFP, the spyware is being used to spy on victims who number in the tens of thousands globally, of which about 200 buyers are from Australia.
Interestingly, most of the money from the sale of the spyware was used by Keen to buy food, during the nine years of his action. His mother, 42 years old, was also targeted by the authorities because she knew and profited from her son's criminal activities.