Colleges ban for hacker

Published: 26 November, 2010

A COMPUTER hacker who posed as a student to gain access to the emails of hundreds of “fellow students” has been given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay over £20,000 costs and compensation.

Daniel Woo, 23, was arrested in November 2006 at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Bloomsbury, after being caught installing password-capturing software. He was spotted by IT staff investigating anomalies in the running of the network. 

He used software known as “Cain and Able”, which enabled him to access private financial details.

Woo, a Bulgarian, of Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge, pleaded guilty to offences under the Computer Misuse Act on August 20 and at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday he was sentenced to 36 weeks imprisonment (suspended for two years), 200 hours unpaid work and £21,000 to be paid in costs and compensation.

He was also banned for a year from entering any university, college or place of higher education without police consent.