Hacker Pleads Guilty To Uni Web Page Hack

A hacker has admitted attempting to crash University of Cambridge’s website. Lewys Martin, from Kent, pleaded guilty to eight other offences under the Computer Misuse Act.

The news comes after the cyber attacker was charged by police towards the end of last year.

Known online as ‘Sl1nk’, Martin attempted to bring down University web pages by flooding them with tens of thousands of simultaneous requests for information, known as a DDOS attack. Whilst the site was temporarily disrupted, no sensitive information was accessed and the University system is still secure.

Martin also pleaded guilty to trying to bring down Oxford University’s website, as well as that of the Kent police.

This is not the first time the hacker has appeared in court for his exploits; in November 2011, Martin pleaded guilty to hacking computers of hundreds of ‘Call of Duty’ players. He offered users a game patch that was, in reality, a keystroke logger. Personal information gained, including credit card and password information, was then sold online, netting thousands of pounds.

Though given a suspended sentence at the time, he was later jailed for 18 months commencing in May last year. This time, whilst still on bail, he and an accomplice were caught drunkenly attempting to burgle Walmer Science College in Kent.

The Tab understands that Martin, 21, was a member of the NullCrew hacktivists who have previously claimed to have gained access to and taken information from parts of the University of Cambridge system. Sl1nk has also laid claim online to hacking into NASA, the Pentagon and the US Department of Defense – gaining usernames and passwords for all four.

Martin has been granted conditional bail and will be sentenced on the 13th of May.