NZ teen questioned over hacking network

New Zealand police are questioning a teenager alleged to be the leader of an online crime network that infiltrated computers …

New Zealand police are questioning a teenager alleged to be the leader of an online crime network that infiltrated computers worldwide.

Investigators in New Zealand, the United States and the Netherlands believe the 18-year-old wrote software used to attack over a million computers, causing damage of around $19 million (€13 million), New Zealand Press Association said.

The software was allegedly used in bringing down the computer server at the University of Pennsylvania last year, New Zealand police said.

The man was the ringleader of a botnet, a network of computers infiltrated by a programme that secretly installs itself to allow a hacker to control it, police added.