FILE PHOTO: A guest is seen during a press preview of the Apple Shinjuku store ahead of it's grand open in Tokyo, Japan April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
SYDNEY: An Australian teenager has pleaded guilty to hacking into the main computer network of technology giant Apple Inc, downloading big internal files and accessing customer accounts, because he was a fan of the company, local media reported.
The boy, 16, from Melbourne city, broke into the United States company's mainframe from his suburban home many times over a year, The Age newspaper reported, citing statements by the teenager's lawyer in court.
The teen downloaded 90 gigabytes of secure files and accessed customer accounts without exposing his identity. When Apple became aware of the intrusion it contacted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, which referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the newspaper said, quoting statements made in court.
The AFP declined a Reuters request for comment on the grounds that the matter was before the court.
An Apple representative in Australia was not immediately available for comment.
The report said that an AFP raid on the boy's family home produced two laptops, a mobile phone and a hard drive which matched the intrusion reported by Apple. The sensitive documents were saved in a folder called "hacky hack hack," the report added.
The report said the boy had boasted about his activities on the mobile messaging service WhatsApp.
The boy's name could not be made public because he was a juvenile offender.
The report said the boy would be sentenced next month. - Reuters
Win a prize this Mother's Day by subscribing to our annual plan now! T&C applies.
