Causing more than $ 58,000 in damages with USB Killer, he now risks 10 years in prison

A former student of the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, was found guilty of destroying computers worth a total of tens of thousands of dollars through the use of a USB device designed precisely for the purpose of burning the circuits of the device to which it is connected.

Vishwanath Akuthota, the student's name, is a 27-year-old boy of Indian descent, arrested and taken into custody in North Carolina on February 22 last, a week after the crime.

Misplaced that it consists in the damage of 66 computers scattered all over the campus of the College of Saint Rose using the USB Killer device , of which we had already had occasion to speak a few years ago . In essence, it is a small USB dongle that conceals numerous capacitors inside: once it is connected to the USB port of a PC, the capacitors are charged and apply a voltage to the USB interface signal lines. This process occurs cyclically, overloading the system circuitry which is irreparably damaged. These are readily available devices that can be freely purchased online.

The police did not even have particular difficulty in finding elements capable of proving the boy's guilt: during the "homicidal fury" Akuthota recorded a video in which he is recognizable and states "I am going to kill this boy", framing the PC that is overloaded and damaged without the possibility of recovery.

The act of Akuthota caused damages for a total value of over 58 thousand dollars , which he undertook to pay compensation to the College. Now he risks up to 10 years in prison and up to three years of supervision once he is released from prison, in addition to a fine of 250 thousand dollars .