Indian Student Destroys 59 University Computers With a 'Killer USB Drive', Faces 10 Years in jail
New York, Apr 19: An Indian student has pleaded guilty to intentionally causing damage of over USD 58,000 to more than 50 protected computers of a college in New York state capital Albany by using a "USB Killer" device.
Vishwanath Akuthota, 27, residing in the United States on a student visa, has been in custody since he was arrested in North Carolina in February this year.
He faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000 and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to three years.
United States Attorney Grant Jaquith said that he pleaded guilty this week to causing damage to computers owned by The College of St Rose.
Akuthota, who will be sentenced in August, admitted that on February 14, he inserted a "USB Killer" device into 66 computers, as well as numerous computer monitors and computer-enhanced podiums, owned by the college in Albany.
The "USB Killer" device, when inserted into a computer's USB port, sends a command causing the computer's on-board capacitors to rapidly charge and then discharge repeatedly, thereby overloading and physically destroying the computer's USB port and electrical system.
Akuthota admitted that he intentionally destroyed the computers, and recorded himself doing so using his iPhone, including making statements such as "I'm going to kill this guy" before inserting the "USB Killer" into a computer's USB port.
He also admitted that his actions caused over USD 58,470 in damage, and has agreed to pay restitution in that amount to the college.
Akuthota will be sentenced in August and faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to three years.
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Mizoram class 12 results out, pass percentage at 87.67
Aizawl (PTI): Mizoram recorded a pass percentage of 87.67 in the class 12 board examinations on Wednesday, with boys scoring marginally higher than girls,
Across the Arts, Science, and Commerce streams, boys secured an 87.7 per cent success rate, while girls followed closely at 87.66 per cent, according to the results published by the Mizoram Board of School Education (MBSE).
Of the 12,243 students who sat for the examinations held between February and March, 10,734 passed, 1,394 could not, and 115 qualified for compartmental examinations.
Academic performance was strongest in the Commerce stream, which saw a 90.51 per cent success rate among 759 candidates.
The Science stream followed with 89.24 per cent pass rate out of 2,770 students who appeared for the exam, while the Arts stream, with 87,14 students, recorded a pass percentage of 86.93.
In terms of institutional performance, the results revealed that deficit schools, which receive regular government grants, maintained their status as top performers with an average 93.80 per cent pass rate across all streams, followed by private schools at 91.55 per cent, while state-run schools recorded a success rate 83.13 per cent.
