An Australian boy who hacked Apple when he was just 13 did so in a misguided attempt to get a job with the tech giant, a court has heard.
The schoolboy, who is now 17, pleaded guilty to multiple cybercrime offenses after hacking Apple in December 2015 and early 2017 and making off with internal data, according to local reports.
His actions were reported to the FBI, which subsequently contacted the Australian Federal Police.
The boy’s lawyer, Mark Twiggs, told Adelaide Youth Court that his client is now very remorseful.
“This offending started when my client was 13 years of age, a very young age. He had no idea about the seriousness of the offence and hoped that when it was discovered that he might gain employment at this company,” he’s reported as saying.
“He didn't know this was going to lead to anything other than a job at the end of it, [this] happened in Europe, a similar person got caught and they ended up getting employed by the company.”
The magistrate appears to have agreed, putting the boy on a AU$500 good behavior bond for nine months.
“He is clearly someone who is a gifted individual when it comes to information technology, that being said, those who have this advantage of being gifted doesn't give them the right to abuse that gift," he said.
“You must remain on the straight and narrow and use your gifts for good rather than evil.”
It’s unclear what data the individual stole from Apple, but the firm’s spokesperson confirmed that the incidents were promptly contained and that no customer information was involved.