Australian teen gets "caution" following hacking attack

An Australian teenager, Joshua Rogers of Melbourne, has accepted a "caution" from police rather than face charges for hacking the website of Public Transport Victoria (PTV), which runs the state’s transport system.

Rogers found a SQL injection vulnerability. Rogers found he gained access to some 600,000 records, including partial credit card numbers, addresses, emails, passwords, birth dates, phone numbers and senior citizen card numbers. He notified PTV of his findings via email on Dec. 26.

After not receiving a response, he contacted Fairfax Media. PTV decline to comment and said the incident was under investigation.

Then in May, police raided his residence and seized various electronic equipment. He was told he may have violated a computer crime law that prohibits “unauthorized access, modification or impairment with intent to commit a serious offense.” He could have been sentenced to five to life. Instead, he signed a "caution" which admitted his violation, but allows him to be on probation for and have the offense expunged from his record in five years.