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Student Faces 10 Years for Keylogger Attack

Posted: January 16, 2017 to Cybersecurity.

Tags: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Malware, Data Breach

Imagine you won a Programmer of the Year Award in high school. You get into James Madison University. You get an internship with a government security contractor. You create a bit of software and make about $100,000 of it. And then, at 21 years old, you're facing a ten-year prison sentence. That's the biography of one Zachary Shames from Virginia. The college student got in trouble for creating Limitless Logger. Introduced in 2013, the malware was designed to steal information from an infected computer. Keyloggers record everything typed on a keyboard, giving hackers access to any information you type, whether it's a sensitive email or a bank login. Limitless went beyond that, however. In addition to logging keystrokes, it was able to recover login information for a number of popular apps, including all the big web browsers, FTP programs and Bitcoin wallets. Shames is said to have been modifying and marketing the malware in his college dorm room. He pleaded guilty and faces a maximum of ten years in prison, which would be a full third of his life.

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Craig Petronella, CEO and Founder of Petronella Technology Group
CEO, Founder & AI Architect, Petronella Technology Group

Craig Petronella founded Petronella Technology Group in 2002 and has spent more than 30 years working at the intersection of cybersecurity, AI, compliance, and digital forensics. He holds the CMMC Registered Practitioner credential (RP-1372) issued by the Cyber AB, is an NC Licensed Digital Forensics Examiner (License #604180-DFE), and completed MIT Professional Education programs in AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. Craig also holds CompTIA Security+, CCNA, and Hyperledger certifications.

He is an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author of 15+ books on cybersecurity and compliance, host of the Encrypted Ambition podcast (95+ episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon), and a cybersecurity keynote speaker with 200+ engagements at conferences, law firms, and corporate boardrooms. Craig serves as Contributing Editor for Cybersecurity at NC Triangle Attorney at Law Magazine and is a guest lecturer at NCCU School of Law. He has served as a digital forensics expert witness in federal and state court cases involving cybercrime, cryptocurrency fraud, SIM-swap attacks, and data breaches.

Under his leadership, Petronella Technology Group has served 2,500+ clients, maintained a zero-breach record among compliant clients, earned a BBB A+ rating every year since 2003, and been featured as a cybersecurity authority on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and WRAL. The company leverages SOC 2 Type II certified platforms and specializes in AI implementation, managed cybersecurity, CMMC/HIPAA/SOC 2 compliance, and digital forensics for businesses across the United States.

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