Jailed, hacker who crashed entire country

A BRITISH cyber criminal has been jailed for an attack that crashed the internet across Liberia.

Daniel Kaye admitted targeting an African phone company – inadvertently knocking Liberia offline – in 2016.

The 29-year-old, from Egham in Surrey, was jailed for 32 months and remains at the heart of a major international investigation into hundreds of acts of cyber sabotage around the world.

The self-taught hacker, who offered his services on the dark web, was hired to attack mobile phone and internet company Lonestar by someone working for a rival firm. His attack took Liberia offline for around 24 hours. It is thought to be the first time a single cyber attacker has disabled an entire nation’s internet.

Kaye admitted two offences under the Computer Misuse Act and one charge of possessing criminal property at Blackfriars Crown Court.

Mike Hulett, of the National Crime Agency, said: ‘I regard Daniel Kaye as one of the most significant cyber criminals arrested in the UK.’