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Aussie court denies bail to accused hacker 'Evil' Cecil

Wistful magistrate wishes he'd used his skills for good

Australian hacking cause célèbre, David Noel Cecil, who goes by the nickname of "Evil", remains behind bars after being formally refused bail yesterday at Cowra Local Court.

Cecil, an unemployed truck driver, was arrested by police last week and charged with 49 counts of accessing restricted data while unlawfully gaining access and control of the entire system of ISP Platform Networks.

When denied bail, Cowra Local Court Magistrate Peter Dare said Cecil had "certainly demonstrated an ability to do things with computers. It reminds me of that quote, 'If only he'd turned his mind to good'," reports the Central Western Daily.

Commonwealth prosecutor Katriona Musgrove told the court that Cecil had placed malicious software on some of the servers he had accessed and that investigations were ongoing.

The Australian Federal Police, who have been investigating his antics for six months, are continuing investigations into Cecil's alleged access of up to 100 other computer servers, the court heard.

In a lengthy bail hearing, the Central Western Daily reports that the magistrate was told a warrant exists in Queensland for Cecil's arrest on unrelated matters in relation to a breach of a probation order for stealing a motor vehicle. The court also head that Cecil had a criminal record in Queensland dating back to 2004.

Musgrove said that Cecil was spending between 18 and 20 hours a day in front of a computer and suggesting that he had "a compulsion or obsession to being online".

"Access to computers today is far reaching. Given his compulsion, conditions would not be effective enough and there are not sufficient police resources to monitor him 24 hours a day," Musgrove said.

The magistrate also ordered that Cecil not have access to a computer or the internet while on remand.

Matters were adjourned to Orange Local Court on 20 September. ®

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