Alleged cyber crime kingpin suffers autism

The mother of a Whitianga teenager with Asperger's syndrome allegedly involved in a multi-million dollar international cyber crime ring says she had no idea of her son's involvement in the ring.

Asperger's syndrome is a mild form of autism often characterised by social isolation but great intelligence and talent in a particular area.
Video: Teenager's cyber chaos

Owen Walker, 18, was taken from his home and questioned last week by police in an investigation involving New Zealand Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Dutch authorities.

The FBI suspect Walker is "AKILL" – the cyber figure who is the ringleader of a "botnet" which has infected a million computers with a virus which has resulted in an estimated $NZ26 million-plus of economic loss.

He was alleged to have been part of an attack that crashed the computer server at the University of Pennsylvania.

Police released Walker after questioning and it is believed that they plan to interview him again after examining computers that had been seized.

They have been working on the case since February with the FBI.

Speaking at the family home in Whitianga, Shell Moxham-Whyte said she had "no idea" of her son's alleged involvement in the ring.

She told the New Zealand Herald the family had been advised not to speak publicly and that her son was now staying with relatives elsewhere.

Friends and employers praised Walker as a brilliant computer programmer and the police national electronic crime laboratory manager, Maarten Kleintjes, said he was "very, very bright in terms of his ability to be able to produce that sort of code".

The teenager lost his job as a programmer at Trio Software Development but company director Glenn Campbell told the Herald he believed Walker did not actively seek trouble or illegal activity.

Friends have described him as a loner and said he was bullied at Mercury Bay Area School in Whitianga before he left in Year 9.

Mrs Moxham-Whyte said her son was an intelligent boy who had loved computers from a young age.

He had done correspondence school after he left Mercury Bay.

Asked if she knew whether he had been profiting from involvement in a criminal bot-net, she said, "I can't say any more".

- NZPA