New Zealand teenager convicted over global cyber crime ring

A New Zealand teenager was convicted Tuesday for his central role in a global cyber crime ring which infected at least 1.3 million computers worldwide and caused millions of dollars in losses.

Owen Thor Walker, 18, allegedly led a group of international computer hackers who infected computers worldwide and caused economic losses of 20 million US dollars, according to police.

The thin, long-haired teenager pleaded guilty to six computer crimes in a court in Thames, near his home south of Auckland and is due to reappear on May 28 for sentencing.

Some of the charges carry a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.

Walker, who taught himself programming and used the online name "Akill", began committing the alleged crimes early last year and continued until late 2007, a prosecution summary said.