Andhra Pradesh student ‘killed’ 50 US computers, held

Vishwanath Akuthota, 26 from Chittoor, India has been arrested by the Albany Police Department of New York under the charges of intentionally causing damage to over 50 protected computers owned by a college in the New York state of Albany. The incident has happened on Wednesday.

According to sources, Vishwanath was residing in the United States on a student visa since 2015. The College of Saint Rose in Albany, US Attorney Grant Jaquith said that Vishwanath destroyed many computers worth more than $50,000.

Video surveillance footage showed a man with a red sweatshirt, blue jeans, black sneakers, and a grey backpack. It was confirmed as Viswanath by investigators and college employees later.

As per the complaint, Vishwanath entered many locations around the Saint Rose campus and inserted a device into more than 50 computers.

The device which is similar to a normal USB memory stick, sends a rapid series of power surges into electrical hardware of the computer, making it unusable.

Speaking on the issue, the Telangana State Engineering Colleges Association (TSECA) president said “Those going abroad should maintain good conduct and must not take part in any illegal activities or create a nuisance for the authorities there. It will bring a bad name to our country.”