An Australian government employee was arrested and could face up to 10 years in prison for mining $6200 worth cryptocurrencies while at work.

The Australian Federal Police arrested an IT contractor that modified an agencies computers in order to mine almost $6200 worth of cryptocurrencies. He modified the programs to leverage the processing powers and redirected that energy towards mining.

The AFP released a media report and have charged the man with the following:

  • Unauthorized modification of data to cause impairment, contrary to section 477.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)
  • Unauthorized modification of restricted data, contrary to section 478.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

These charges could land the guilty individual with up to 10 years of imprisonment. You may be thinking “only $6200 worth, that’s nothing.” The AFP acting commander thinks otherwise and had this to say:

“…alleged abuse of public office is a very serious matter… “Australian taxpayers put their trust in public officials to perform vital roles for our community with the utmost integrity. Any alleged criminal conduct which betrays this trust for personal gain will be investigated and prosecuted.”

Mining cryptocurrencies illegally and through nefarious methods is considered a crime anywhere in the world.

 

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