Morgan C. Culbertson was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for developing and intending to use an Android application that enables one to take control of other Android devices and phones. He pleaded guilty in a court of law early December 2015. The 20-year-old University student apologized to the users whose privacy might have been compromised by his application. Morgan C. Culbertson was a student at Carnegie Mellon University and was popularly known as a talented software designer and developer. He has been developing applications for Android phones since he was in high school. According to authorities, Morgan C. Culbertson was the generator of a malware code valued at 65,000 dollars in the deep web.
Morgan C. Culbertson was widely known as a respectful young fellow who likes playing the game of tennis. He performed his internship at a Silicon Valley cyber-security firm. This image is completely different from the one revealed by the court as a young hacker who was out for money on an international malware bazaar in the deep web (Bell 2). He has a remarkable character with outstanding performance both in tennis and class work at a private school in Shadyside known as Winchester Thurston. His athletic and academic performance is nothing short than outstanding. The allegations that he was the owner and developer of Android application, that was capable of controlling other Android devices, shocked many. His teachers remember him as a social person who had one too many friends in his social circle.
Morgan C. Culbertson was one of the many people charged early December last year when FBI agents raided and shut down a marketplace for some of the bets hacking software applications on the internet. The market place was widely known as Darkside. It is an underground site which contained all illegal trading in personal information like Social Security numbers, credit card information, tools for infecting hardware and counterfeit passports. The prices of the illegal products ranged from 100 to 5,000 dollars. The price depended on the quality, freshness and extended of the material. This site was the primary marketplace used by Morgan C. Culbertson to market and trade his illegal software application or the malware (Dendroid).
The malware (Dendroid) developed by Morgan C. Culbertson could be used remotely by criminals to compromise the security and privacy of other Android users. The malware was capable of remotely manipulating infected mobile devices and record and make calls, intercept text messages, take photos and videos, view browsing history, delete or steal files, contacts and photos [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]. Morgan C. Culbertson offered the source code for his malware for sale for as much as sixty-five thousand dollars. However, the source code for the malware was available for purchase to the members of Darkode at a price of 300 dollars between the period of January 2013 and August 2014.
Morgan C. Culbertson was not indicted but instead was charged since he pleaded guilty to developing and selling the malware for criminal use. He has been developing software application since his high school days. He worked on an android application known as Atomic lock for the better part of his senior year. This application allowed Android device users to lock their phone by using only gestures. The website which hosted the application was brought down following the charges, and it does not appear on Google Play store either.
Morgan C. Culbertson went to the inaugural Steel City Codefest and operated as a single man team to develop PGH SMS. This application enabled Android users to locate people at nearby social occasions and meetings. He has a passion for developing Android applications. His passions fro android application development motivated him to pursue software development at Carnegie Mellon University [Android Authority]. At this university, Morgan C. Culberson, together with a team, developed Captions. This was an Android application which allowed eyeglass users to see translated language spoken. The application was developed for eyeglasses. It allowed the projection of translated foreign languages to a screen in front of the user's eye. This application earned Morgan and his team a second place and a cash reward of 2,500 dollars at the McGinnis Venture Competition in the year 2014 [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette].
He performed his internship at a cyber-security firm known as FireEye based in Milpitas most of his summers. He passed a background check at this firm without raising any red flag. He also worked on a team concerned with advanced persistent threat as a mobile research intern. He was capable of enhancing Android malware detection through discovering of novel malicious malware.
In spite of all the achievements Mr. Morgan C. Culbertson has attained ever since he stared developing software applications for Android phones and devices, most people did not know he existed until the arrested that led to him being charge at a court of law. His major achievement was the development of the malicious Android application known as Dedroid. The application was used to compromise the security and privacy of Android users.
Works Cited
Android Authority,. "Dendroid Malware Developer Pleads Guilty In Court". N.p., 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
Bell, Killian. "Student Faces Prison For Creating Android Malware". TechnoBuffalo. N.p., 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,. "Authorities: CMU Student Was Hacker Who Developed, Sold Malware". N.p., 2016. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
