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A baby-faced suspected hacker appeared in court for the first time on charges that he created spyware software as a teenager that allowed perverts to takeover cameras and eavesdrop on women having sex.
Jacob Wayne John Keen, 24, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday to face six offences linked to his creation of the spyware application Imminent Monitor. It is reported that this program was written while he resided with his mother in Zillmere, Brisbane.
The 24-year-old is accused with making, providing, or acquiring data with the purpose to commit a computer crime between April 2013 and June 2019 — roughly a month after his 15th birthday.
Additionally, he is accused with dealing in criminal proceeds exceeding $100,000. His mother was accused of the same crime.
If found guilty of the most serious accusation, Keen faces up to 20 years in jail.
The police will argue that Keen, at the age of 15, constructed malware that permitted remote control of victims’ computers in order to spy on them, eavesdrop on them, and even record their keystrokes.
Keen reportedly marketed ‘Imminent Monitor’ on computer hacker forums for $35 to over 14,500 buyers in 128 countries.
He reportedly earned up to $400,000 through the sale of malware.
The $300,000 to $400,000 that Keen reportedly earned was mostly spent on perishable and disposable products such as meal delivery services, according to authorities.
Police will argue that fourteen PayPal users out of more than two hundred Australian customers were subject to domestic violence orders, while another was on the child sexual offender register.
There was no opposition to their release on bail with the terms that they forfeit their passports and reside at their Frankston residence.
Their attendance were excused when the cases are scheduled to be heard again on September 30 in the same court.
Federal Police shut down the remote access trojan (RAT) in 2019, and 44 victims have been discovered in Australia.
Throughout the investigation into Imminent Monitor, thirteen persons have been detained and hundreds of devices have been confiscated.