The bell tolled for an 18-year-old hacker in Spain after he was picked up and charged with cracking into a top-secret computer at the U.S. Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. As an adult the young man could see serious time in prison or get a serious job with some government agency.

The charges were levied after authorities said the Malaga, Spain-based hacker cracked into a dry dock computer for nuclear submarine maintenance. This was considered a major breach of security and authorities suggest the group responsible does this for the fun of it.

The investigation started when the U.S. Navy detected an illegal entry into the computer system. They promptly reported the incident to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). The NCIS then notified the Spanish Civil Guard after they traced the hack to Spain. After questioning of four individuals, the trail led to the arrest.

Apparently, the unnamed hacker was part of a much bigger effort designed to breach computer security systems connected to the Internet. The Spanish Civil Guard's statement said the group had hacked more than 100 computer systems causing more than half a million in damages.

A Civil Guard spokesman said, "They did it for the challenge, there's no implication of terrorism." They went on to say the man would face unspecified charges.

Source: SecurityProNews