Australian hacker pleads guilty

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ADELAIDE, Australia, July 26 (UPI) -- A young Australian computer hacker admitted in court Monday he infected more than 3,000 computers worldwide in a scheme to grab personal financial information.

Anthony Scott Harrison, 21, of the Adelaide suburb of Black Forest pleaded guilty to seven counts in District Court in Adelaide, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. He is to be sentenced in September, the ABC said.

Police alleged Harrison's software virus had the potential to infect up to 74,000 computers and was designed to capture banking details and credit card information.

The Daily Telegraph in Sydney reported Harrison pleaded guilty to four counts of modifying computer data to cause harm or inconvenience; two counts of possessing or controlling data to commit a serious computer offense; and one count of dishonestly manipulating a machine for his own benefit.