Teen Who Tried to Blackmail Optus Customers Pleads Guilty in Sydney

An Aussie teenager charged with extortion in the wake of the massive Optus data breach pleaded guilty this week in a Sydney court of law.

The Optus incident, in September, compromised the personal data of 10 million customers in what is considered the biggest data breach on record in Australia.

19-year-old Dennis Su was arrested in October for allegedly trying to use leaked Optus data to extort affected customers via SMS.

Su himself had nothing to do with the actual data breach incident.The teen downloaded the data from a leak site and used it to blackmail those affected, threatening to distribute their personal information to other miscreants unless they paid a ransom of $2,000 AUD within 48 hours.

While the actual threat actors behind the Optus data breach are yet to be apprehended, Su will face his own retribution for trying to extort 93 of the telco's customers – to which he pled guilty Tuesday in Downing Centre Local Court, in Sydney, Australia.

He is charged with using a telecommunication network with the intent to commit a serious offence and dealing with identification information, reports 9news.com.au.

Su told police he was unemployed and having a hard time, so he devised the scheme to make some “quick money.”

The teen’s lawyers reportedly submitted a letter of apology from Su, as well as character references from two counsellors.

He is to receive his final sentencing on Feb. 7. The charges against him carry a combined prison sentence of 17 years, but it’s unlikely that the judge will issue such a harsh sentence over such a petty crime.

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