“That was the level of his aspiration,” he submitted.
Anonymous hackers stole the personal information of thousands of Optus customers.Credit:AP
The court heard it took Su about half an hour for the details of each individual to be downloaded.
The prosecutor submitted Su had “spent a considerable amount of time dedicated to this scheme”.
Su deleted the text messages before his arrest on October 6.
“When the consequences start to come to light, he’s panicked,” magistrate Emma Manea said on Tuesday. “But, as we know, digital information … remains traceable.”
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The prosecutor said Su made “opportunistic use” of the Optus hack data “to blackmail those individuals whose data had been leaked”, and argued that the threshold for imprisonment was crossed, but did not submit for that to be full-time imprisonment.
The magistrate said she was “very close” to sharing the view the threshold had been crossed.
Manea convicted Su on both counts and imposed two 18-month community corrections orders, to be of good behaviour and each carrying 50 hours of community service. Su received a discount for his early plea and has no prior criminal record.
“A conviction is somewhat crushing for a person of your age in terms of your future employment opportunities,” she said to Su. “However, in my view, it is a matter that warrants conviction.”
The magistrate said the lack of sophistication in the offending – using his own number and his relative’s bank account rather than an offshore account – reflected “his youth and immaturity”.
“He was going to be caught,” she said.
Manea said a message needed to be sent that these types of crimes are unacceptable, given their impact on numerous people “by pressing one button, so to speak”, in a modern world where people are reliant on passwords and information held within their devices.
The court heard Su had been unemployed and studying for a bachelor of science after receiving an ATAR of 85 in 2020, but took the second semester of 2022 off due to health issues, being heart palpitations.
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His mother and father, a waitress and chef respectively, were in court to support him on Tuesday.
Su’s lawyer told the court his client had “deep remorse” and had brought deep shame to his family.
The magistrate said: “It is regretful that the strong work ethic of his family has not quite sunk into him because he admits that he was after quick money.”
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