Teen hacker Owen Walker says he was surprised and relieved to be discharged without conviction for his part in an international cyber-crime ring.

It was believed that Walker was the mastermind behind the crime ring, and he certainly wrote some code that made it easier to hack systems. Speaking to the NZ Herald, he said he was surprised by the International media spotlight and was stunned that he didn’t have to do any time.

From January 2006 to November last year, he led an elite group of programmers using malware to infect and remotely control computers, using them as robots, or bots. From a PC in his attic bedroom, he illegally accessed and crashed the University of Pennsylvania's system and covertly installed advertisements on computers for several companies.

He said that he was bullied and teased at school and was forced to leave in 2002 and start correspondence classes from home. Sitting alone in his bedroom, Walker taught himself how to use a computer and took solace in cyberworld.

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