Sydney school IT worker charged with stealing colleagues’ credit card and possessing child abuse materials

A 28-year-old worker at The Forest High School allegedly stole the credit card details of his Department of Education colleagues. Investigators then allegedly found child abuse materials on his phone.

A school worker at The Forest High has been charged with cybercrime and possessing child abuse materials. Pictures: Supplied

An IT worker at a Sydney high school has allegedy been busted with child abuse material after hacking the school’s computers in order to steal his colleagues’ credit card details.

Detectives from NSW Police’s Cybercrime Squad began investigating after the Department of Education’s cyber team alerted police to malware located on computers at The Forest High School in Frenchs Forest last month.

The 28-year-old Matraville man, employed by the northern beaches school as an IT worker, had his phone and computer seized by detectives earlier this month.

In a horror twist to the alleged hacking plot, child abuse material was allegedly discovered on the phone during forensic examination.

The child abuse material does not involve students at The Forest High School.

The Forest High School employee was arrested on Tuesday morning. Picture: News Corp

Police will allege in court malware was installed by the male employee on the school computers and was in various stages of development and deployment, with at least 41 members of staff having had their credentials, including credit card information, captured.

He was arrested on Tuesday morning at Maroubra Police Station, and charged with five offences – unauthorised modification of data with intent to cause impairment, possession of identity information with the intent of committing an indictable offence, two counts of unauthorised function with the intent of committing a serious offence, and possession of child abuse material.

State Crime Command Cybercrime Squad Commander Matt Craft said the Department of Education’s “diligent work” led to the alleged offence being identified early.

“The Department of Education cyber team have a robust system able to detect these types of offences, and it’s through their diligent work that this issue was reported early, and the alleged offender detained quickly,” Detective Superintendent Craft said.

“Teachers and staff at our schools are in a position of responsibility and privilege; and anyone that abuses that position will be dealt with accordingly by law enforcement.”

The accused has been granted strict conditional bail to appear in Waverley Local Court on May 8, and is no longer on duty at the school the NSW Department of Education has confirmed.

Parents had not yet been informed about the allegations on Tuesday evening.

A spokesperson said the department “detected malware and reacted quickly to identify the cause and mitigate the risk” but was unable confirm whether other staff or students outside The Forest High School were impacted, and could not comment further due to the incident being a police matter.

The department’s cyber security branch actively monitors for threats against staff and students on a 24/7 basis, and is “continually improving” in its ability to detect and respond to cyber crime, they said.

The NSW Department of Education has confirmed the accused is no longer on duty at the school.

A spokesman said the department “detected malware and reacted quickly to identify the cause and mitigate the risk” but could not confirm whether other staff or students outside The Forest High School were impacted, and could not comment further as the incident is now a police matter.

The department’s Cyber Security branch actively monitors for threats against staff and students on a 24/7 basis, and is “continually improving” in its ability to detect and respond to cyber crime.

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