A 21-year-old, Daniel Fowler of Kansas City, Mo., has admitted to a brazen criminal scheme that involves using malware to steal and sell databases of faculty and alumni at the University of Central Missouri, reports The Register. Fowler and an alleged accomplice used various ruses to install malware on the computers of students and staff at the school. 

Prosecutors claim that they captured passwords, spied on computer users through their webcams and even attempted to change grades in one instance. When authorities apprehended the duo, Fowler's alleged accomplice had Spector Pro and Poison Ivy keylogging programs, and "the username and password of a pilfered university staff member written on a piece of paper in his pocket," reports The Register.

No doubt the details of this case may make an interesting (or even entertaining) weekend read. What struck me, however, was the ease with which they were able to pull off some of their misdeeds. Historically, hackers have been highly skilled individuals working on low-level programming or networking. The availability of prepackaged software however, means that "normal" computer users can now perform their misdeeds by simply executing software on a victim's machine.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Register

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