A man who hacked into the secure police radio network back in 2017, has finally been tracked down, arrested, charged and sentenced for his crime, which is hacking into the frequency and interrupting the police radio while a chase was taking place.
Vaughan William George, 42, has been slapped with a 21-mponth prison sentence, after he was caught by authorities, in Geelong, by Australian authorities. The man was accused of illegally accessing and broadcasting on the police frequency between the months of January and August of 2017.
The most serious offence, which also resulted in police finally making a case against him, occurred in August, when the man interrupted police communicating on the radio during a live chase, and commanded officials to call it off. Authorities in Victoria have released a voice recording of the accused, who can be clearly heard telling the officials to cancel pursuit.
Incidentally, the man was not involved in the robbery which gave rise to the chase, as officials found out after apprehending the robbers.
George attempted in court to rub the crime off on a pre-existing mental health condition, as well as cannabis and alcohol use, however judges were not having it, and declared it a planned and pre-meditated act. The sentence, from which 3 months were reportedly shaved off, includes not just the interrupting of the radio channel, but also drug use and car theft charges.
After the aforementioned offence, police put out a call for help in the community with a plea for identification and reporting on the perpetrator. This proved fruitful, as a member of the community, belonging to the private sector, identified the man and informed authorities of George’s involvement and activities.
The hack came at a time when he authorities had contacted a local ISP for new and improved emergency networks for the operation of secure, digital radio systems. Vaughn William George, on the other hand, has apologized and pleaded guilty, with an option for parole after 15 months have elapsed from the 21-month sentence.
