Cork man pleads guilty to hacking Park Magic parking system 

A 29-YEAR-OLD Cork man confessed to offences prosecuted under new anti-computer crime legislation arising out of an investigation into the hacking of a computer parking system.

David Young was arraigned at Cork Circuit Criminal Court where he pleaded guilty to three of the charges against him related to the Park Magic system.

Defence barrister Emmet Boyle said the amount of money involved in the fraud was actually quite small.

However, Mr Boyle said that the defrauded company had since implemented preventative measures to safeguard their system against such offences and that this investment had run into thousands of euro. The exact figure was not provided in court.

Remanded on bail 

So far, the details of how the crime came to be committed have not been outlined in court. Judge Helen Boyle adjourned sentencing until February 21. Emmett Boyle said the accused was on bail and had no previous convictions of any kind. He was remanded on continuing bail until February.

Detective Garda Paul Fitzpatrick of the Garda National Cyber Crime Unit brought the charges against David Young from Cois na hAbhann, Cloyne, Co Cork.

David Young was arraigned at Cork Circuit Criminal Court and pleaded guilty to intentionally accessing an information system without lawful authority or reasonable excuse by infringing a security measure between May and August 2018.

The young man was prosecuted under the Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017.

He also admitted operating a computer with the intention of making a gain for himself and others and causing a loss to others.

Finally, he admitted dishonestly obtaining parking credit totalling €270 between May 28 2018 and August 17 2018.

It is anticipated that the full details of the fraud will be outlined at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in February when the case comes up for sentencing.