Report: LSU student arrested for installing malware on University computers | News

A 25-year-old LSU student was arrested Friday for allegedly installing malware on 169 University devices over the course of two years, according to WBRZ.

LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said LSUPD arrested the student and booked him into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Friday.

A campus technology services employee found a USB drive allegedly left by Carlos Munoz-Salazar in an infected computer. Police said the University was able to use the USB to determine when Salazar next logged onto a campus computer. An employee then found him at the infected computer and took a picture of his Tiger ID. 

Police said the software found on the computers allegedly allowed Salazer to remotely control the University devices and download programs which enabled him to mine cryptocurrency. Since his arrest, Salazer admitted to making approximately $2,500 from mining virtual currency on LSU computers. 

There are reports dating back to June 2018 when this specific software was used, and the attacks continued up until July 23, 2020, when the University’s IT department blocked the software. 

Salazar was booked on 169 counts of computer tampering and computer fraud and is awaiting trial.