Slovenian hacker found shot dead

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/32292.html

By John Leyden
Posted: 12/08/2003
   
A Slovenian hacker who ran into legal conflict with one of the
country's leading banks over an alleged security weakness was found
dead last week.

Police believe Robert Skulj, 28, killed himself with a shot to the
head from a gun found at the scene. Skulj's body was found in his
locked apartment in the city of Trzic last Friday.

Last year, Skulj claimed he had found a serious security hole in an
electronic business system called Klik used by Nova Ljubljanska Banka
(NLB), a bank in Slovenia.

According to local reports, he entered into negotiation with NLB to
sell a Trojan horse that exploited the flaw he had discovered - along
with a security fix - to the bank for €500,000 ($568,050).

NLB treated the approach as blackmail and brought charges against him
last October. Slovenian police arrested Skulj and confiscated the
technology he was offering to sell to the bank.

Skulj was subsequently acquitted of any fraud by the Slovenian courts.

He then sued the bank and the state of Slovenia for 200 million
Slovenian Tolar (€850,000) for wrongful prosecution and the
confiscation of his Trojan code.

But before the case could be heard, Skulj apparently took his own
life.

His exact motives remain unclear but it is believed he was unable to
cope with the stress of the court case brought against him and his own
the follow-up action.



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