A Phoenix man has been charged with trying to hack into email accounts at over 75 universities nationwide.
Jonathan Powell was arrested Wednesday and held for arraignment in Phoenix federal court. The New York prosecution alleges Powell successfully mined accounts for private information at a New York school from his work computer at a Phoenix business.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (buh-RAH'-ruh) said the prosecution should be a wakeup call for educational institutions across the country.
The prosecutor said Powell targeted dozens of schools and successfully hacked into student email accounts at the New York school and one in Pennsylvania. He said Powell stole students' personal information and searched photos for potentially embarrassing content. Prosecutors did not name the schools.
It wasn't immediately clear who will represent Powell in court.
