Former Franklin Regional student to serve probation for cyber attack that crippled school, county computers

The lawyer for a former Franklin Regional High School student convicted of a cyberattack that disrupted more than a dozen computer systems throughout Westmoreland County in late 2016 told a judge it was all just a prank.

Defense attorney Lyle Dresbold said Michaela G. King uploaded a computer program she purchased for $5 to her school’s network without realizing just how much damage would be done by her actions.

“It was to play a prank on her school, her administrators at school and the students to make it hard for them to access the internet for a short period of time. It was a joke,” Dresbold said.

That joke, according to prosecutors, resulted in computer systems linked through the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit to be flooded with data and ultimately crash. The disruption impacted computers at Derry Area, Greater Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Ligonier Valley, Kiski Area, Burrell, Jeannette, Greensburg Central Catholic, Monessen and Hempfield school districts, as well as the Greensburg Catholic Diocese and Westmoreland County government.

King, now 22, of Murrysville was an 18-year-old high school senior at the time of the incident. In December, she pleaded guilty to two felony counts of unlawful use of a computer and the disruption of computer service for launching what officials said was a cyberattack on the school’s network.

She was sentenced Monday by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger to serve two years on probation, a term that also requires her to complete two months of house arrest.

“I know 18-year-olds do stupid things, but that doesn’t justify it. I don’t think you understood the ramifications of what you did, and I hope you do now,” Krieger said.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli asked the judge to order King to serve up to a year on house arrest. School and county officials did not appear in court Monday, but Iannamorelli said they did not want King to serve time in jail.

“They all expressed they were hopeful there will be positive decisions in the defendant’s life moving forward,” Iannamorelli said.

As part of the sentence, King was ordered to repay the county nearly $5,000 for the cost of the investigation. King declined to comment during Monday’s hearing.

An Illinois man last month pleaded guilty to federal charges that he sold the program used by King and others between 2015 and 2017 to disrupt computer services.