[ISN] Slovenian hacker found shot dead

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Wed Aug 13 2003 - 01:19:17 PDT

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    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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