Indian gets probation for cyber-attack

PHOENIX, AZ — An Indian American man who pleaded guilty in an August 2016 cyber-attack on Phoenix-area 911 emergency systems must serve three years of probation.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office says authorities will be able to monitor Meet Desai’s computer while he serves the probation term imposed on October 10 by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge.

Four Phoenix-area law enforcement agencies reported receiving hundreds of hang-up emergency calls during the attack, which Desai told authorities was a prank gone awry.

Desai was arrested in October 2016 after multiple agencies, including Surprise and Peoria police and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office, reported an influx of emergency call hang-ups between October 24 and October 26 last year.

According to a sheriff’s office statement, more than 100 hang-up 911 calls were recorded within a few minutes late on October 25.

Investigators traced the calls and discovered they originated from a link posted to Twitter, according to the sheriff’s statement.

The link was to a site named ‘Meet Desai’ and its domain was hosted out of San Francisco. When the link was clicked, it continually called 911 and would not let the caller hang up.

The volume of calls had the potential to shut down 911 service across Maricopa County.

Attorney General’s spokeswoman Mia Garcia says Desai cooperated with authorities, expressed remorse and had never been in trouble before.