{"id":309255,"date":"2025-10-16T23:20:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/309255\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T23:20:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:20:26","slug":"how-a-15yo-autistic-boy-tinkering-in-his-bedroom-triggered-was-biggest-ever-data-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/309255\/","title":{"rendered":"How a 15yo autistic boy tinkering in his bedroom triggered WA’s biggest ever data breach"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Joshua was 15, he triggered one of Western Australia’s most significant public health data breaches.<\/p>\n

Joshua, who is autistic, said he was tinkering with a radio scanner in his bedroom when he intercepted some unencrypted frequencies.<\/p>\n

After decoding them, he uploaded the data to a 400-page website he built, exposing sensitive information \u2014 including patient and staff names, contact details and hospital communications \u2014 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Joshua uploaded patient and staff names, contact details and hospital communications to a website. (ABC News: Dominic Briggs)<\/p>\n

Then-premier Mark McGowan was furious, describing it as very disappointing and disturbing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Joshua told the ABC it was all a misunderstanding, saying he was oblivious to the consequences of what he had done until the next morning, when 10 police officers came banging on his front door with a search warrant.<\/p>\n

“My heart sank,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It was just a passion project \u2026 I didn’t realise what the problem was.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nine News first reported on the 2020 breach, broadcasting part of the content before the website was taken down. (Nine News: Gary Adshead)<\/p>\n

Joshua cooperated straight away, knowing there was no point denying it.<\/p>\n

“The whole ordeal on the first night was about three hours, and most of that was taking evidence,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It felt like it went by really quickly and I didn’t have time to actually absorb what was happening.”<\/p>\n

\"Anonymised<\/p>\n

Joshua was just 15 when he breached hospital patient privacy.\u00a0 (ABC News: Dominic Briggs)<\/p>\n

Joshua’s parents raised concerns about his vulnerability, telling police: “He’s 15, he’s autistic. He doesn’t know any better.”<\/p>\n

“I don’t think that was their concern at the time,” Joshua said.<\/p>\n

Teachers try to reduce drowning risk for kids with autism<\/a><\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, Kiedis couldn’t even stand having water splashed on his face. But thanks to his skilled teacher Julie, he now looks forward to putting on his goggles and hopping into the pool every week.<\/p>\n

Now 20, he has had time to reflect \u2014 and he is thankful the detectives involved in the case have kept in touch with him.<\/p>\n

“They’ve checked in over the last couple of years and it’s been friendly and proactive,” he said.<\/p>\n

Despite the seriousness of the breach, Joshua was not charged, and no legal action was taken.<\/p>\n

But the whole situation could have been much worse \u2014 and not just for those whose private details were leaked.<\/p>\n

No malice intended<\/p>\n

Perth lawyer Tom Oliver has academic journals about the challenges faced by autistic people caught up in the justice system.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Tom Oliver practises in both the Supreme Court of WA and the High Court of Australia. (ABC News: Julian Robins)<\/p>\n

Mr Oliver, who is himself autistic, said Joshua’s brush with the law was typical of many of the experiences he had seen.<\/p>\n

“Criminal behaviour among autistic people is often a result of social naivety and general misunderstanding,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Oliver said in Joshua’s case, his deep fascination with coding, radio and technology had become an obsessive interest.<\/p>\n

“Autistic people often have a very specific interest that the autistic person obsesses over with a very high level of intensity and fixation, and they tend to know everything about that topic,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tom Oliver has published papers, and delivered a TED Talk about his work defending autistic clients. (ABC News: Julian Robins)<\/p>\n

Mr Oliver said he believed Joshua’s fixation on radio and tech saw him ignore the social and legal consequences.<\/p>\n

“There was no malicious benefit of any kind,” he said.<\/p>\n

Inside the courtroom<\/p>\n

Mr Oliver said the legal system often presented major hurdles for autistic people.<\/p>\n

“Some may struggle to outwardly express typical signs of empathy or remorse, which can ultimately result in a harsher sentence if the matter proceeds to court,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Mr Oliver says some criminal defences available to autistic people are deficient. (ABC News: Julian Robins)<\/p>\n

He said common autistic traits like avoiding eye contact, speaking flatly or showing limited expression may be misinterpreted in the courtroom as guilt.<\/p>\n

Yet despite these challenges, support does exist.<\/p>\n

In WA, a specialist Magistrates Court program called the Intellectual Disability Diversion Program (IDDP) offers an alternative pathway for neurodiverse people entangled in the legal system.<\/p>\n

\"Interior<\/p>\n

Many autistic people are easily overwhelmed by the experience of attending court. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

Magistrate Elaine Campione, who oversees the court, said the idea was to understand the difficulties facing neurodiverse people in everyday life that might contribute to their offending \u2014 and to help them overcome them.<\/p>\n

“Someone in the mainstream court might attract immediate imprisonment,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Magistrate Elaine Campione says dealing with neurodiverse people in the legal system is a “balancing exercise”. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

“But when you take into account the impediments and the impairments to this person’s level of functioning \u2014 their intellectual deficits \u2014 that would be manifestly unjust. So it is a balancing exercise.<\/p>\n

“At the end of the day, though, just because they have a diagnosis of an impairment, it does not mean that they are not punished or not held accountable.”<\/p>\n

‘Common sense and compassion’<\/p>\n

The court did not come without its issues, one of which was getting people referred to the program in the first place.<\/p>\n

\"Exterior<\/p>\n

The Magistrates Court of WA has a special program offering an alternative pathway for neurodiverse people. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

Referrals can come from police, lawyers, magistrates or even self-nominations \u2014 but that can only happen if people know the court exists.<\/p>\n

Staffing is scarce, delays in getting neurological reports can drag on and court staff are not formally trained in dealing with people with a disability. There is also no long-term tracking of participants.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Magistrate Campione says neurodiverse people are over-represented in the justice system. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

But staff say they do their best with what they have available to them, and often get creative in their solutions to tough problems.<\/p>\n

One of the key challenges was WA’s mandatory sentencing laws, which can mean neurodiverse offenders face terms of imprisonment, despite prisons being ill-equipped to deal with them.<\/p>\n

Police prosecutor Sharon Cumbers gave the example of an 18-year-old, suspected to have an undiagnosed neurodevelopmental condition, who decided he wanted to let off steam.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Police prosecutor Sergeant Sharon Cumbers says “common sense and compassion” is needed in some cases. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

“So he went driving in dad’s car, and then the police went to pick him up, and then he’s got into a high-speed chase,” she said.<\/p>\n

“That is reckless driving in circumstances of aggravation, and is escaping pursuit, which is mandatory six months [in jail].”<\/p>\n

Sergeant Cumbers said in that circumstance, she would “use common sense and compassion” and seek to have the charge downgraded to reckless driving, which does not attract a mandatory penalty.<\/p>\n

In other cases, legal aid lawyer Chris Johns said the duty lawyer or defence counsel could make a public interest submission to discontinue the prosecution if appropriate.<\/p>\n

\"Exterior<\/p>\n

Court staff are not formally trained in dealing with people who have a disability. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

Magistrate Campione said the overarching aim was to keep people from going to jail in circumstances where it was not warranted.<\/p>\n

She said a “lack of consequential thinking” common among neurodivergent people often got them into trouble, and the court aimed to help them understand the consequences of their actions.<\/p>\n

“We’re saving the community money because we are keeping people out of prison, and we all know how expensive that is,” she said.<\/p>\n

Emerging from the shadows<\/p>\n

As Joshua reflected on his brush with the law, he said there was one thing he wished he had done differently.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Joshua is now working in cybersecurity. (ABC News: Dominic Briggs)<\/p>\n

“I should’ve spoken to the authorities straight away,” he said.<\/p>\n

Today, Joshua works as an investigator for a cybersecurity firm.<\/p>\n

“I try to make up for it \u2014 being on the good side,” he said.<\/p>\n

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