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Franklin Regional HS senior charged in connection with series of cyber-attacks

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — A Franklin Regional High School senior is accused of using a computer at her school to launch a cyber-attack against more than a dozen school districts, the Greensburg Catholic Diocese and the Westmoreland County government.

After a three-week investigation, authorities arrested and charged Michaela Gabriella King, 18, with unlawful use of a computer and intentionally causing a disruption of a computer system.

Authorities said the “denial of service” attack happened at least four times, disrupting the computer systems, which were all on the same network, for up to 45 minutes.

According to the criminal complaint, computer technicians tracked the cyber-attacks to a computer that King used at the high school and one at her home.

King’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.