Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand police are questioning an 18-year-old suspected of being part of an international team of cyber hackers that infected and disabled more than 1.3 million computers in the U.S. and the Netherlands last year.

The unidentified man, known by his cyber identification ``AKILL,'' is alleged to have worked with an American in using so-called malware files to control about 50,000 computers at a Philadelphia university, causing their server to crash, police said in an e-mailed statement. ``AKILL'' is also suspected of infecting 1.3 million Dutch computers.

``We've seized a number of computers and our investigations are focusing on the one seized from the 18-year-old,'' Detective Inspector Peter Devoy said in an interview from the North Island city of Hamilton, where the man lives. ``It just goes to show when you step into the cyber world it knows no boundaries.''

``AKILL'' and his team are alleged to have turned the computers into a so-called ``botnet,'' which allows infected machines to be controlled as if they were robots. The Federal Bureau of Investigation told the New Zealand authorities about ``AKILL,' who they discovered as part of an 18-monthlong probe into botnet rings around the world, Devoy said.

The malware files used to infect computers are often known as worms, Trojans and backdoor viruses. The malware designed by ``AKILL'' used encryption that made it undetectable by anti-virus software.

``He's a young guy but I think it's an environment that the young understand a lot better,'' Devoy said. ``This is a relatively new type of crime that will only become more evident as time goes by.''

The New Zealander is suspected of being the ringleader of a group dubbed the ``A-Team'' made up of hackers from around the world. Police are also investigating whether the alleged offenders may have swindled money as part of their activities, Devoy said today, adding it was ``too early'' to speculate whether ``AKILL'' would be charged.

An unknown number of computers were also infected in New Zealand and the owners of those machines have been helping police with their inquiries, Devoy said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Emma O'Brien in Wellington on eobrien6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 29, 2007 21:35 EST