A former Penn State student was charged on Thursday after investigators said he accessed protected university police systems while working as an auxiliary officer.
Zuoyu “Eric” Wu, 24, of Benner Township, is detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2 million bail.
The significantly high bail amount typically indicates a perceived flight or public safety risk. The Centre Daily Times reported that Wu is connected to a federal investigation related to “critical infrastructure,” which is not mentioned in the criminal complaint filed by Penn State police. Citing a witness account, the newspaper also reported that Wu was taken into custody during a large-scale, multi-agency operation at his home on Wednesday night.
A Penn State police spokesperson did not respond to a message seeking comment on Friday. Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna declined to comment.
According to the complaint filed by a university police detective, Wu worked as a student auxiliary officer for the department beginning in 2021 and was identified as the subject of multiple instances of suspicious activity involving public safety dispatch and radio programming outside the scope of his job duties. Auxiliary officers are part-time, unsworn and non-certified positions that assist with event traffic and security and the locking and unlocking of buildings.
Wu accessed programs such as CLEAN and JNET, which contain protected personal identifying information, vehicle registration data and criminal histories, using controlled computers in the Penn State police dispatch office reserved for staff in authorized roles, according to the complaint.
A witness reported that Wu also logged in under another user name to manipulate the settings in a password-protected program used for administrative support functions of the dispatch communication system, according to the complaint. The program is reserved for those in administrative roles and access is not granted to students, the detective wrote.
The same witness observed Wu accessing restricted server areas of the dispatch center, which is controlled by a locked door and limited to authorized personnel, according to the complaint.
During his time as an auxiliary officer, Wu showed an “interest and proficiency” in the Motorola radio system used by university police and managed by Centre County Emergency Communications, the detective wrote. Wu was “frequently seen working on and programming PSUPD radios,” according to the complaint, and allegedly claimed to be a certified Motorola engineer who worked for the company, though investigators have located no records substantiating his claims.
Wu is charged with felony counts of unlawful use of computers and computer trespass. He was arraigned on Thursday morning by District Judge Steven Lachman.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 20.
