An Australian teenage hacker has raised serious questions about border security after he fled the country, despite having been ordered to surrender his passport.

Dylan Wheeler, from Perth, was 17 when he was charged with being part of a group that hacked the computers of Microsoft and the US Army.

The hackers are accused of stealing intellectual property worth $US100 million.

Almost three years later — facing a possible 10-year jail sentence — Mr Wheeler fled the country.

He said it was "scary" how easily he was able to leave.

"I left Australia because my case went on for about two to three years and it was getting nowhere," Mr Wheeler, who is now living in the Czech Republic, told 7.30.

"What they really wanted to do was take away my freedom and keep me confined into a room and I was not prepared to give away my human rights.

"It was quite scary that I was able to leave on my Australian passport, because they actually have a system called PACE ... it's a system they use at Border Control to basically figure out if you are a criminal if you are trying to leave the country, and normally it will flag you."

Tracked since he was 17

Mr Wheeler has since undertaken a Freedom of Information request on himself, which revealed he was placed on that database six days after he had already fled.

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He also found authorities monitored him since he was 17.

In one example, an AFP officer noted the hacker had been seen at a conference and "wore frilly socks".

WA Police declined 7.30's request for an interview because the case was technically still before the court.

They also refused to comment on how a teenager who had been ordered to surrender his passport managed to leave the country so easily.

Mr Wheeler's mother Anna has since been arrested and is facing charges of her own for allegedly helping her son leave the country — a claim she has denied.

"You don't want your child to leave, I know what it has done to my mother, it has destroyed her; it killed her," she said.

"It causes pain on parents and I know he is safe and that is the most important [thing]."

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Using skills to help European government ward off other hackers

Computer security expert Troy Hunt said a growing number of young people were finding themselves in the same situation as Mr Wheeler.

"We are seeing a lot of kids around the world or very, very young adults get caught up in these kinds of incidents, just not realising the implications of what it is they are doing," Mr Hunt said.

Dylan Wheeler is living in Europe using his skills for "good" helping government agencies protect themselves against hackers. ( Supplied: Freedom of Information )

He urged young people considering getting involved in hacking to think twice.

"It is very much the same as writing an angry email or a drunken email... maybe write it and leave it sitting there and go away, have a little bit of a think about it the next day," he said.

"Because it is just such a simple thing to tip over into that side where you really are on the wrong side of the law and most times, these guys do end up getting caught as well."

Since leaving Australia, Mr Wheeler claimed he was using his skills for good — helping European government agencies protect themselves from malicious hackers.

He said he was not afraid of being caught or that his past would catch up with him.

"The accusations they have claimed are untrue and to the best of my knowledge, I haven't committed a crime," Mr Wheeler said.

"I would like them to just drop the charges, drop the accusations and face defeat and say 'hey, we stuffed up'."