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Programmer deletes data and changes administrative password of employer who was canceling his contract
Incident Date: September 17 2003 Incident Location: Gloucester MA USA Patrick Angle of Columbus, Indiana was charged in federal court on August 23, 2004 with one count of intentionally damaging a protected computer of his former employer, Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. The charges state that Mr. Angle had been told by Varian that his employment contract would be terminated in October, 2003. It alleged that he vented his frustration by remotely logging into Varian’s computer server in Gloucester, MA and intentionally deleting source code associated with e-commerce software he and others had been developing for Varian. He is accused of then editing computer activity logs to hide his tracks and changing the server’s root password to make it difficult for other Varian employees to log in and repair the damage. Varian was ultimately able to recover the deleted files from backups, but the recovery effort cost the company approximately $26,455. If convicted, Mr. Angle faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, along with restitution to Varian. Story Sources Title: Former Employee Of A Massachusetts High-Technology Firm Charged With Computer Hacking Author: Date: 8/23/2004 Publication: U.S. Attorney Press Release Publication Location: Boston MA USA Publication URL: http://www.cybercrime.gov/angleCharged.htm Do you have additional information to contribute regarding this story? If so, please email siteupdates@passwordresearch.com with the details and source.
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