Anyone who fires someone who knows their company network inside and out should examine their security. The following criminal case from the USA could serve as a textbook example.
The teaser image is a symbolic image.
How did he manage that? According to a statement from the US justice authorities, a former employee of an unnamed industrial company is said to have taken control of the system by accessing it via the Internet.
He is accused of changing passwords, thereby locking out the administrators. He also deleted important servers and backups. He then wrote a serious email.
The defendant has not yet been convicted, so the presumption of innocence still applies.
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Failed blackmail
What was in the email? On November 23, 2023, he wrote a demand to senior representatives of the company in which he threatened to cause further damage if his demands were not met; a classic blackmail using an IT system as a hostage.
If a ransom of around 680,000 euros is not paid, he would destroy more servers or backups every day.
Was he caught? Yes, we don’t know exactly how much damage he ultimately caused, but at the end of August 2024, he found himself handcuffed. The US citizen was brought to court and released. He is now awaiting trial. According to authorities, they were able to trace the email address used for the blackmail back to him.
What exactly is he being accused of?
An employee of a US security company has turned out to be a particular danger. Behind the supposedly qualified and committed young software engineer was a spy from a country that the USA considers hostile. He sneaked in skillfully, but his impatience was his undoing. The new colleague is a cybercriminal from North Korea: US computer security company escapes attack