Developer gets 4 years for activating network “kill switch” to avenge his firing
by Ashley Belanger from Ars Technica - All content on (#6ZGJA)
A disgruntled developer has been sentenced to four years in prison after building a "kill switch" that locked all users out of a US firm's network the moment that his name was deleted from the company directory following his termination.
Davis Lu, a 55-year-old Chinese national residing in Houston, was convicted of "causing intentional damage to protected computers" in March, the US Department of Justice said in a press release announcing his sentencing Thursday.
Lu had worked at Eaton Corp. for approximately 11 years when suddenly the company reduced his responsibilities during a 2018 "realignment." Anticipating his termination was imminent, Lu began planting different forms of malicious code.