Here’s another reminder of the damage a disgruntled IT professional can cause.
In 2009, Walter Powell was fired from his job as the IT manager at Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems.
As some folks will do when they’re angry and have the knowledge and resources to cause trouble, Powell immediately began working on his revenge.
He used keylogging software installed on his former co-workers’ computers to learn critical organization passwords.
His big event: When the BSAS CEO was giving a presentation to the nonprofit’s board of directors, Powell gained access to his PowerPoint presentation and replaced some of the slides with pornographic images.
While the incident was no-doubt embarrassing, the prank also caused significant financial damage. The organization estimated the costs to be around $80,000, including the effort spent changing access controls and upgrading security measures. Powell also carried out some other mischief, such as sending emails impersonating the CEO.
For what it’s worth, Powell was punished for his actions, as the Baltimore Sun reports. He was given a two-year suspended sentence, 100 hours of community service and three years of probation after pleading guilty to the comparatively boring-sounding “unlawful access to a computer causing it to malfunction” and “possessing a pass code without authorization.”