Article for Fun: The Childish “Childs”

?

One of the most infamous cases of damage caused by an IT technician is that of Terry Childs, a network administrator for the city of San Francisco's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services.

?

In 2008, Childs, who was responsible for managing the city's FiberWAN network, became disgruntled with his supervisors and coworkers. Feeling that he was unfairly treated and concerned about the security of the network, Childs took drastic action. He changed the administrative passwords to the network's routers and switches, effectively locking out all other administrators and denying access to critical network infrastructure.

?

Childs refused to provide the new passwords to his supervisors, even when threatened with termination and legal action. As a result, the city's network was paralyzed, and vital services such as email, payroll, and law enforcement systems were disrupted.

?

The situation escalated into a high-profile legal and technical battle, with Childs eventually being arrested and charged with multiple felony counts, including computer tampering and denial of computer services. The case went to trial, where Childs was found guilty on one felony count of denying computer services, but acquitted of the more serious charges of computer tampering.

?

The damage caused by Childs' actions was significant, both in terms of financial costs and disruption to essential city services. It highlighted the potential risks of insider threats and the importance of robust access controls and oversight in IT systems administration.

?

I would end with LOL…

ref. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-court-of-appeal/1647874.html