A former software developer who sabotaged his previous employer’s network by deploying “Kill Switch” after quitting the company was given a four-year prison sentence.
Davis Lu, 55, a software developer was found guilty of installing a “kill switch” on his previous employer’s network by inserting malicious malware that would cause its servers to fail if he were dismissed.
The kill switch, “IsDLEnabledinAD,” which asked whether Lu’s account was still active in the business’s Active Directory, was triggered when the company fired Lu and disabled his credentials. Thousands of workers were prevented from using the company’s systems as a result of the incident.
The event apparently cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, according to the Justice Department, which pursued the case. Lu’s employer, Eaton, a power tech business, was not identified.
According to the Justice Department, Lu’s internet search history, which includes looking for “methods to escalate privileges, hide processes, and rapidly delete files,” played a role in his discovery.
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