Article Details

British IT worker sentenced to seven months after trashing company network. Don't leave the door open to disgruntled workers. A judge has sentenced a disgruntled IT worker to more than seven months in prison after he wreaked havoc on his employer's network following his suspension, according to West Yorkshire Police. According to the police, Mohammed Umar Taj, 31, from the Yorkshire town of Batley, was suspended from his job in nearby Huddersfield in July 2022. But the company didn't immediately rescind his network credentials, and within hours, he began altering login names and passwords to disrupt operations, the statement says. The following day, he allegedly changed access credentials and the biz's multi-factor authentication settings that locked out the firm and its clients in Germany and Bahrain, eventually causing an estimated £200,000 in lost business and reputational harm. "Taj set out to get revenge on his employer following his suspension from work. He did so by targeting their IT system, which he had privileged access to," said Detective Sergeant Lindsey Brants of West Yorkshire Police’s Cyber Crime Team in a statement. "By doing this, he created a ripple effect of disruption far beyond the shores of the UK." In Leeds Crown Court, Taj reportedly pleaded guilty to one count of committing unauthorized acts with intent to impair the operation of or to hinder access to a computer. According to local media, he logged his attacks and discussed them on phone calls that were later retrieved by the police. Curiously, Taj is listed as currently the director of electrical company TJ Performance, which is based at his home address. Given the number of stories The Register has recounted of similar rogue admins taking revenge, you'd think companies would be a bit smarter about locking down credentials the second they take action against an employee, particularly if they have privileged access to the network. However, it seems there are some who haven't got the message yet.