Rogue San Fran Sysadmin Found Guilty

By Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
Article Date: 2010-04-29

The system administrator who made national headlines after locking the city of San Francisco out of its own network has been found guilty of computer tampering. Terry Childs now faces the possibility of a five-year prison sentence, with sentencing scheduled to occur on June 14th.

As you may remember, Childs learned that he would soon lose his job, and then spent 12 days in the middle of 2008 refusing to share passwords to San Francisco's network. There was some concern he'd set virtual traps, and people were also worried that the lockout might affect the function of vital systems.

Finally, after being jailed, Childs turned the passwords over to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. But that series of events didn't sit well with the city, which claimed Childs caused it to incur over $200,000 in costs. And now, after about three days of deliberation, a jury has agreed with that assessment and found Childs guilty on one charge.

Again, then, Childs is facing a maximum sentence of five years. Or as Brent Begin of the San Francisco Examiner noted, "Childs already has served 21 months in San Francisco County Jail and could possibly be released soon after sentencing . . . ."

The outcome is something that even system administrators who don't plan to go rogue might want to monitor.

About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.