Contractor indicted for sabotaging IT system he set up

Friday, March 20, 2009

A grand jury this week indicted a former IT contractor for an oil and gas company on charges that he sabotaged a computer system he was hired to set up, allegedly because he was upset at not being offered a permanent job.

Mario Azar, a 28-year-old man from Upland, California, will be charged with one count of unauthorized impairment of a protected computer, according to the U.S. attorney for the central district of California, Thomas P. O'Brien.

According to the indictment, Azar illegally accessed the PER computer system in May and June of 2008 and "caused damage by impairing the integrity and availability of data," causing thousands of dollars in damages.

Azar was an IT consultant under contract with the Long Beach-based Pacific Energy Resources, Ltd. until May 2008, when he left the company, according to a release from the U.S. attorney.

Azar was reportedly hired to help set up a computer system that PER used to communicate between its offices and its oil platforms. The computer system also was designed to detect oil leaks on the rigs.

The company said the sabotage did not result in any leaks or environmental impacts.

Security experts said the incident underlines the importance of revoking access for former employees the moment they are dismissed and setting up a strong network security system to avoid being compromised.

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