Concise Summary:
A 55-year-old software developer, Davis Lu, has been convicted of intentionally damaging Eaton Corp.'s network, causing estimated losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lu, who worked for the company for eleven years before becoming disgruntled by a corporate restructuring in 2018, planted malicious code that disrupted Eaton’s operations through “infinite loops” and a “kill switch” activated upon his termination in 2019. This kill switch was named after Lu himself, indicating his deliberate intent to cause significant disruption. The DOJ alleges that Lu used the code to sabotage productivity and caused system crashes, aiming to inflict financial damage on Eaton Corp. Lu plans to appeal the verdict.
Key Points:
- Here are five key points extracted from the article:.
- A 55-year-old software developer named Davis Lu has been convicted of intentionally damaging Eaton Corp.'s network with malicious code.
- Lu’s actions caused significant financial losses for Eaton Corp., estimated in hundreds of thousands of dollars, by disrupting its operations through sabotage.
- Lu developed and deployed various forms of malicious code over a period of years, including “infinite loops” that deleted coworker profiles, prevented logins, and caused system crashes.
- To further his plan to damage Eaton Corp., Lu named some of the malicious codes with Japanese words for destruction (“Hakai”) and Chinese words for lethargy (“HunShui”), highlighting his intention to cause harm.
- The most destructive element of Lu’s actions was a “kill switch” named “IsDLEnabledinAD,” which automatically activated on the day he was terminated, effectively disrupting Eaton Corp.'s entire network globally.
Archive Links:
12ft: https://12ft.io/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/fired-coder-faces-10-years-for-revenge-kill-switch-he-named-after-himself/
archive.org: Developer convicted for “kill switch” code activated upon his termination - Ars Technica
archive.is: https://archive.is/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/fired-coder-faces-10-years-for-revenge-kill-switch-he-named-after-himself/
archive.ph: https://archive.ph/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/fired-coder-faces-10-years-for-revenge-kill-switch-he-named-after-himself/
archive.today: https://archive.today/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/fired-coder-faces-10-years-for-revenge-kill-switch-he-named-after-himself/
Original Link: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/fired-coder-faces-10-years-for-revenge-kill-switch-he-named-after-himself/
User Message: Developer convicted for “kill switch” code activated upon his termination - Ars Technica
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