Ex-Engineer Sentenced for Network Hacking and Bitcoin Ransom Demand

Key Summary

A disgruntled former engineer in Missouri has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for hacking into his employer's computer network and demanding a large Bitcoin ransom. The engineer, Daniel Rhyne, pleaded guilty to extortion and intentional damage to a protected computer, and his sentence was handed down by a U.S. District Judge. The case involved unauthorized remote desktop sessions, deleted network administrator accounts, and a ransom demand of approximately 20 Bitcoin, valued at over $1.6 million at the time of writing.