According to a statement, a man from India was sentenced to two years in jail by a US court in California after he hacked his company’s server and deleted over 1,200 Microsoft user accounts after being fired.
Deepanshu Kher was arrested on January 11, 2021, while flying from India to the United States, unaware of the arrest warrant for his arrest.
“This act of sabotage was destructive for this company,” said Acting US Attorney Randy Grossman on Tuesday.
Deepanshu Kher carried out a major and sophisticated assault on the company, which was intended and obviously meant as vengeance, according to US District Court Judge Marilyn Huff, who handed down the sentence.
Deepanshu Kher was sentenced to two years in prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution to the Company of USD 567,084, the amount the Company paid to solve the problems caused by Deepanshu Kher.
Deepanshu Kher worked for an information technology consulting company from 2017 to May 2018, according to court filings. The Carlsbad Company hired the consultancy firm in 2017. This was to help with the company’s transition to Microsoft Office 365 (MS O365). Deepanshu Kher, a consultant from the firm, was dispatched to the company’s Carlsbad headquarters to help with the migration.
The company was unhappy with Deepanshu Kher’s job and expressed their displeasure to the consulting firm shortly after he arrived. Deepanshu Kher was fired from the consultancy firm’s offices in January 2018.
What Happened After His Return To India?
Deepanshu Kher was fired from the company a few months later, on May 4, 2018, and went to India a couple of months later, in June 2018.
Deepanshu Kher accessed the Carlsbad Company’s server on August 8, 2018, two months after his arrival in India, and deleted over 1,200 of the company’s 1,500 MS O365 user profiles.
According to federal prosecutors, the attack from India affected the majority of the company’s employees and forced the company to shut down for two days.
As the company’s Vice President of Information Technology (IT) explained, the impact was felt inside and outside the company.
“Employees’ accounts were deleted – they could not access their email, their contacts lists, their meeting calendars, their documents, corporate directories, video, and audio conferences, and Virtual Teams environment necessary for them to perform their jobs,” prosecutors said.
