Terminated IT manager pleads guilty in network attack of former employer

Former New Jersey public high school IT manager Conor LaHiff has entered a guilty plea for hacking the school's Apple and IT administrator accounts to disrupt its operations in retaliation to his termination in June, reports BleepingComputer. Administrative privileges have been leveraged by LaHiff to erase 1,200 Apple ID's from the high school's Apple School Manager account and deactivate the entity's security vendor and other administrative accounts, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. "LaHiff also deactivated more than 1,400 other Apple accounts and other IT administrative accounts and disabled the school's private branch phone system, which left the school's phone service unavailable for approximately 24 hours," said the Justice Department, which added that the disruption has led to financial losses of at least $5,000. LaHiff could be imprisoned for up to 10 years and be imposed a fine not exceeding $250,000 upon his sentencing in March.