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5h ago

Davis Lu Sentenced to Four Years for Insider 'Kill Switch' Attack on Employer

Prosecutors cite a kill switch tied to his Active Directory status as the trigger for a companywide lockout.

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Overview

  • A federal judge on Aug. 21 sentenced Davis Lu, 55, to four years in prison plus three years of supervised release.
  • A jury in March found him guilty of intentionally damaging protected computers after a long tenure as a software developer at a Beachwood, Ohio–based company.
  • Prosecutors said he planted Java infinite loops, deleted profile files, and built a kill switch labeled IsDLEnabledinAD that activated when his account was disabled on Sept. 9, 2019, locking out thousands of users and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
  • Investigators reported he deleted encrypted data on his company laptop and had searched for ways to escalate privileges, hide processes, and rapidly erase files.
  • The FBI Cleveland Field Office led the investigation and CCIPS with the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted; separate reporting identifies the employer as Eaton.