Ex-UBS System Admin Charged In Virus Scam

December 19, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A former UBS PaineWebber system administrator is facing chares of sabotaging two-thirds of the company's computer systems to crash its stock price, according to a CNET News.com report.

Roger Duronio, currently facing as much as 20 years in prison and fines of more than $1.25 million, is charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act after causing more than $3 million in damages when his “logic bomb” computer virus went off March 4, causing 1,000 of the company’s 1,500 computer to begin deleting files.

The indictment alleges that Duronio used the company’s secure network to plant “logic bombs,” destructive computer programs that are set to trigger at a specific time, with instructions to delete all the files stored on the systems at 9:30 am on every Monday in March, April and May of 2002.

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Duronio then left company on Feburary 22, 10 days before the first trigger date. Around the same time, Duronio purchased options to sell 31,800 shares of UBS stock at an average strike price of $42.91.

However, the alleged attack failed to have the desired effect, as UBS did not make it public at the time and the company’s stock didn’t fall below $45.

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