A computer programmer has been found guilty of planting a malicious script on the computer servers of former employer Fannie Mae in a bid to destroy all the firm's data.
Rajendrasinh Babubhai Makwana worked at Fannie Mae's Urbana, Maryland facility from 2006 to October 2008 as a contractor Unix engineer dealing with the company's network of around 5000 computer services.
Makwana was fired after he erroneously created a computer script that changed the settings on the Unix servers without authorisation, according to an affidavit from FBI special agent Jessica Nye.
Days later a senior engineer discovered a malicious script embedded in a routine program. A subsequent analysis of the script, computer logs, Makwana's laptop and other evidence, revealed that he had transmitted the malicious code on the day he was fired.
The code was intended to execute on 31 January 2009, propagating throughout the Fannie Mae network of computers and destroying all data, including financial, securities and mortgage information.
Makwana has now been convicted of computer intrusion by a federal jury and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison when sentenced on 8 December.