Former Information Technology Worker at Georgetown Toyota Plant Convicted by Jury for Damaging Computer System |
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Topics: Toyota
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Kentucky
February 14, 2014
LEXINGTON, KY—A former information technology worker at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky Inc. plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, has been convicted of intentionally damaging the company’s computer systems.
Earlier this week, a federal jury in Lexington convicted 36-year-old Ibrahimshah Shahulhameed of intentionally damaging a protected computer through the transmission of malicious information, codes, and commands. The jury returned the verdict on Tuesday after approximately four hours of deliberation, following six days of trial.
Testimony at trial proved that Shahulhameed was fired from his contractor position at Toyota on August 23, 2012. During the hours following his termination, Shahulhameed used a Toyota-issued laptop and his Toyota credentials to access the company’s computer network on several occasions from his home. Shahulhameed then made numerous unauthorized changes to the programming of different Toyota computer systems. Shahulhameed also attempted to delete and alter evidence that he had changed the settings of these computer systems. Shahulhameed’s actions caused multiple Toyota computer systems to malfunction. In the months that followed, Toyota spent substantial resources diagnosing and repairing the problems that Shahulhameed caused within a seven-hour span.
The defendant was employed at Toyota as a contractor from early 2011 until August 23, 2012.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announced the conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Boone prosecuted this case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office on behalf of the federal government.
Shahulhameed will appear for sentencing on May 8, 2014. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. However, the court must consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute before imposing a sentence.