A former system administrator for UBS PaineWebber was arraigned in a New Jersey federal court Tuesday on charges of sabotaging two-thirds of the company"s computer systems in an attempt to crash its stock price.
A two-count indictment charged 60-year-old Roger Duronio with being behind the more than $3 million in damage caused when malicious programs placed on some 1,000 of UBS PaineWebber"s nearly 1,500 computers became active on March 4 and deleted files. The indictment alleges that the Bogota, N.J., resident, who had left UBS PaineWebber 10 days before the deletion of the files, would have profited if the company"s stock had fallen as a result of the attack.
"Cybercrime against financial institutions is a significant issue," District Attorney Christopher J. Christie said in a statement. "Although the damage was contained in this case, the potential for catastrophic damage in other cases is always there."