Former National Computer Systems (NCS) employee, Candula Nagaraj, has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for unauthorized access to computer systems. He was found guilty of destroying 180 test servers belonging to the company, resulting in losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Nagaraj, aged 39, had his contract terminated by NCS in October 2022 due to subpar performance. He served as a quality assembly specialist responsible for testing servers to ensure the functionality of applications before they were released to customers. Court documents revealed that Nagaraj was distraught by his dismissal, believing he had made a substantial impact during his tenure at NCS.
Upon his return to Singapore, Nagaraj discovered that his access to his former employer’s system was still active. In early 2023, he decided to retaliate against NCS by utilizing online scripts to delete data, specifically targeting the company’s test servers. Over a weekend in March, he executed a script that systematically eradicated all 180 test servers.
When NCS employees returned to work on Monday, they found all test servers rendered inoperable. The company incurred a cost of $678,000 for recovery efforts, though fortunately, no sensitive customer or company data was stored on the affected servers.
Following the incident, NCS reported the matter to the police in April 2023, leading to Nagaraj’s arrest. Authorities found incriminating evidence on his laptop, including the script used for the attack and his search history related to data deletion on virtual servers.
Addressing the oversight that allowed Nagaraj’s access to remain active post-dismissal, NCS admitted it was a human error. Despite promptly blocking his access upon discovery, the damage had already been done. Nagaraj was subsequently sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.