http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-22/1178721792316560.xml&coll=2 BY ART AISNER News Staff Reporter May 09, 2007 An Ann Arbor man was federally charged Tuesday with hacking into the computer system of his former employer in Waterford and tampering with sensitive personal data, officials said. Court documents allege that Joseph Patrick Nolan accessed the computer system of Pentastar, which handles flight operations for several large automotive companies in the state, and that he deleted critical employment records about two weeks after he resigned in January. The company told authorities the action caused roughly $34,000 in damages. Also Tuesday, Nolan resigned from his job as a senior infrastructure specialist in the Information Technology Department for the city of Ann Arbor, according to a city official. Nolan was hired by Ann Arbor in February at an annual salary of $75,000. He was expected to return to work Tuesday after a vacation, but he instead resigned, said Tom Crawford, the city's chief financial officer. Nolan declined to discuss the case when he was reached by telephone Tuesday afternoon. Nolan was arraigned in federal court in Detroit on one count of computer intrusion. He was released on $10,000 personal bond. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 29. A complaint filed by the FBI charges that Nolan was upset about being released from Pentastar sooner than he had anticipated. The documents allege that Nolan gave a two-week notice Jan. 15 that he was resigning, but two days later, company officials told him not return. Representatives at Pentastar said he would be paid for those final two weeks if he signed a separation agreement by Jan. 26, but he did not sign the document, court documents indicate. Officials with Pentastar told authorities that their firewall system was compromised and an entire computer drive of personal employee information was deleted, records stated. The complaint charges that Nolan was one of only three people who knew the needed passwords to log into the company's computer system at that time. Federal investigators said they traced the intrusion to Nolan's Ann Arbor apartment, which is served by multiple wireless networks. _____________________________________________________ Attend Black Hat USA, July 28-August 2 in Las Vegas, the world's premier technical event for ICT security experts. Featuring 30 hands-on training courses and 90 Briefings presentations with lots of new content and new tools. Network with 4,000 delegates from 70 nations. Visit product displays by 30 top sponsors in a relaxed setting. Rates increase on June 1 so register today. http://www.blackhat.com
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