Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 1 day ago
Former Industrial Firm Engineer Sentenced for Cyber Extortion Plot
Daniel Rhyne, a former infrastructure engineer at an industrial firm headquartered in New Jersey, was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison.
In November 2023, he set computer tasks that would delete administrator accounts and change passwords across the company’s servers and workstations.
The changes blocked the firm from accessing its systems and data.
Rhyne then demanded 20 bitcoin, worth about $750,000 at the time, and threatened to shut down servers unless he was paid.
The firm investigated the disruption and worked with the FBI, which traced the unauthorized activity to Rhyne.
He pleaded guilty to extortion and intentionally damaging a protected computer.
The sources do not say that the firm paid the ransom.
Daniel Rhyne was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison for a ransom plot targeting his employer.
The Kansas City man had worked as a core infrastructure engineer at an industrial firm headquartered in Somerset County, New Jersey.
In November 2023, he set tasks that disrupted the company’s access to systems and data.
He demanded 20 bitcoin, worth about $750,000 at the time, and threatened further damage if it was not paid.
The company began an internal investigation and involved the FBI, which traced the activity to Rhyne.
- Who
- Daniel Rhyne, a former core infrastructure engineer at the targeted firm.
- What
- He was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to crimes related to a ransom attack against his employer.
- When
- He was sentenced on September 28, 2026. The attack took place in November 2023.
- Where
- The firm was headquartered in Somerset County, New Jersey. Rhyne was sentenced in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey.
- Why
- He sought a ransom of 20 bitcoin and threatened further damage to the firm’s systems if it was not paid.
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Rhyne placed scheduled tasks on the firm’s domain controller to alter accounts and passwords, disrupting access to systems and data.
The scheduled tasks were completed, and employees received an email demanding 20 bitcoin and threatening further shutdowns.
FBI Special Agent Timothy Lee filed a criminal complaint.
Rhyne was arrested in Kansas City.
Rhyne pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey.
Rhyne was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison.
- Sentence
- 32 months in federal prison
- Ransom demand
- 20 bitcoin, worth approximately $750,000 at the time
- Disrupted accounts
- 13 domain administrator accounts and 301 domain user accounts
- Affected systems
- 254 servers and 3,284 workstations
- Arrest
- August 27, 2024, in Kansas City
Sources
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