Tags: Fired Software Developer Convicted of Sabotaging Employer’s Network in Revenge Hack
A disgruntled ex-employee just learned the hard way that digital revenge can come with a hefty price tag—and possible prison time.
Davis Lu, 55, of Houston, was convicted by a federal jury for unleashing malicious code on his former employer’s network, causing massive system crashes and locking out thousands of users worldwide.
Lu, a longtime software developer for an Ohio-based company, didn’t take kindly to a corporate shakeup in 2018 that stripped him of responsibilities. Instead of moving on, he spent months plotting his retaliation. By August 2019, he had embedded code designed to crash company servers, delete coworker profiles, and trigger a “kill switch” that would lock out all employees the moment his own credentials were disabled.
And in true villain fashion, he gave his code ominous names—“Hakai” (Japanese for “destruction”), “HunShui” (Chinese for “lethargy”), and the pièce de résistance, “IsDLEnabledinAD” (a nod to himself, meaning “Is Davis Lu enabled in Active Directory”).
When Lu was fired on September 9, 2019, his revenge plan activated, locking out thousands of employees worldwide and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. Before handing over his company laptop, he made one last move—deleting encrypted data. Investigators later discovered he had been researching ways to escalate privileges, hide his tracks, and wipe files at lightning speed.
Now, Lu faces up to 10 years in federal prison for his digital sabotage. His sentencing date is still pending, but one thing is clear—burning bridges with a few lines of malicious code is never a good career move.
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“If I can’t have this job, NO ONE CAN” approach to career transitions. Nothing says professionalism like nuking your former employer’s network because they had the audacity to fire you.
I mean, revenge fantasies are one thing, but actually logging in and sabotaging systems? That’s next-level unhinged. Did this guy think he’d win somehow? “That’ll show ‘em! Now they really won’t hire me back!” Genius move.
Meanwhile, the company probably had to spend months untangling the mess while this guy enjoyed his brief moment of hacker glory before the inevitable FBI knock at the door. Hope he enjoys his new “job” making license plates—no admin privileges required.
How many people work with a guy like Lu?
The Post Office is hiring :)
Wonder if he was playing “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys before he went awall.
Ah, the digital age’s version of a mic drop—except instead of a dramatic exit, it’s a self-activated kill switch that crashes your former employer’s systems. Davis Lu, a 55-year-old software developer from Houston, took the term “exit strategy” to a whole new level when he embedded malicious code into Eaton Corporation’s network, ensuring that if his account was ever disabled, chaos would ensue.
this story is both fascinating and unsettling. A software developer sabotaging his former employer’s network with a self-activated “kill switch” sounds like something straight out of a cyber-thriller. It’s alarming to see how insider threats can manifest, especially when someone with deep system knowledge turns rogue.
The fact that Davis Lu, a seasoned developer, embedded malicious code that triggered upon his termination, causing widespread system crashes and user lockouts, underscores the critical need for robust security protocols and access controls within organizations. It’s a stark reminder that technical expertise, when misused, can lead to significant operational disruptions and financial losses.
This incident highlights the importance of implementing stringent offboarding procedures, regular code audits, and monitoring for anomalous activities, especially from employees who have experienced demotions or other grievances. Organizations must remain vigilant to prevent such acts of sabotage and protect their digital infrastructure