In brief: Ruiz was charged with one count of computer intrusion and one count of interception of a wire communication although per his plea agreement, he only pled guilty to the computer intrusion charge. He is currently out on bail as he awaits sentencing on February 3, 2020.
A former Yahoo software engineer has pleaded guilty to using his position within the company to hack into nearly 6,000 Yahoo accounts in search of sexually explicit images and videos.
Reyes Daniel Ruiz said he primarily targeted accounts belonging to younger women, some of which were personal friends and work colleagues. He copied the data he found in the accounts and stored it on a computer at his home, the Department of Justice said in a statement.
Not content with his haul, Ruiz took it a step further by accessing the iCloud, Facebook, Dropbox, Gmail and other online accounts of his victims in search of additional material.
When Ruiz became suspicious that his employer might be on to his activity, he destroyed the computer and hard drive containing the stolen data.
According to ZDNet, Ruiz was employed by Yahoo for more than a decade and held multiple positions at the company. He is currently employed by a Silicon Valley tech company that specializes in single sign-on solutions, the site added.
The 34-year-old faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution.
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Masthead credit: Yahoo notice by dennizn