Computer engineer hacks own company and demands $750,000 ransom

• Unauthorised access to the domain administrator account allowed Rhyne to manipulate access rights and policies, effectively locking out legitimate administrators from the network.

The case of Daniel Rhyne, a resident of Warren County, New Jersey, a seemingly ordinary infrastructure engineer at a major US industrial firm, highlights the growing threat of insider cybercrime and the potential for significant damage inflicted by individuals exploiting their positions of trust.

The incident, which unfolded in late 2023, paints a chilling picture of how a seemingly innocuous act of creating a hidden virtual machine (VM) could escalate into a full-blown ransomware attack, crippling a company’s operations and demanding a hefty ransom.

Rhyne’s alleged actions, as outlined in court documents, demonstrate a calculated and meticulous approach to orchestrating his cybercriminal scheme.

He leveraged his expertise as a core infrastructure engineer, utilising his intimate knowledge of the company’s network to create a clandestine VM.

This secret server served as his staging ground, allowing him to access the company’s administrative domain with unauthorised privileges, effectively becoming a digital ghost within the system.

Rhyne’s actions began subtly, with the creation of the hidden VM on November 10th, 2023. Over the next two weeks, he allegedly accessed the VM multiple times, meticulously planning his attack. His web searches reveal a clear intent, focused on learning the precise commands necessary to manipulate administrative accounts and passwords, ultimately culminating in a calculated breach of the company’s domain administrator account on November 25th.

The mundane act triggered a cascade of events, culminating in the company’s nightmare scenario. The unauthorised access to the domain administrator account allowed Rhyne to manipulate access rights and policies, effectively locking out legitimate administrators from the network. This was followed by the chilling email, delivered from an external address, informing the company of their compromised status and outlining the grim conditions for their recovery.

The ransom demand, €700,000 in Bitcoin (approximately $750,000 at the time), served as a stark reminder of the financial stakes involved in such cyberattacks.

Rhyne threatened to further cripple the company’s operations by shutting down additional servers if the ransom wasn’t paid. The sheer audacity of this act, coupled with the potential for significant financial and operational damage, showcases the severity of this case.

The meticulous investigation conducted by law enforcement revealed a trail of digital evidence pointing directly to Rhyne.

His connection to the hidden VM, access logs from his company computer and user account, and the matching web searches provided irrefutable evidence of his involvement.

These details paint a picture of deliberate planning and execution, highlighting the potential for damage when individuals with privileged access exploit their knowledge for malicious purposes.