When Cybersecurity Pros Turn Criminal

Rouge cybersecurity professionals who commit computer crimes, makes the entire industry look bad! Jeffrey Bowie, CEO of a cybersecurity company, was arrested in April for manually installing malware on hospital computers in an Oklahoma hospital. He was observed via security cameras wandering the hospital and tampering with two computers, installing malware.

This character has since admitted on social media, detailing that he accessed these computers and wrote a PowerShell script that automatically took screenshots and exfiltrated hospital data to an external system he controlled.

The thought of a cybersecurity professional intentionally targeting and causing harm to hospital just makes me sick. If convicted, such a threat actor could face 10 years in prison to chill-out and consider the industry wide ramifications for their actions.

Digital ethics matter — especially in cybersecurity, where trust is our currency. We earn it in drips and lose it in buckets. If the world cannot trust cybersecurity professionals, then we have little value.