Computer hacking charges for Jersey City man

Wednesday, April 06, 2011
By SUMMER DAWN HORTILLOSA
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City network engineer has been charged with hacking into the corporate computer network of Gucci America Inc., officials said.

Sam Chihlung Yin, 34, was fired by the Manhattan-based affiliate of the Italian fashion company in May 2010 and retaliated by infiltrating the company's computer system, according to a statement from New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

While he was working for the luxury goods retailer, Yin used a fictitious name to create a virtual private network token, a USB-sized device that allows company employees to access the Gucci network remotely, Vance said.

After he was forced to leave the company for unrelated reasons, Yin took the token with him and emailed Gucci's IT department using the fake name, tricking them into activating the device, Vance said.

Yin, who understood the company's network configuration, hacked into and devastated the system, destroying several virtual servers, deleting important files and crippling the company's network, Vance said.

Gucci employees were unable to access documents and email for 24 hours and its IT department struggled to restore the system, Vance said.

Overall, the company lost $200,000 in "diminished productivity, restoration and remediation measures and other expenses," Vance said.

Yin is charged in a 50-count indictment with computer tampering, identity theft, falsifying business records, computer trespass and other related charges.

www.gucci.com

Booted techie hijacked Gucci: Cy

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 4:22 AM, April 5, 2011

He's the Grinch who stole Gucci -- at least for one day last summer.

A disgruntled former computer tech at Gucci's US headquarters in Manhattan was slammed with a 50-count indictment yesterday on a charge of hacking into the company's system and wreaking havoc, prosecutors said.

The high-tech mischief, done allegedly by Sam Chihlung Yin, 34, of Jersey City, crashed the computers of the luxury-goods retailer for nearly 24 hours one day in June, leaving Gucci unable to access documents and e-mail, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said in announcing Yin's indictment.

Store managers across the country, along with the online-sales staff, were hamstrung all day, resulting in some $200,000 in sales losses, Vance said.

Other documents and e-mails were zapped into oblivion permanently, prosecutors said.

Yin had been terminated from Gucci for abusing his employee discount by buying Gucci goods in bulk, then shipping them to Asia for resale, Assistant District Attorney Ehren Reynolds said.

He pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court and was released without bail.

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Former Gucci Employee Charged in Computer Hacking Case

By CHAD BRAY

NEW YORK?A former Gucci America Inc. computer network engineer was charged with remotely taking over the company's computers, shutting down servers and deleting emails, Manhattan prosecutors said on Monday.

Sam Chihlung Yun, 34 years old, allegedly created an account in the name of a fictional employee and used it to access the company's network after he was fired in May 2010, prosecutors said. He allegedly caused more than $200,000 in diminished productivity, as well as remediation costs, prosecutors said.

"Computer hacking is not a game," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said. "It is a serious threat to corporate security that can have a devastating effect on personal privacy, jobs, and the ability of a business to function at all."

Mr. Yun, of Jersey City, N.J., has been charged in a 50-count indictment with unauthorized used of a computer, unlawful duplication of computer-related material and other charges. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance after a hearing on Monday.

A lawyer for Mr. Yun didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment Monday.

Write to Chad Bray at chad.bray@dowjones.com

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