Jason Cornish, a former IT employee of Shionogi, Inc. , gained unauthorized access to the computer network.  Cornish used a Shiongi user account to access a company server.  Once the server was accessed, Cornish took control of a piece of software that he had secretly installed on a server weeks before.  He used this installed program to delete the contents of each of 15 “virtual hosts” on Shionogi’s computer network.  The virtual hosts housed the equivalent of 88 different computer servers.  The deleted servers housed most of Shionogi’s American computer infrastructure.  The attack effectively froze operations for a number of days.  The company suffered at least $800,000 in losses. 

In July, 2011, Jason Cornish was arrested by FBI agents.  He was charged with “knowingly transmitting computer code with the intent to damage computers in interstate commerce”. He faces a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The deleted servers housed most of Shionogi’s American computer infrastructure.  The attack effectively froze operations for a number of days.  The company suffered at least $300,000 in losses.