The FBI said it arrested a computer programmer in New York this week and charged him with stealing proprietary software code
from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The software known as the
Government-Wide Accounting and Reporting Program (GWA) handles all
manner of U.S. government financial transactions.
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From the FBI:
"As alleged in the complaint, between May 2011 and August 11, 2011, Bo
Zhang was a contract employee assigned to the Federal Reserve Board of
New York (FRBNY) to work on further developing a specific portion of the
GWA's source code which the United States has spent approximately $9.5
million to develop. In the summer of 2011, Zhang allegedly stole the GWA
Code.
"According to the complaint, Zhang admitted that in July 2011, while
working at the FRBNY, he checked out and copied the GWA Code onto his
hard drive at the FRBNY; he subsequently copied the GWA Code onto a
bank-owned external hard drive; and he connected that external
hard-drive to his private office computer, his home computer, and his
laptop. Zhang stated that he used the GWA Code in connection with a
private business he ran training individuals in computer programming."
"Zhang took advantage of the access that came with his trusted
position to steal highly sensitive proprietary software. His intentions
with regard to that software are immaterial. Stealing it and copying it
threatened the security of vitally important source code," said FBI
Assistant Director in Charge Janice Fedarcyk in a statement.
Now
free on bond but due back in court in February, Zhang, 32, of Queens,
New York, faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
if guilty.
While the FBI
didn't identify which company Zhang currently worked for, Bloomberg.com
reported he in the past had worked for at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)
and Bank of America Corp.
Bloomberg.com also said Matt Anderson, a Treasury spokesman, said the
department has worked to strengthen security procedures for Federal
Reserve contractors working on Financial Management Service projects.
"There was no compromise of any transaction data, personal identifying
information or federal funds," Anderson said.
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