Former Canadian Pacific IT employee convicted of systems damage

Christopher Victor Grupe, a former employee of Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), has been convicted of causing intentional damage to the railroad’s computer system, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department.    A former employee of Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) has been convicted of causing intentional damage to the railroad’s computer system, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department.
   Christopher Victor Grupe, 46, of Minneapolis was first charged on April 11 with one count of intentional damage to a protected computer, and on Oct. 6, following a five-day trial, was found guilty by a federal jury in Minneapolis. A sentencing date has not been set.
   Grupe was employed as an IT staff by Canadian Pacific from September 2013 to December 2015. On Dec. 15, 2015, following a 12-day suspension, he was notified by the railroad’s management that he was going to be fired due to insubordination. Grupe instead resigned and promised to return all company property, including his laptop, remote access device, and access badges, to the railroad office.
   Before returning the laptop on Dec. 17, 2015, Grupe “deleted files, removed administrative-level accounts, and changed passwords on the remaining administrative-level accounts, thereby locking CPR out of these network switches,” the Justice Department said. 
   He further attempted to conceal his activity by wiping the laptop’s hard drive before returning it to the railroad.
   Canadian Pacific identified the problem on Jan. 6, 2016, when IT staff were unable to access the main network switches. The railroad also hired an outside computer security company to identify the source and level of intrusion, which further connected the damage to Grupe.  
   The Justice Department noted that Canadian Pacific experienced a financial loss of about $30,000 as a result of Grupe’s sabotage.