A former information technology manager has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a cyberattack that targeted the computer network of a Massachusetts high school that had recently fired him, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Conor LaHiff, 30, of Ayer, was charged with one count of unauthorized damage to protected computers, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts said. He is expected to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
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According to court documents, LaHiff worked as a desktop and network manager at a public high school in Essex County until he was fired in June of 2023. After he was fired, he allegedly used his administrative privileges to deactivate and delete thousands of Apple IDs from the school's Apple School Manager account, software used to manage student, faculty and staff information technology resources.
He is also accused of deactivating more than 1,400 other Apple accounts and other IT administrative accounts and disabling the school's private branch phone system, which left the school without phone service for about 24 hours.
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The charge calls for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
No further details were released.
