Chief U.S. District Court Judge Joy Flowers Conti, of the Western district of Pennsylvania, imposed the sentence on Mr. Coughlin Sept. 13.
Centerville Clinics hired Brandon A. Coughlin, 29, as an in-house computer systems administrator January 16, 2013. Nearly one month later, February 4, 2013, he resigned at the request of management.
On Sept. 18, 2013, Mr. Coughlin used administrative passwords, which had remained unchanged since his employment, to hack computer networks and disable all administrative accounts. He deleted users’ network shares, business data and patient health information, including medical records. This hack caused the clinic to cease medical treatment of its patients until its systems were restored, costing Centerville approximately $60,000.
Mr. Coughlin also admitted to committing wire fraud, in which he breached the clinic’s email server and attempted to access the clinic’s Staples account to purchase an iPad Air tablet.
Becker’s has reached out to Centerville Clinics for comment. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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