San Francisco's rogue BOFH is guilty

Terry Childs - the sysadmin who refused to hand back passwords to San Francisco's network - has been found guilty of computer tampering.

Although guilty of a felony Childs could be released quite soon - he's been in custody for almost two years awaiting trial.

One juror told the San Francisco Chronicle: "We had a lot of sympathy for him. He was put in a position he should not have been put in. Management did everything they possibly could wrong. There was ineffective management, ineffective communication. I think if you put the city on trial, they would be guilty too."

45-year-old Childs initially refused to hand over passwords to the city's network when he heard he was to be laid off. He said he did not consider the city's civil servants could provide security for the passwords.

He finally agreed to hand the access codes to SF Mayor Gavin Newsom during an interview from Childs' prison cell.

Childs will be back in court for sentencing on 14 June. ®