A computer engineer who allegedly held San Francisco’s computer system hostage was denied a reduction in his $5 million bond Wednesday after the prosecutor said the system had been rigged to melt down during routine maintenance.

Earlier that week, Terry Childs, 43, gave the disputed password to the system to Mayor Gavin Newsom in a jailhouse meeting arranged by his lawyer, The San Francisco Chronicle reported the mayor next gave the password to a team from Cisco Systems which had

been working to open up the city’s FiberWAN network.

However, the password did not work initially, prompting the mayor to signal Childs for clarification. The Chronicle said Childs soon after gave the mayor lost protocols to go with the password and the city regained control of its system.

Bond More Than for Murder

Childs has been charged with causing a loss of more than $200,000 and four counts of felony […]

Orginal post by Top Tech News