The employee pretended to be a blackmail software gang to blackmail the employer, but was arrested and sentenced.

CTOnews.com, July 20 (Xinhua) A former IT employee has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for posing as a blackmail software gang to blackmail his employer.

Ashley Liles, 28, a former IT security analyst at an Oxford-based company, took advantage of his position to pretend to be a ransomware gang after the company was attacked by ransomware, Bleepingcomputer reported. He put more pressure on the company to pay ransom and tried to transfer the ransom into his cryptocurrency wallet.

However, the company did not give in to blackmailers and uncovered Liles's unauthorized access to classified emails during an internal investigation. Liles deleted all the data on his personal device when he realized he was under investigation, but the cyber crime unit of the organized Crime Unit (SEROCU) in the Southeast of England confiscated his computer and successfully recovered the data to find evidence of his crime.

Liles initially vehemently denied his involvement, but at a recent court hearing, he finally pleaded guilty five years later. Liles was sentenced to three years and seven months' imprisonment for "extortion and unauthorized access to the computer with intent to commit other crimes". According to CTOnews.com, under British law, illegal access to computers is punishable by up to two years in prison, while extortion is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.