Five employees of UK-based security firm Quadsys pleaded guilty in court last week, admitting to hacking into the servers of an unnamed rival company. The names of these five individuals are Paul Streeter (owner of Quadsys), Paul Cox (CEO), Alistair Barnard (Director), Steve Davies (Account Manager), and Jon Townsend (Security Consultant).
On Thursday, July 21, the five defendants pleaded guilty to the charge of unauthorized access to computer material to facilitate the commission of the offense.
According to a Register reporter who was present at the trial, their offense is punishable by up to 12 months in prison or a fine, if based on a summary conviction, or up to five years in prison or a fine, based on an indictment.
The incident came to light in March 2015, when police arrested the group. The lawsuit was filed in August 2015. Initially, the group was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Authorities also charged him with obtaining unauthorized access to computer material with intent to commit an offence. The group has pleaded not guilty to that charge. A second court appearance on that charge will be held on September 9.
Quadsys is a small security company based in Oxford, a reseller of security products and a provider of security services, which works with major companies such as Microsoft, Trend Micro, Apple, Adobe, Kaspersky, ESET, Avast, HP, IBM, Samsung, and others.
