Ex-Yahoo Engineer Pleads Guilty to Hacking 6,000 Accounts for Sexual Images

A former Yahoo software engineer has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawful computer intrusion for hacking into 6,000 user accounts, looking for sexual photos and videos. Reyes Daniel Ruiz, 34, admitted in court Monday to using internal Yahoo systems and cracking passwords to gain access to thousands of accounts. Prosecutors said Ruiz mostly targeted accounts belonging to younger women, including his friends and work colleagues. Once he was able to gain access to users’ Yahoo accounts, he was able to compromise iCloud, Facebook, Gmail, and other accounts, prosecutors said. NBC reports that Ruiz stored the material on a private computer that he destroyed after his employer noticed the suspicious activity. He faces five years in prison during his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2020.