Former water utility employee gets prison time for hacking into metering systems

PHILADELPHIA, JUNE 20, 2017 -- A former radio frequency technician was sentanced to one year and one day in prison for tampering with water utility metering systems this week. Adam Flanagan. 42, of Bala Cynwyd, Penn., was sentenced to prison time for hacking into the water meters of municipal utility systems all along the East Coast.

Flanagan was ultimately sentanced to two counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer and recklessly causing damage, according to local news outlets in Philadelphia.

Flanagan was previously employed by a company that made remote meter readers for utility systems. Upon his firing. he used his knowledge of the systems' inner workings to wreak havoc on these systems. The meddling resulted in incorrect billing data and caused his former employer “a large amount of time” to investigate the problem, Metro reported.

Flanagan was sentenced under enhanced sentencing guidelines because municipal water systems are considered critical infrastructure under the law.

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