This is every IT executive's worst nightmare. It appears to be a classic case of a disgruntled employee seeking revenge. Danielle Duann, 51, the former IT director for a nonprofit organ and tissue donation center, pleaded guilty in Texas federal court last week to breaking into the organization's computer network, according to PCworld.com. Authorities said she deleted organ donation database records, invoice files, and database and accounting software including backups.

Duann had been fired as director of information technology in 2005 from LifeGift Organ Donation Center in Houston, which provides organ procurement services for more than 200 Texas hospitals. Duann gained unauthorized access to the LifeGift network through a remote connection from her home.

She tried to conceal her activities by disabling the computer logging functions and erasing the computer logs that recorded her remote entry, according to the report from PCWorld.com. Her prosecution raises a serious question for IT security everywhere: When someone leaves your company, for whatever reason, are they locked out of your system forever?

For more on the break-in:
- see this PCworld.com article

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