John O'Neil pleads guilty to corporate espionage

John O'Neil, former CEO of Business Engine Software, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to download and steal the trade secrets of software competitor Niku (now CA). He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine. From October 2001 until July 2002, Business Engine used the illegally obtained passwords to gain unauthorized access to Niku's systems more than 6,000 times and downloaded over 1,000 confidential documents containing trade secrets. >> Link