"A Los Angeles federal grand jury indicted a disgruntled tech employee Tuesday on allegations of temporarily disabling a computer system detecting pipeline leaks for three oil derricks off the Southern California coast.

Mario Azar, 28, faces a maximum 10-year term after being accused of purposely impairing a computer system that monitored for leaks on three Pacific Energy Resources platforms offshore of Huntington Beach.

"It was offline. The leak-detection system was rendered inoperable for a period of time," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for Los Angeles federal prosecutors.

Azar did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment."

Read more: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/03/feds-hacker-dis.html