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Most computer programmers, we can assume, use their vast technical knowledge for good and \\u2013 let me just say \\u2013 whoever created the \\u201cdocument recovery\\u201d feature in Microsoft Word \\u2013 thank you from all of us who can\\u2019t be bothered to click save, even in a thunderstorm.

But despite all the life- and work-saving computer programmers out there, there are \\u2013 of course \\u2013 a few bad apples. And sometimes, their nefarious deeds are so clever, you almost want them to get away with it. Almost.

This next story involves a programmer, David Tinley, who was doing contract work for the industrial giant Siemens. Siemens had reportedly hired Tinley to produce customized spreadsheets that incorporated automation, in order to help the company manage orders for its electrical equipment.

But what Siemens didn\\u2019t know \\u2013 at least not right away \\u2013 was that Tinley was inserting what are called \\u201clogic bombs\\u201d into the spreadsheets in the way of \\u201cmalicious code\\u201d that would disrupt the way they worked after a certain amount of time. The U.S. Attorney\\u2019s Office of the Western District of Pennsylvania, who is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government, said Tinley orchestrated the malfunctions so Siemens would have to bring him back in to fix them. According to Business Insider, he was busted when one of the logic bombs went off while he was on vacation, forcing him to cough up his passwords, at which point other programmers discovered the logic bombs.

Tinley has pled guilty is now facing a fine as high as $25,000 and up to ten years in prison, but he says he really wasn\\u2019t intending to make Siemens become dependent on his work so he could keep getting paid. He claims he was instead simply protecting his proprietary work.

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