A computer consultant working for the FBI is facing jail time for accessing secret passwords of Director Robert Mueller and others in the agency, the Associated Press reports on MSNBC.com.Joseph Thomas Colon, 28, lost his job and security clearance with the FBI after admitting that he exceeded his authorized computer access on four occasions in 2004, the AP reports.He pleaded guilty on all four counts, and prosecutors recommended about a yearlong prison sentence, according to the AP. Sentencing was set for July 13.According to court documents, Colon said he and FBI IT employees in Springfield, Ill., were frustrated that bureaucratic delays kept them from carrying out even “routine and mundane tasks” in the office, the AP reports. One worker gave him a password that enabled him to bypass the delays and got him into a secret user name and password file, according to the AP. On that basis, Colon’s lawyer is asking for probation instead of prison time for Colon.FBI spokesman Paul Bresson told the AP that the agency has bolstered its security systems to help prevent unauthorized access. The FBI has spent almost $600 million to install a secure computer network—a process that began before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001—although Mueller abandoned the final phase of the project after consultants said it was obsolete, the AP reports. — Compiled by Dave GradijanKeep checking in at our Security Feed page, or subscribe via RSS, for updated news coverage. Related content news Google Chrome zero-day jumps onto CISA's known vulnerability list A serious security flaw in Google Chrome, which was discovered under active exploitation in the wild, is a new addition to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency’s Known Exploited vulnerabilities catalog. By Jon Gold Oct 03, 2023 3 mins Zero-day vulnerability brandpost The advantages and risks of large language models in the cloud Understanding the pros and cons of LLMs in the cloud is a step closer to optimized efficiency—but be mindful of security concerns along the way. By Daniel Prizmant, Senior Principal Researcher at Palo Alto Networks Oct 03, 2023 5 mins Cloud Security news Arm patches bugs in Mali GPUs that affect Android phones and Chromebooks The vulnerability with active exploitations allows local non-privileged users to access freed-up memory for staging new attacks. By Shweta Sharma Oct 03, 2023 3 mins Android Security Vulnerabilities news UK businesses face tightening cybersecurity budgets as incidents spike More than a quarter of UK organisations think their cybersecurity budget is inadequate to protect them from growing threats. By Michael Hill Oct 03, 2023 3 mins CSO and CISO Risk Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe