Federal Reserve Software Snatched, U.S. Says

MANHATTAN (CN) - Federal prosecutors accused a contract employee of stealing proprietary software code from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Bo Zhang, a computer programmer, was arrested Wednesday.

Zhang, 32, of Queens, aka Bryan Zhang, is accused of stealing code for the Government-wide Accounting and Reporting program, or GWA. The program, owned by the Department of the Treasury keeps tracks federal money. Among other things, the GWA handles ledger accounting for each appropriation, fund, and receipt within the [Department of the Treasury], and provides federal agencies with an account statement - similar to bank statements provided to bank customers - of the agencies' account balances with the United States Treasury. The proprietary computer source code associated with the GWA is maintained by the Federal Reserve Board of New York ... in an access-controlled electronic repository," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

"Zhang stated that he used the GWA code in connection with a private business he ran training individuals in computer programming," prosecutors said.

If convicted of stealing the proprietary computer code, Zhang faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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