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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Hacker Deleted Entire Season, TV Station Says

HONOLULU (CN) - A children's TV network claims the Internet and data storage company CyberLynk negligently allowed a fired CyberLynk employee to break into its computers from his home and delete an entire season of the network's "Zodiac Island" TV show.

WeR1 World Network sued CyberLynk Network and its former employee, Michael Scott Jewson, in Federal Court.

WeR1 is a Hawaii-based production and distribution company that specializes in children's TV, multimedia learning software and educational games.

It says it entrusted CyberLynk with storing of its "Zodiac Island" storyboards, animation files, sound tracks and videos: product of two years of work from several hundred people, and dozens of companies in the United States and Asia.

It claims that one month after CyberLynk fired Jewson, he gained access to CyberLynk's data servers, from a computer at his parents' house, and "deliberately deleted" 304 gigabytes of WeR1 data, including 14 episodes of "Zodiac Island."

CyberLynk President Adam Hobach admitted to WeR1 CEO Ingrid Wang that CyberLynk's security and backup had failed and it could not recover all the data, the complaint states.

It adds that Jewson admitted he did it, and that although his plea agreement includes restitution, "Jewson does not have the resources to pay the amount of proposed restitution."

The first season of "Zodiac Island" ran from 2008-2009 and was broadcast on more than 100 U.S. TV stations, including ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX affiliates.

The show is based on the Chinese Zodiac Lunar Calendar and combines 12 animated characters with live child actors who, without religious or political ties, teach children about family values, ethics, cultural diversity and nature.

WeR1 seeks punitive damages for breach of contract, gross negligence, conversion and computer fraud.

It is represented by Louise Ing and Brandon Segal of Honolulu.

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