SAN JOSE – A former Stanford University employee was convicted last week of tampering with a breast cancer research study database after being fired, according to authorities.
On Feb. 21, a jury found 66-year-old Naheed Mangi guilty of two counts of intentional damage to a protected computer and one count of accessing a protected computer without authorization, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Monday.
Mangi worked as a clinical research coordinator in the Cancer Clinical Trials Office at Stanford’s National Cancer Institute from September 2012 until August 2013.
According to authorities, Mangi was assigned to a Genentech-sponsored study for breast cancer patients. The study sought to determine the safety and efficacy of a new, experimental pharmaceutical treatment for patients with metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer. Her duties included entering patient medical data into the study database.
On Aug. 19, 2013, Mangi was fired and her supervisor attempted to revoke her computer access and privileges. The supervisor emailed Genentech to terminate Mangi’s access to the database, but her credentials were not disabled until the next day.
The jury found that on Aug. 19, after Stanford revoked her access, Mangi logged into the study database and replaced patient medical data with erroneous information and insults about her former supervisor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In response, Stanford launched an internal investigation, reentered all of the data about the study participants and reported the incident to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Mangi’s actions caused thousands of dollars in loss to Stanford University and the Stanford School of Medicine, according to authorities.
“Naheed Mangi intentionally tampered with a breast cancer research database by entering false information and personal insults,” Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins said in a statement. “The jury’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for her crimes.”
When she is sentenced on July 21, Mangi faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of intentional damage to a protected computer and a maximum penalty of one year in prison for accessing a protected computer without authorization.