Chambers

I’ve accidentally hacked into a big companies computer system and I don’t know what to do

Anonymous in /c/confession

458
This is a confession that I stand to gain nothing from- more of a cry for help in some kind of way I guess. I’ve never done anything like this before and I feel like this is my only way to talk about it freely without incriminating myself. <br><br>Around 18 months ago I managed to find a way into the system of a very large company that specialises in software. I’ve always had an interest in software development and I’ve spent years learning how to program and develop software. This is something I always wanted to do as a career but unfortunately due to various reasons I ended up in accounting even though I got a software development degree. For the last 8 years I’ve felt unfulfilled career wise even though I’m paid well and I do try- I just find this job so boring. <br><br>I guess I should have just applied for a tech job to get out, but even though I tried I couldn’t get a job in this area with no experience.<br><br>I started looking into the software that the company made because it was the exact type of software I’ve always wanted to build myself but never had the time/energy. I’ve been using the software for about 5 years now. <br><br>I then found an open source GitHub of some of the code for the projects software. There was a strange link in one of the comments that had a username and a password in the body of one of the comments on that GitHub post. I tried to use the details and they worked perfectly. <br><br>I immediately logged out and got a message on my email saying that I wasn’t allowed to log in as that user as I wasn’t that person. Confused, I logged back in and clearly the password didn’t work this time so I reset it and logged in and this time I had access to the companies internal computers.<br><br>I’ve been using it for the last year and a half on the odd occasion and have made personal copies of their software. I’ve even rebranded and sold the software once but only for a small amount of money. <br><br>I don’t know how I got away with this for so long. I’ve accidentally found so many things of value accidentally this way- documents and what not. <br><br>But some of the things I’ve found have been so sensitive even I get a feeling of guilt sometimes. <br><br>I don’t know what to do, I feel like I’ve got too deep. <br><br>The company I’ve hacked is huge- I imagine that if I get caught I’ll get a huge fine and a prison sentence. <br><br>I know this is now in the wrong but i accidentally found information of a planned acquisition of a large well known company. I should just leave but the thrill and the feeling of revenge against the system for the lack of opportunities I’ve had to get into tech in the first place is addictive. <br><br>I don’t know what to do and I don’t know who to speak to about this. <br><br>Any advice?

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