Hackers Arrested for Conspiring to Compromise Government Databases
Muneeb and Sohaib Akhtar, twin brothers from Alexandria, Virginia, were taken into custody on Wednesday. They face charges related to a conspiracy aimed at damaging governmental databases.
Having previously served their time for wire fraud and attempting to hack the U.S. State Department, the Akhtar twins were able to find work as federal contractors, which is, well, kind of ironic. One of them had even been a cybersecurity contractor there. They were employed by Opexus, a company providing sensitive data services to various federal agencies.
Opexus recently reported that they discovered a breach in February, identifying two employees as responsible for compromising their systems.
Research from Bloomberg indicated that the twins were dismissed on February 18, after receiving a warning from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation about potential blackmail stemming from their criminal histories.
Following their termination, the Akhtar brothers allegedly accessed confidential documents. They reportedly tampered with or deleted numerous databases, including sensitive information from the General Services Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.
This investigation was jointly conducted by the FBI, the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, and Homeland Security Investigations.
On November 13, the brothers were indicted for actions purportedly aimed at harming Opexus and its government clients. Charges include unauthorized computer access, issuing commands to obstruct database modifications, deleting databases, and stealing information.
The indictment asserts that Muneeb Akhtar deleted around 96 databases containing important government information, including files related to the Freedom of Information Act and other confidential investigations. Interestingly, he even asked an AI tool for ways to cover his tracks post-deletion.
After his dismissal from Opexus, Muneeb reportedly accessed data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, along with stealing IRS information involving at least 450 individuals.
Opexus declined to comment when approached for a statement.
Matthew Galeotti, an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division at the Justice Department, remarked on the severity of the brothers’ actions, stating they jeopardized government systems and affected the ability of agencies to serve the public effectively.
Muneeb Akhtar faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud and destruction of records, alongside typical computer fraud and theft charges. Sohaib Akhtar has received similar charges but with lesser potential penalties.
Sohaib might face up to six years in prison, whereas Muneeb could be looking at a minimum of two years for each aggravated identity theft charge, totaling a potential 45 years based on the other charges.
It’s worth mentioning that the twins already pleaded guilty to a different set of crimes back in 2015. Muneeb had hacked a cosmetics company’s website, stealing credit card information from thousands of customers, which they used for purchasing flights, hotel stays, and more. The brothers then sold this data on the darknet.
Another sibling utilized his role at the State Department to access personal data of various individuals, including colleagues that were probing into his activities.
Reportedly, Sohaib even lodged a complaint with the Department of Justice and conspired to maintain unauthorized access to State Department systems, collaborating with the twins to implement electronic collection devices within offices for unauthorized data access.
Years back, Muneeb hacked a Maryland data firm and provided his brother access to a database of federal contracts, aiming to gain an edge in their business pursuits.
