Fired cyber twins arrested in plot against gubment computer systems

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Two Virginia twin brothers were arrested for their alleged roles in deleting government databases hosted by a federal government contractor, the Justice Department announced on Wednesday.

Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both 34, were indicted last month for allegedly conspiring to delete databases used to store U.S. government information, the DOJ said in a news release.

The arrests come after Bloomberg News reported in May how the brothers allegedly compromised data across several agencies, including the IRS and the General Services Administration.

The brothers also pleaded guilty in 2015 to federal charges of conspiracy in connection with data breaches at the State Department and a cosmetics company.

Both served multiple years in prison before landing jobs as engineers for Opexus, a federal contractor that helps process U.S. government records.

Following their termination as federal contractors, the pair allegedly attempted to harm their former employer and its U.S. government customers by accessing computers without authorization, issuing commands to bar others from modifying the databases before they were removed, deleting databases, stealing information and destroying evidence of their activities, the DOJ said on Wednesday in the latest case against the two men.

In February, Muneeb Akhter deleted nearly 100 databases storing U.S. government information, with many of the databases containing Freedom of Information Act records administered by the federal government, as well as sensitive investigative files of federal government components, the indictment claims.

Department of Justice
Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both 34, were indicted for allegedly conspiring to delete databases used to store U.S. government information. (iStock)

About a minute after deleting a DHS database, Muneeb Akhter allegedly asked an artificial intelligence tool how to clear system logs after deleting databases.

The brothers also talked about cleaning out their house in anticipation of a police search. The company laptops used by the pair were wiped before they were returned to the federal contractor.

Muneeb Akhter also allegedly obtained information from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission without authorization after he was fired from the contractor. He is also accused of having stolen copies of IRS information stored on a virtual machine, including federal tax information and other identifying information of at least 450 people.

Sohaib Akhter is also accused in the indictment of trafficking in a password that could access a computer used by and for the U.S. government.

"These defendants abused their positions as federal contractors to attack government databases and steal sensitive government information. Their actions jeopardized the security of government systems and disrupted agencies’ ability to serve the American people," Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the DOJ’s Criminal Division said in a statement.

Muneeb Akhter is charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and to destroy records, two counts of computer fraud, theft of U.S. government records and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Sohaib Akhter is charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and to destroy records and computer fraud.

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