Two Virginia twin brothers were arrested for their alleged roles in destroying government databases hosted by a federal government contractor, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both 34 years old, were indicted in November for allegedly plotting to destroy databases used to store government information.
Muneeb was charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and to destroy records, two counts of computer fraud, theft of government records, and two counts of aggravated identity theft, while Sohaib was charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, destroying records, and computer fraud.
Bloomberg News reported in May how the two former federal contractors had compromised data across many government agencies, which includes the Internet Revenue Service (IRS) and the General Services Administration (GSA).
The Akhter brothers also pled guilty in 2016 to federal charges of conspiracy regarding data breaches at the State Department and a cosmetics company. The two worked at Opexus, a federal contractor that helped process government records.
Fox News Digital wrote:
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.
After deleting the DHS database, Muneeb Akhter allegedly asked an artificial intelligence platform how to clear system logs after deleting databases.
The brothers reportedly discussed cleaning their house, worrying about a potential police search of their property.
Muneeb Akhter obtained information from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission without approved access after he was terminated from Opexus and was accused of having stolen copies of IRS information stored on a virtual machine, which included personal information as well as tax information at least 450 people.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti of the Justice Department Criminal Division said in a statement, “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.”
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