Virginia brothers arrested for allegedly tampering with government databases
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Sohaib Akhter (left) and his twin brother, Muneeb. Photo: Shamus Ian Fatzinger/Fairfax County Times/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Justice Department arrested Virginia-based twin brothers who formerly worked at a federal contractor on Wednesday for their alleged roles in deleting government databases.
Why it matters: The arrests are connected to one of the most bizarre insider threat cases the U.S. government has experienced in years.
Driving the news: Federal law enforcement arrested Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, 34, for their alleged roles in compromising or deleting dozens of government databases in February.
- The arrests follow a Bloomberg investigation published in May detailing how the brothers allegedly compromised data across several agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the General Services Administration.
The intrigue: The brothers pled guilty in 2015 to federal charges tied to data breaches at the U.S. State Department and a cosmetics company.
- They both served years-long prison sentences before getting jobs as engineers for Opexus, a federal contractor that helps process U.S. government records.
- A spokesperson for Opexus told Axios the company had "learned a great deal from this incident and... taken meaningful steps to strengthen the security of the information we handle."
- "We will continue to fully support the process as it moves forward, just as we have supported our customers since the incident occurred," the spokesperson said.
Zoom in: According to Bloomberg, the brothers rebelled during an HR call in which they were informed they were being terminated due to their history of hacking-related offenses.
- During that call, Muneeb Akhter allegedly leveraged his access to Opexus' federal customers to delete several U.S. government databases at the General Service Administration, per Bloomberg. Prosecutors estimate he deleted approximately 96 databases, including records and documents tied to Freedom of Information Act requests.
- One minute after allegedly deleting a DHS database, Muneeb asked an undisclosed AI tool how to clear system logs, which could trace the activity back to him, prosecutors say.
- The indictment also alleges that Muneeb stole copies of IRS data that was stored on a virtual machine.
- Meanwhile, Sohaib is being charged with attempting to sell a password that could "access a computer used by or for the government of the United States," according to the Justice Department.
What they're saying: "These defendants abused their positions as federal contractors to attack government databases and steal sensitive government information," Matthew Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general at the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a statement.
- "Their actions jeopardized the security of government systems and disrupted agencies' ability to serve the American people."
Yes, but: The brothers previously denied any wrongdoing in interviews earlier this year with Bloomberg.
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