Man indicted for hacking systems to promote his cybersecurity services

A 31 year old man from Kansas City has been indicted by a federal grand jury for hacking into computer systems to endorse his own cybersecurity services.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the suspect breached the computer network of a health club and a nonprofit organization.

The indictment says that the man entered the premises of a business in Kansas City, where multiple health clubs operate, shortly after midnight on April 26, 2024.

The following day, he sent an email to one of the owners, claiming that he had breached his computer system. In the same message he promoted his cybersecurity services, saying he assisted over 30 small and medium-sized enterprises, adding a copy of his resume as an attachment.

Following the intrusion, employees of the gym discovered that the suspect’s monthly membership fee was reduced to only $1, that his photograph was erased from the gym’s network, and that he stole a nametag of one of the gym’s staff members. A few weeks later, the suspect posted an image on social media showing that he took control of the security cameras of the gym.

The man from Kansas City did a similar thing to a nonprofit organization on May 20, 2024. He entered an area that wasn’t available to the public and accessed a computer with access to the company’s network.

He used a boot disk to circumvent the password requirements, enabling him to gain access to the organization’s computer through multiple user accounts. The suspect was able to install a virtual private network (VPN) on the organization’s computer.

The company claims to have sustained $5,000 in damages as it attempted to minimize the impact of the breach.

According to the indictment, the company that employed the suspect was also a victim. Allegedly, he used a company credit card to make numerous personal purchases, including a thumb drive that was advertised as a means to hack into vulnerable computers.

The 31 year old man is being charged for accessing a protected computer without authorization and obtaining information. The federal court of Missouri also charges him for causing reckless damage to a protected computer during unauthorized access.

If found guilty, the suspect could be sentenced to prison for 15 years, and ordered to pay fines and restitution to his victims.