The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been actively engaged in a series of investigations, particularly focusing on individuals from Virginia who are suspected of engaging in illicit activities.
The most recent case involves Brian Cole, Jr., a resident of Woodbridge, who is a suspect in the RNC/DNC pipe bomb case from 2021. His arrest came on the heels of another significant apprehension by the DOJ. The department announced that it had arrested two brothers from Springfield, who were accused of conspiring "to destroy government databases hosted by a federal government contractor."
According to RedState, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, revealed that twins Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both 34, were indicted last month. The charges against them allege that they 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."
The indictment of the Akhter brothers followed several months after news reports detailed their alleged compromise of the data of several federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the General Services Administration. The brothers, who were previously employed as federal contractors, were dismissed from their positions earlier this year. Following their termination, they are believed to have sought revenge by tampering with government databases. The DOJ stated:
"Following the termination of their employment, the brothers allegedly sought to harm the company and its U.S. government customers by accessing computers without authorization, issuing commands to prevent others from modifying the databases before deletion, deleting databases, stealing information, and destroying evidence of their unlawful activities."
The indictment further alleges that on or about February 18, Muneeb Akhter deleted approximately 96 databases storing U.S. government information. These databases held records and documents related to Freedom of Information Act matters administered by federal government departments and agencies, as well as sensitive investigative files of federal government components.
Adding to the severity of these allegations, court documents suggest that Muneeb Akhter sought advice from an artificial intelligence tool on how to clear system logs following the deletion of databases, just a minute after deleting a DHS database.
This is not the first time the Akhter brothers have found themselves in the crosshairs of the DOJ. In 2015, they were indicted by a federal grand jury on similar charges, including "conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization and conspiracy to access a government computer without authorization." Following their conviction, Muneeb was sentenced to 39 months in prison and Sohaib to 24 months, with each also sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Once they had completed their supervised release, it appears they returned to their previous activities. This raises significant questions about the vetting processes in place. How could these two individuals, with their criminal pasts, have been deemed eligible to work with government data?
This case underscores the need for stringent background checks and robust security measures to protect sensitive government information.
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