Twins Busted for Allegedly Hacking Government Databases

Twin brothers from Virginia have been arrested and charged with trying to sabotage US government databases after being fired from a federal contractor job. According to the Justice Department, 34-year-old Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, who previously served time for hacking the State Department, are accused of deleting and stealing sensitive government records, including those from the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security, per Fox News. Prosecutors say that after losing their jobs at Opexus, a contractor that manages federal records, the Akhters accessed computer systems without permission, scrubbed databases, and took steps to cover their tracks.

One of the databases allegedly wiped by Muneeb contained federal Freedom of Information Act records and sensitive investigative files. After deleting a DHS database, Fox reports he asked an artificial intelligence tool how to clear system logs. The indictment also accuses Sohaib of trafficking in a password that could access a government computer. Both men were indicted on Nov. 13 on various charges, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. Axios notes that the brothers earlier this year denied any wrongdoing in separate interviews with Bloomberg, which reported on what went down at Opexus.