Image: Cathryn Virginia/Motherboard
Hacking. Disinformation. Surveillance. CYBER is Motherboard's podcast and reporting on the dark underbelly of the internet.
Advertisement
Ceraolo and co-conspirator Sagar Steven Singh, 19, are charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions which carries a potential five years imprisonment. On top of that, Ceraolo faces 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. “I can request information on anyone in the US doesn’t matter who, nobody is safe,” Singh wrote in one message included in a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. As well as breaking into the federal U.S. law enforcement database, the release describes the pair using a compromised Bangladeshi police officer’s email to fraudulently request data from a social media company, and using it try to buy services from a facial recognition company which does not sell products to the general public. The hackers allegedly used gathered information to then extort and dox specific people.Do you know anything else about this case? Do you know which U.S. federal law enforcement tool was breached? We'd love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.
Advertisement