Canadian Extradited to U.S. in Alleged University Cryptomining Case
Summary
Ryan James Roach was extradited to the U.S. after a federal indictment alleged that he and Mathiew James Stubbings hijacked university systems from 2016 to 2019 to mine Electroneum and steal login credentials.
Key points
- A federal grand jury indicted Ryan James Roach and Mathiew James Stubbings on computer intrusion and damage charges.
- Roach was extradited from Canada on October 28; Stubbings’ extradition proceedings remain underway.
- The indictment alleges intrusions at academic institutions in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee between June 2016 and December 2019.
- Prosecutors allege the men used fraudulent identities and multi-country virtual servers to distribute malware and mining software and store stolen credentials.
- The alleged operation targeted campuses with supercomputers, using previously compromised machines to conceal its origins.
- Canadian court filings say hijacked university hardware was used to mine Electroneum. The allegations have not been established as convictions.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Federal prosecution and extradition proceedings over an alleged multi-year cryptomining campaign targeting university computer systems.
- Impact
- According to the indictment and prosecutors, university systems were compromised and used to mine Electroneum; malware and mining software were transmitted to victim computers, and stolen login credentials were stored. The alleged intrusions affected academic institutions in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
MITRE ATT&CK
Threat Actors
Mathiew James StubbingsFederal prosecutors allege that Stubbings orchestrated the intrusions with Ryan James Roach, compromising university systems for cryptocurrency mining. Extradition proceedings against him remain underway before Canadian courts.Ryan James RoachFederal prosecutors allege that Roach orchestrated the intrusions with Mathiew James Stubbings, compromising university systems for cryptocurrency mining. He was extradited from Canada on October 28.