Canada Extradites Suspect in Alleged Supercomputer Hacking Scheme
Summary
Canada extradited Ryan James Roach to face U.S. charges over an alleged scheme to hack university supercomputers, steal credentials and mine cryptocurrency. A second suspect's extradition proceedings are ongoing.
Key points
- Ryan James Roach appeared in U.S. court after extradition and remains in custody; extradition proceedings for Mathiew James Stubbings are ongoing.
- A recently unsealed indictment alleges the pair accessed university networks from June 2016 to December 2019 by exploiting vulnerabilities.
- Prosecutors allege the defendants stole credentials, exfiltrated data and deployed cryptocurrency-mining software.
- Investigators said at least one supercomputer mined Electroneum and became unavailable to its research institution because of the computing load.
- The defendants face charges including conspiracy, obtaining information from protected computers and intentional computer damage.
Article Details
- Event Type
- U.S. criminal charges and extradition in an alleged university supercomputer hacking scheme
- Impact
- The indictment alleges that the defendants accessed university networks, stole credentials, exfiltrated data, and used victims’ high-performance computers to mine Electroneum. Investigators said the mining made at least one supercomputer unavailable to its research institution. The indictment alleges damage to ten or more protected computers and at least $5,000 in aggregate loss.
MITRE ATT&CK
Threat Actors
Mathiew James StubbingsThe U.S. indictment alleges Stubbings participated in hacking university computer networks, stealing credentials, exfiltrating data, and mining cryptocurrency. He was charged in the United States; these activities are allegations.Ryan James RoachThe U.S. indictment alleges Roach participated in hacking university computer networks, stealing credentials, exfiltrating data, and mining cryptocurrency. He was charged in the United States; these activities are allegations.
Countries
Canadauniversity supercomputers, stealing login credentials and mining cryptocurrency for financial gain. Canada extradited one of the suspects to the United States; federal prosecutors still seek custody of the otherUnited StatesTwo Canadian nationals face charges in the United States for hacking university supercomputers, stealing login credentials and mining cryptocurrency for financial gain. Canada extradited one of the suspects to the