Following the arraignment of two Kuala Lumpur-based hackers who ran a phishing scam targeting American universities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta has created a standalone cybercrime unit.
The creation of the unit, which will operate within the office’s Financial Fraud & Cyber Crime Section, signals the growing impact of cybercrime across the country. Staffed by five federal prosecutors who specialize in prosecuting cybercrime, the unit will attempt to combat the development and use of malware, the operation of illicit marketplaces, hacks into private networks, and the theft of data.
“Our office holds a distinguished history of prosecuting some of the highest-profile cyber matters in the country, from the creators of the SpyEye and Citadel malware to the foreign nationals responsible for the hacks into RBS WorldPay, E*Trade, and other corporations,” U.S. Attorney John Horn said, in a statement. “And we have successfully ensured that some of these criminals, who believe themselves to be safe in the shadows of the darknet, are brought to justice in U.S. court. The creation of a dedicated Cyber Unit will build on this expertise to aggressively identify and investigate the newest directions in cybercrime whether committed by individuals, syndicates, or even state actors here or abroad.”
The cyber unit will also investigate the theft of trade secrets, distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks on web servers, and hacks that directly or indirectly impact national infrastructure and national security interests. The unit will work to develop strong cyber defence strategies through collaboration with the private sector and will coordinate task forces, case interactions, seminars, and panels.
It is alleged that the two hackers - Damilola Solomon Ibiwoye, 27, and Olayinka Olaniyi, 32, - sent phishing emails to college and university employees. When an employee entered their login details, the hackers captured their personal information, which they then used to change payroll direct deposit payment information and fraudulently direct payroll deposits into bank accounts they controlled. The FBI were able to determine that the defendants allegedly launched their phishing attacks while living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The defendants and co-conspirators allegedly stole more than $1 million dollars from over 25 colleges and universities.
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