Tag Archive for: charged

Ontario government worker charged in COVID-19 vaccination data breach

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Suspects from the Ottawa and Montreal areas, one of whom worked at a government vaccination call centre, were arrested Tuesday in connection with an OPP investigation into a security breach of Ontario’s COVID-19 immunization system.

The province’s cybercrime team said it started an investigation into a possible data breach on Nov. 17 when the Ontario government flagged reports from the public about spam text messages received after residents booked COVID-19 vaccine appointments or downloaded their vaccination certificates.

On Monday, OPP executed search warrants in Ottawa as well as in Quebec with help from the Sûreté du Québec.

Police said they seized several computers and electronic devices.


Click to play video: 'Ministry confirms possible data breach at Pickering Long-term care home'



Ministry confirms possible data breach at Pickering Long-term care home

Ministry confirms possible data breach at Pickering Long-term care home – May 11, 2020

Ayoub Sayid, a 21-year-old from Gloucester, Ont., is facing charges of unauthorized use of a computer. OPP said in a statement that the suspect is a government employee who worked in the province’s vaccine contact centre.

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Rahim Abdu, 22, of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., faces the same charges.

Both accused have been released with future court dates.

A spokesperson for Ontario Solicitor-General Sylvia Jones said Tuesday that Sayid was working in the call centre through a third-party vendor, “but is no longer employed by the government.”

Spokesperson Stephen Warner also confirmed that “no personal health information was accessed” as part of the breach.

Jones told reporters on Monday that the public can feel secure in using the online vaccination portal.

Read more:
LifeLabs failed to protect personal information of millions, says B.C. and Ontario report

“When we hear of potential breaches, we investigate thoroughly,” she said at a press conference Monday.

“We have confidence in the booking system, that there are no concerns.”

An OPP spokesperson said the cybersecurity unit is still investigating to determine how…

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Ontario government employee among two charged in COVID-19 vaccine portal security breach

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TORONTO —
A government employee is among two people charged following an investigation into a security breach related to Ontario’s COVID-19 immunization system.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they were first asked to investigate the breach on Nov. 17 after the government received reports of spam text messages received by individuals who scheduled appointments or accessed vaccine certificates through the COVID-19 immunization system.

The security breach was confirmed publicly on Monday, with the Solicitor General’s office telling CTV News Toronto that the reported texts were “financial in nature.”

CTV News Toronto spoke with two residents who received phishing text messages they believe could have been related to the breach. Both messages were addressed to their children using their full names.

“What really triggered it for me was the spelling of her name. It was her name, her full name with middle name, and her middle name was fully capitalized and the only time I’ve ever seen that was on her vaccine passport,” Toronto resident Carla Embleton said.

Ottawa resident Mike Primeau said he received a similar text to his cell phone saying that his son had been sent “a reimbursement of $163.36” and was asked to reply to receive the payment.

spam text

Primeau was the one who registered his entire family—including his son—for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Multiple other people reported receiving text messages with either their full names or the full names of their children; however the requests differed slightly.

In a news release issued Tuesday, investigators said that two search warrants—one in Quebec and another in Ottawa—were executed on Nov. 22 in connection with the security breach. Several devices, computers and laptops were seized.

As a result of the investigation, 21-year-old Gloucester resident Ayoub Sayid and 22-year-old Rahim Abdu from Vaudreuil-Dorio were taken into custody.

They were both charged with Unauthorized Use of a Computer contrary to s. 342.1(1)(c) of the Criminal Code.

Police say that Sayid is an employee of the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services in the vaccine contact centre.

The charges have not been proven…

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Iranian hackers charged with cybercrimes in connection with attempts to influence 2020 US Presidential Election

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Jessica Haworth

19 November 2021 at 13:22 UTC

Updated: 19 November 2021 at 13:31 UTC

Pair were affiliated with group that tried to secure a win for Donald Trump

Iranian hackers charged with cybercrimes in connection with attempts to influence 2020 US Presidential Election

Two Iranian nationals have been charged in connection with a disinformation campaign intended to threaten the integrity of the 2020 US Presidential election.

A statement released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) yesterday (November 18) stated that the men were charged for their involvement in “a cyber-enabled campaign to intimidate and influence American voters, and otherwise undermine voter confidence and sow discord”.

Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi (سید محمد حسین موسی کاظمی), also known as Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazem and Hosein Zamani, 24, and Sajjad Kashian (سجاد کاشیان), also known as Kiarash Nabavi, 27, are described as computer hackers who worked as contractors for an Iran-based company formerly known as Eeleyanet Gostar, and now known as Emennet Pasargad.

Eeleyanet Gostar purported to provide cybersecurity services within Iran with customers including the Iranian government, the statement alleges.

Accusations

The defendants are accused of obtaining confidential US voter information from at least one state election website; sending threatening email messages to intimidate and interfere with voters; and creating and disseminating a video containing disinformation about purported election infrastructure vulnerabilities.

The pair are also accused of attempting to access several US states’ voting-related websites, and successfully gaining unauthorized access to a US media company’s computer network that could have enabled them to disseminate false claims after the election.

US attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New Yorks commented: “Working with others, Kazemi and Kashian accessed voter information from at least one state’s voter database, threatened US voters via email, and even disseminated a fictitious video that purported to depict actors fabricating overseas ballots.”

BACKGROUND Spoiling the ballot: Cyber issues cast cloud over US presidential election

The…

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Minnesota man charged in hacking MLB and for trying to extort the league

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A Minnesota man has been charged with hacking into computer systems used by Major League Baseball and trying to extort the league for $150,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York said Thursday.In emails with an MLB executive, Joshua Streit, 30, threatened to publicize the vulnerability that he used to access the league’s website for streaming live games before asking for $150,000 for finding the technology flaw, according to charging documents.Streit allegedly renewed his extortion attempt in September, at a time of heightened scrutiny for the MLB as it was preparing for the playoffs. The news comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves.A Twitter account listed in the criminal complaint as belonging to Streit did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. James Becker, an attorney listed for Streit in court records, did not respond to requests for comment.The charges against Streit, who is also known as Josh Brody, include wire fraud, illegally hacking into a computer for the purposes of fraud and “sending interstate threats with the intent to extort.” The maximum sentence for each individual charge ranges from two to 20 years in prison.Streit is accused of illegally streaming copyrighted live games from the MLB, National Basketball Association, National Football League and the National Hockey League. To do that, prosecutors allege, Streit used stolen login credentials to access the sports’ websites and stream live games to his own website for profit.One of the sports leagues lost almost $3 million because of Streit’s actions, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.A LinkedIn profile listed in the complaint as belonging to Streit describes him as a software engineer living in the Minneapolis area.During an initial court appearance Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, a judge ordered “temporary detention” for Streit pending a Nov. 1 hearing, according to court documents.A spokesperson for the MLB declined to comment. Neil Boland, the league’s chief information security officer, did not respond to requests for comment.The MLB is no stranger to…

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