Two Canadians indicted over alleged university crypto-mining hack

A federal grand jury has indicted two Canadian nationals, Ryan James Roach and Mathiew James Stubbings, accusing them of hacking computers at multiple US universities to mine cryptocurrency. Prosecutors say the pair used private servers in multiple countries, malware, stolen credentials and mining software, and that the case involves institutions in New York, Tennessee, North Carolina and Massachusetts. If convicted, each defendant could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Charges and alleged methods

Roach, 35, and Stubbings, 41, are charged with conspiracy to obtain information from protected computers and to cause intentional damage to those systems. According to the indictment, they used private servers in multiple countries to hack into computers, steal login credentials and secretly mine cryptocurrency. Those servers uploaded malware to gain control of systems, and data was exfiltrated to servers the defendants controlled.

In some cases, mining software was installed on victims' computers with the sole purpose of using their processing power to mine cryptocurrency for financial gain. The US Department of Justice said the defendants targeted educational institutions in the United States that had supercomputers and researched security vulnerabilities in victim networks, using a variety of methods to gain access, including using a server and compromised computers from another victim to conceal their identities.

Damage and court status

Once they gained access to a victim's network, Roach and Stubbings used sophisticated techniques and tools to conduct reconnaissance and expand their access within the network. The suspects reportedly damaged 10 protected computers between June 2016 and December 2019, causing damage of at least $5,000. Educational institutions in New York, Tennessee, North Carolina and Massachusetts were among the victims.

Roach was arraigned before a judge on Tuesday, November 3rd. Stubbings has yet to be extradited from Canada to the United States. Separately, numerous US universities were breached last year, exposing sensitive information from current and former students, alumni and employees, including Columbia University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Sources: Cybernews