DUMB CRIMINAL OF THE WEEK: TRIED TO FREE HIS FRIEND, NOW JOINS HIM INSIDE
by Hazed
A Michigan man tried to hack into the computers in his local prison, in order to get his friend released early – but after he was caught he is now doing time himself.
Konrads Voits installed malware on the computer system of the Washtenaw County by carrying out a phishing attack. He set up a phishing domain, ewashtenavv.org – the double v and the end replacing the w in the real domain. Then he sent email from the domain to various county employees, directing them to a malware-laden site.
He also tried social engineering by calling up staff pretending to be a county IT manager. He got several of them to download a malware program, by claiming it was an upgrade.
Over time his campaign gained him the login details and passwords for 1,600 county employees. This included the login for the Xjail computer system used to track inmates. Eventually he gained the login to the prison management system, and tried to change the records of an inmate so he would be released early.
However, his attempts did not go unnoticed, so authorities fixed the inmates’ records and called in computer forensics to track the hacker and clear up the mess, to the cost of $235,488.
Voit has agreed to a plea deal, and is likely to be sentenced to ten years in jail.
Oh well, he may not have got his friend released, but he will be with him on the inside instead.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/12/04/prison_hacker_pleads_guilty/
