"Within five minutes of being fired via remote meeting, the twins sought to inflict damage on their employer. At approximately 16:55, Sohaib tried to access the software supplier's network but couldn't because his VPN connection was severed and his Windows account was deactivated while he was sitting in the firing meeting. However, Muneeb allegedly still had access and told his brother the same."
"A minute later, at approximately 16:56, officials say Muneeb issued commands preventing other users from reading or writing to the database, before issuing a command to delete it. Over the following 56 minutes, Muneeb allegedly deleted approximately 96 databases, the indictment states, which contained data related to Freedom of Information Act matters and sensitive investigative files belonging to federal departments and agencies."
"According to the Justice Department, Muneeb asked Sohaib for the individual's plaintext password. Prosecutors say Sohaib provided the credential, which Muneeb then used to gain unauthorized access to the account. Court documents do not say why the brothers wanted access to the account, but the pair were both fired on February 18, 2025, after the company learned that Sohaib had a prior felony conviction."
"The events of the case transpired around two weeks before the twin brothers allegedly involved were fired from their jobs at a software supplier to the US government. Sohaib and Muneeb Akhter, both 34, allegedly worked together on February 1, 2025, to access the account of an unnamed individual who submitted a complaint through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's public portal."
A Virginia man was convicted for involvement in a scheme to delete approximately 96 databases containing U.S. government data. The alleged activity occurred around the time twin brothers were fired from a software supplier serving at least 45 government agencies. Prosecutors said one brother requested another’s help obtaining an individual’s plaintext password, then used the credential to access an account without authorization. After the firing, one brother attempted to access the network but was blocked by a severed VPN connection and deactivated Windows account. The other brother allegedly retained access, issued commands to prevent other users from reading or writing to the databases, and then deleted them. The deleted databases included Freedom of Information Act-related data and sensitive investigative files.
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