The story of hacking and blackmailing a failed hacker.
An Idaho man has confessed to hacking into medical clinics and a police station with subsequent extortion.
Robert Purbeck, known under the pseudonyms Lifelock and Studmaster, was arrested on charges of cybercrime committed between 2017 and 2018. By acquiring stolen credentials on the darknet, the attacker gained access to the personal data of more than 130,000 people.
Purbeck hacked into the systems of a medical clinic in Griffin, Georgia, and the police department in the nearby town of Newman, and attacked at least 17 other sites. Among the stolen data were police reports and documents containing personal information of more than 14,000 people.
Prosecutors allege Purbeck also stole information from a medical clinic in Locust Grove, Georgia, and from a Florida orthodontist, attempting to blackmail the latter by threatening to sell the personal details of the orthodontist's minor child and sending threats to patients via email and text messages.
Before his arrest, Purbeck used the pseudonym Lifelock to communicate with the site administration DataBreaches.net about the hacking of the eye surgery center in Holland, Michigan. Purbeck demanded a ransom from the clinic, and when the demand went unanswered, and information about the hack was never published, Lifelock asked the site administrator to notify the residents of Holland about the incident. As a result, the clinic reported hacking, 2 years after the incident.
Purbeck will be sentenced in June, and under the terms of the plea deal, will pay $1 million in compensation to the victims.
An Idaho man has confessed to hacking into medical clinics and a police station with subsequent extortion.
Robert Purbeck, known under the pseudonyms Lifelock and Studmaster, was arrested on charges of cybercrime committed between 2017 and 2018. By acquiring stolen credentials on the darknet, the attacker gained access to the personal data of more than 130,000 people.
Purbeck hacked into the systems of a medical clinic in Griffin, Georgia, and the police department in the nearby town of Newman, and attacked at least 17 other sites. Among the stolen data were police reports and documents containing personal information of more than 14,000 people.
Prosecutors allege Purbeck also stole information from a medical clinic in Locust Grove, Georgia, and from a Florida orthodontist, attempting to blackmail the latter by threatening to sell the personal details of the orthodontist's minor child and sending threats to patients via email and text messages.
Before his arrest, Purbeck used the pseudonym Lifelock to communicate with the site administration DataBreaches.net about the hacking of the eye surgery center in Holland, Michigan. Purbeck demanded a ransom from the clinic, and when the demand went unanswered, and information about the hack was never published, Lifelock asked the site administrator to notify the residents of Holland about the incident. As a result, the clinic reported hacking, 2 years after the incident.
Purbeck will be sentenced in June, and under the terms of the plea deal, will pay $1 million in compensation to the victims.
