Jesse Kipf hoped that COVID-19 would save him from the FBI.
In October, hacker Jesse Kipf was arrested, accused of violating the cybersecurity of several commercial companies and US healthcare systems. According to the researchers, Kipf forged his death certificate to avoid punishment.
Initially, Kipf hacked the networks of Guest-Tek Interactive Entertainment and Milestone Inc., which provide Internet services for guests of the Marriott hotel chain. This happened on February 12 and June 21, respectively, according to the Prosecutor's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
According to police reports, Kipf sold personal data of Marriott customers on a Russian forum. The charges include identity theft, Internet fraud, and hacking into large organizations, including government agencies.
Kipf was traced to his personal IP address, which he used to access the Hawaii Department of Health's death registration system in January 2023. This is one of the resources where the man apparently planned to record his death: state institutions in Connecticut, Vermont, Arizona, Tennessee and other states were also hacked.
Vermont officials told the FBI that a death certificate in Kipf's name was registered in their systems in May. However, a representative of the state Health Department assures journalists that no data was stolen.
As the cause of death in a fake certificate, the man indicated COVID-19. He later decided to sell access to the hacked resources.
Kipf himself claims that he only tested government servers for vulnerabilities – all except for Hawaiian ones.
In October, hacker Jesse Kipf was arrested, accused of violating the cybersecurity of several commercial companies and US healthcare systems. According to the researchers, Kipf forged his death certificate to avoid punishment.
Initially, Kipf hacked the networks of Guest-Tek Interactive Entertainment and Milestone Inc., which provide Internet services for guests of the Marriott hotel chain. This happened on February 12 and June 21, respectively, according to the Prosecutor's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
According to police reports, Kipf sold personal data of Marriott customers on a Russian forum. The charges include identity theft, Internet fraud, and hacking into large organizations, including government agencies.
Kipf was traced to his personal IP address, which he used to access the Hawaii Department of Health's death registration system in January 2023. This is one of the resources where the man apparently planned to record his death: state institutions in Connecticut, Vermont, Arizona, Tennessee and other states were also hacked.
Vermont officials told the FBI that a death certificate in Kipf's name was registered in their systems in May. However, a representative of the state Health Department assures journalists that no data was stolen.
As the cause of death in a fake certificate, the man indicated COVID-19. He later decided to sell access to the hacked resources.
Kipf himself claims that he only tested government servers for vulnerabilities – all except for Hawaiian ones.
