Twins Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter were sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to 39 months and 24 months in prison, respectively, for multiple offenses, including conspiracy to access a protected computer and conspiracy to access a government computer without authorization associated with hacking systems at the U.S. Department of State.
Sohaib used his contract position at the State Department in a failed attempt to install an electronic collection device inside an agency building to remotely gather data from the agency's systems. According to a Justice Department release, the pair likely was seeking sensitive visa and passport applications. Sohaib also tried to obtain personal information about his co-workers, a former employer and a federal law enforcement agent investigating his case.
The twins pleaded guilty in June to hacking charges, including infiltrating the website of a cosmetics company, stealing credit card and personal information.
