Threat Management, Network Security, Threat Management

Hackers of the Caribbean: Alleged cyber activist arrested after Disney Cruise rescues his boat

If this was an escape plan, it was a pretty Mickey Mouse operation.

Somerville, Mass. resident Martin Gottesfeld, 31, who disappeared while under investigation for a cyberattack on Boston Children's Hospital in April 2014, was arrested in Miami on Wednesday after a Disney Cruise ship rescued him and his wife from a stranded boat off Cuba.

Gottesfeld's Caribbean caper came to an abrupt end on Feb. 16 when Gottesfeld placed a distress call after his boat ran into trouble, according to a release from the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office.

Gottesfeld is charged with one count of conspiracy for his alleged role in a DDoS attack that took down the hospital's website and disrupted operations for about a week. Claimed in the name of Anonymous, the attack was retaliation for how the hospital handled a high-profile custody case. “Responding to, and mitigating, the damage from this attack cost the hospital more than $300,000,” the release stated.

Gottesfeld's whereabouts had been a mystery since last week, when the Somerville Police Department conducted a wellness check and found his apartment abandoned.

Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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