Man with @ihackedthegovernment Instagram account tells judge, “I made a mistake" - Ars Technica

Overview

Man with @ihackedthegovernment Instagram account tells judge, “I made a mistake”

Moore was sentenced to a year of probation today in US District Court for the District of Columbia. The US government had requested 36 months of probation for the unauthorized access that took place in 2023 from August to October. The government sentencing recommendation did not request any jail time or a fine.

Details

“I made a mistake,” Nicholas Moore told US District Judge Beryl Howell today, appearing remotely at a sentencing hearing, according to The Hill. “I am truly sorry. I respect laws, and I want to be a good citizen.”

Explaining why it did not seek prison time, the government told the court that “Moore is a vulnerable young man with long-term disabilities” and that he took responsibility for his actions. His “conduct must not be taken lightly, but his actions stopped short of a level that would justify incarceration for a defendant with Moore’s mental health and medical needs,” the government said in a sentencing memorandum.

Moore’s guilty plea in January related to “hacking the electronic filing system of the US Supreme Court at least 25 times and additionally hacking accounts at Ameri Corps and the Veterans Administration Health System,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said at the time. Moore was charged with fraud and related activity in connection with computers, a misdemeanor that can be punished by up to one year of prison time and a fine of up to $100,000.

“Moore intentionally accessed the Supreme Court’s electronic filing system without authorization using the stolen credentials of an authorized user (‘GS’) on 25 different days, sometimes returning to the site multiple times on the same day,” according to a government court filing. Moore used the access to obtain GS’s full name, email address, phone number, home address, date of birth, and private answers the person had given to three security questions.

“On July 29, August 18, and November 28, 2023, Moore publicly posted on his Instagram account, which used the handle ‘@ihackedthegovernment,’ screenshots of GS’s home page on the Supreme Court electronic filing system. Clearly visible to the public in the screenshots were GS’s name and a list of all of GS’s current and past electronic filing records,” the court filing said.

Moore similarly used stolen credentials to access one person’s My Ameri Corps account. He publicly posted the My Ameri Corps user’s name, date of birth, email address, home address, phone number, citizenship status, veteran status, service history, and the last four digits of his Social Security number, the government said.

“On October 13, 2023, Moore disclosed HW’s individually identifiable health information when he sent an associate a screenshot from HW’s My Healthe Vet account that identified HW and showed the medications he had been prescribed,” the government said. Moore then used his Instagram account to publicly post “HW’s personal information, including his full name, home address, service branch, email address, phone number, and blood type.”

The government’s sentencing memorandum said Moore appears unlikely to reoffend, and that “punishment would be best achieved in this case by using probation with special conditions rather than incarceration.” The recommendation said:

The portrait set forth in the Presentence Report is not one that excuses his behavior, but Moore is a vulnerable young man with long-term disabilities, limited financial means, and virtually no employment experience or opportunities. Moore does not appear to pose a danger to the community and at 25 years old still has ample time to redirect his interests—including his interest in computers—toward a more productive path. Moore’s struggles with his mental health are well-documented and weigh against incarceration when considered along with the severity of Moore’s conduct and willingness to take responsibility for his actions.

The portrait set forth in the Presentence Report is not one that excuses his behavior, but Moore is a vulnerable young man with long-term disabilities, limited financial means, and virtually no employment experience or opportunities. Moore does not appear to pose a danger to the community and at 25 years old still has ample time to redirect his interests—including his interest in computers—toward a more productive path. Moore’s struggles with his mental health are well-documented and weigh against incarceration when considered along with the severity of Moore’s conduct and willingness to take responsibility for his actions.

Moore’s unauthorized access to government systems and the “dissemination of personal and medical information of innocent Americans, including a veteran, harms the affected individuals and the government,” the sentencing recommendation said. “However, Moore apparently did not attempt to use the victims’ personal information to cause further harm.”

Moore wanted to “show off to online acquaintances”

Moore apparently did not use the victims’ personal information to gain access to bank accounts or other accounts. “He viewed various pages on the platforms that he accessed, and then boasted about it online,” the government said. “Moore seems to have acted more to show off to online acquaintances than to leverage the accounts he accessed for financial gain.”

The government did not seek financial restitution, noting that Moore’s “victims did not sustain financial losses.” The government recommended probation conditions “such as computer and Internet monitoring, a prohibition on accessing computer, networks, or online accounts without authorization, disclosure of all online accounts, and a prohibition on the use of anonymizing software or services designed to conceal online activity.”

The Hill reported that Moore’s attorney, Eugene Ohm, told the court today that “Moore has ‘suspended’ his ‘toxic’ online social life and is working toward reintegrating into in-person spaces like church.”

“US District Judge Beryl Howell, who handed down the 12-month sentence of probation, joked that his potential is apparent, given the ease with which he hacked into three government systems,” The Hill article said.

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Key Takeaways

• Man with @ihackedthegovernment Instagram account tells judge, “I made a mistake”

• Moore was sentenced to a year of probation today in US District Court for the District of Columbia

• “I made a mistake,” Nicholas Moore told US District Judge Beryl Howell today, appearing remotely at a sentencing hearing, according to The Hill

• Explaining why it did not seek prison time, the government told the court that “Moore is a vulnerable young man with long-term disabilities” and that he took responsibility for his actions

• Moore’s guilty plea in January related to “hacking the electronic filing system of the US Supreme Court at least 25 times and additionally hacking accounts at Ameri Corps and the Veterans Administration Health System,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said at the time