Two siblings from Alexandria, Virginia—Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter—who were convicted a decade ago for hacking into U.S. State Department systems are back in the dock after prosecutors say they mounted a clumsy bid to steal and erase government records minutes after being fired from a contractor gig.
According to the Department of Justice, the brothers, who were working for an undisclosed DC-area contractor that provides software and services to dozens of federal agencies, deleted databases and documents belonging to three government entities and attempted to block access to a database on their employer’s server.
Prosecutors say the plot unfolded within minutes of their February 18 termination: one brother’s account had already been closed, while the other accessed a government database and issued commands to prevent changes, followed by a mass deletion of 96 databases, many containing sensitive FOIA materials.
In a bid to cover their tracks, the indictment notes that Muneeb Akhter asked an AI chat tool how to clear system logs from SQL servers after deleting databases and how to wipe Windows event logs from Server 2012. It’s unclear whether the AI guidance was adequate or the defendants failed to follow it.
The case also cites prior charges: a 2015 conviction for conspiring to hack State Department systems and a private company, for which each brother received prison terms and supervised release. The current indictment lists multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud and identity-related offenses, with potential decades-long sentences if convicted.
