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In March, Alabama state government websites were among those subjected to “denial of service” cyber attacks that affected critical infrastructure, corporate networks, and government agencies across the United States and around the world. On Wednesday, two Sudanese nationals were indicted in connection to the March attacks.
The two suspects, Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer, 22, and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, 27, are alleged to be behind Anonymous Sudan, the online cybercriminal group responsible for tens of thousands of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, including those which affected Alabama agencies in March. The pair were both charged with one count of conspiracy to damage protected computers while Ahmed Salah was also charged with three counts of damaging protected computers.
A “denial-of-service (DoS) attack occurs when legitimate users are unable to access information systems, devices, or other network resources due to the actions of a malicious cyber threat actor,” according to the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s website. Such attacks can affect emails, websites, online accounts, and other services running on the victim’s computer or network.
The two suspects could face life in federal prison if convicted on all charges.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey applauded the federal grand jury’s indictment in a Wednesday morning press release.
“Criminal activity of any kind, including that coming from outside of our state, will not be tolerated in Alabama,” said Ivey. “I am thankful for the quick action of our Office of Information Technology, and I applaud the indictment of these individuals responsible for this attempt to disrupt state government and many other operations around the world. Any individual or organization who attempts to harm our state, our citizens or our way of life will be subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We will always do what is required to protect everyone who calls Alabama home,” Ivey added.
According to the press release, the state was able to respond “quickly and decisively” in March “to ensure no access or damage occurred to the state’s network, resources and data, or infrastructure.” At the time, Ivey’s office reported that information stored on state computers had not been breached.
