In a Justice Department press release, federal prosecutors said 24-year-old Nicholas Moore of Springfield, Tennessee pleaded guilty on Friday after using stolen credentials to access the U.S. Supreme Court’s restricted electronic filing system at least 25 times between August and October 2023.
KEY FACTS
- Incident Unauthorized access to the Supreme Court electronic filing system
- Suspect 24-year-old Nicholas Moore of Springfield, Tennessee
- Scope At least 25 Supreme Court accesses from August to October 2023
- Other breaches AmeriCorps account accessed seven times and VA My HealtheVet portal accessed five times
- Charge Guilty plea to one count of computer fraud, a misdemeanor
Prosecutors say Moore sometimes logged into the Supreme Court systems multiple times in a single day using stolen credentials. He posted screenshots that included victims’ names and filing system details to an Instagram account named @ihackedthegovernment on at least three occasions.
Moore used compromised MyAmeriCorps credentials to access a second victim’s account seven times and obtained personal information including name, date of birth, email, home address, phone number, citizenship and veteran status, service history, and the last four digits of a social security number.
He also used stolen credentials from a U.S. Marine Corps veteran to access the Department of Veterans Affairs My HealtheVet personal health record portal on five occasions, obtaining private health information such as prescribed medications.
The misdemeanor count carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The Department of Veterans Affairs operates the largest integrated health care system in the country with 1,380 health care facilities.
WHY IT MATTERS
The case shows how stolen credentials can give attackers repeated access to sensitive judicial, government service, and health record systems. The breaches resulted in the exposure of personal and medical information for affected individuals.