Two men confessed to hacking the database of law enforcement officers

Two men from New York and Rhode Island have pleaded guilty to hacking a database maintained by a US federal law enforcement agency and using the stolen personal information for blackmail.

Sagar Steven Singh, 20, and Nicholas Ceraolo, 26, who were charged last year, were part of an extortion group called Vile. They attempted to collect personal information and threatened to post it on a public website unless victims paid to have the information removed. According to the Department of Justice, the attackers used the stolen password to access a portal with information on drugs, currency seizures and law enforcement intelligence reports. Singh threatened to harm the family of one of the victims if she did not provide him with Instagram credentials, backed up by personal information obtained from the database.

A group of extortionists called Vile specialized in collecting personal information and threatening to release it, a form of blackmail known as doxxing. Hacking a law enforcement agency’s database allowed them to access sensitive information used to blackmail victims.

Singh and Ceraolo were aware of the illegality of their actions and the opportunities they gained by hacking the portal. They can receive from two to seven years in prison. According to the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Brion Peace, the actions of the defendants were cruel and illegal, and they threatened to release personal information of the victims if they did not pay.