Fired Twin Brothers Wipe 96 Government Databases in Minutes
▼ Summary
– Fired and laid-off workers often have their digital credentials deactivated before they learn of their job loss, as access poses a security risk.
– The Akhter twin brothers are accused of wiping out 96 US government databases minutes after being fired from their shared employer in 2024.
– Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter had prior convictions in 2015 for wire fraud and computer crimes, receiving prison sentences.
– In 2023 and 2024, the brothers worked for a DC firm serving 45 federal clients, where they allegedly committed further offenses.
– Muneeb Akhter collected 5,400 usernames and passwords from his employer’s network and used scripts to access accounts, including booking travel with stolen airline miles.
Fired and laid-off employees in the United States often have their digital access revoked before they even know their job is gone. In many cases, the first sign of termination is an inability to log into a corporate system. This practice may seem harsh, but it stems from a simple reality: a disgruntled former employee with active system credentials is a major security threat.
That lesson was driven home dramatically by the Akhter twin brothers, who are now accused of deleting 96 government databases within minutes of being fired from their shared employer last year.
Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both 34, had a history of trouble. In 2015, they pleaded guilty in Virginia to a scheme involving wire fraud and computers. Muneeb received a three-year prison sentence, while Sohaib served two years.
After their release, the brothers rebuilt their careers in tech. Muneeb landed a job in 2023 at a Washington, D. C., firm that provided software and services to 45 federal clients. Sohaib joined the same company a year later.
But according to federal prosecutors, the twins couldn’t stay on the straight and narrow. Consider this example from Feb. 1, 2025: Muneeb asked Sohaib for the plaintext password of someone who had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Public Portal, a system maintained by their employer. Sohaib ran a database query on the EEOC database and handed over the password. That credential was then used to access the complainant’s email account without authorization.
This was not an isolated incident. Muneeb had been systematically collecting 5,400 usernames and passwords from his own company’s network data. He wrote custom Python scripts to test these credentials against popular websites. One script, called “marriott_checker.py,” tried the logins against Marriott hotel chains. Muneeb successfully logged into accounts hundreds of times, including DocuSign and various airline portals. When victims had airline miles stored, he would book travel for himself.
(Source: Ars Technica)
