Overview
- Prosecutors say the campaign ran from June 2016 through December 2019 and targeted university systems in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee.
- A federal grand jury in New York indicted Ryan James Roach and Mathiew James Stubbings on conspiracy, unlawful access and intentional damage charges that carry up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines per count.
- Roach was extradited from Canada on Oct. 28 and was arraigned in U.S. federal court in early November, while Canadian courts are still processing extradition for Stubbings.
- Officials say the suspects used multi‑country virtual private servers registered under false names to transmit malware, steal login credentials, pivot through other machines and run Electroneum mining software on compromised systems.
- Prosecutors allege the men damaged at least 10 computers over a one‑year span, causing at least $5,000 in losses, and the case highlights cross‑border law enforcement work and the risk to research campuses that host high‑performance computing resources.