November 14, 2024 at 12:02PM
Robert Purbeck, 45, from Idaho, has received a ten-year prison sentence for hacking 19 organizations, stealing personal data from over 132,000 individuals, and extorting victims. He pleaded guilty to unauthorized access charges and must pay over $1 million in restitution after an FBI raid revealed the extensive data theft.
**Meeting Notes Takeaways: Robert Purbeck Case**
1. **Background**: Robert Purbeck, 45, from Idaho, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for extensive hacking activities affecting at least 19 organizations.
2. **Crimes**:
– Stole personal data of over 132,000 individuals.
– Engaged in multiple extortion attempts.
3. **Methods of Operation**:
– In 2017, purchased access to a medical clinic’s server in Georgia, stealing PII of 43,000 individuals.
– In February 2018, hacked a Georgia police department, accessing data of 14,000 people.
– In July 2018, attempted to extort a Florida orthodontist, threatening to leak stolen patient data, including information about minors.
4. **Evidence**:
– FBI raided Purbeck’s home in August 2019, recovering multiple electronic devices containing personal information of over 132,000 individuals.
– Indictments linked Purbeck to these data breaches.
5. **Legal Outcome**:
– Pleaded guilty to two felony counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer.
– Sentenced to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $1,048,700 in restitution to victims.
6. **Prosecutors’ Actions**: The U.S. Justice Department highlighted the coordinated effort by law enforcement to gather evidence and execute the search warrant leading to Purbeck’s arrest.
7. **Online Aliases**: Purbeck operated under the names “Lifelock” and “Studmaster” in the cybercriminal community.