Romanian hackers took over two-thirds of the District’s outdoor surveillance cameras just before President Trump’s inauguration, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.
The January attack affected 123 of the D.C. police department’s 187 outdoor surveillance cameras, leaving them unable to record for several days. Two Romanians, whom law enforcement officials describe as part of a bigger extortionist hacking group, are being charged in D.C. federal court with fraud and computer crimes.
“This case was of the highest priority due to its impact on the Secret Service’s protective mission and its potential effect on the security plan for the 2017 Presidential Inauguration,” Bill Miller, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, said in a statement.
Mihai Alexandru Isvanca, 25, and Eveline Cismaru, 28, were arrested in Romania earlier this month, along with three other Romanian hackers who will face prosecution in Europe. The U.S. charges, filed under seal on Dec. 11, were first reported by CNN.
