WASHINGTON – Two North Carolina men were arrested Thursday on charges related to hacking senior U.S. government officials and U.S. government computer systems, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
The men were identified as Andrew Otto Boggs, 22, of North Wilkesboro, and Justin Gray Liverman, 24, of Morehead City.
Boggs and Liverman conspired with a hacking group called “Crackas With Attitude,” according to documents filed with the court.
The group used “social engineering” hacking techniques, like victim impersonation around October 2015 until February to gain access to the personal online accounts of senior U.S. government officials, their families and several U.S. government computer systems.
Three of the members of the group are located in the United Kingdom and are being investigated by the Crown Prosecution Service, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Boggs and Liverman will have their initial appearances at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia next week in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa Carroll Buchanan.
The U.S. Department of Justice says members of the group made harassing phone calls to victims and their families, defaced victims’ social media accounts and uploaded private information they got from victims’ personal accounts to public websites.
