Ivey responds to the federal indictment of the suspects behind the March cyber attacks

In March, Alabama state government websites were among those subject to a “denial of service” cyber attacks that affected critical infrastructure, corporate networks, and government agencies in the United States and around the world. On Wednesday, two Sudanese nationals were defendant in connection with the March attacks.

The two suspects, Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer, 22, and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, 27, are believed to be behind Anonymous Sudan, the online criminal group responsible for tens of thousands of Distributed attacks Denial of Service (DDoS), including those that affected Agents in Alabama in March. The two were charged with one count of conspiracy to damage protected computers, while Ahmed Salah was also charged with three counts of damaging protected computers.

A “denial of service (DoS) attack occurs when legitimate users are unable to access information systems, devices, or other network resources due to the actions of a malicious cyber threat actor,” according to the federal Cybersecurity and Security Agency of the infrastructure. website. Such attacks can affect email, websites, online accounts, and other services running on the victim’s computer or network.

The two suspects could face up to life in federal prison if convicted of all charges.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey applauded the federal grand jury indictment Wednesday morning press release.

“Criminal activity of any kind, including that originating outside our state, will not be tolerated in Alabama,” Ivey said. “I am grateful for the swift action of our Office of Information Technology and applaud the prosecution of these individuals responsible for this attempt to disrupt state government and many other operations around the world. Any person or organization that attempts to harm our state, our citizens, or our way of life will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“We will always do what is necessary to protect everyone who calls Alabama home,” Ivey added.

According to the press release, the state was able to respond “quickly and decisively” in March “to ensure that no access or damage to the state’s network, resources and data or infrastructure occurred.” At the time, Ivey’s office reported that information stored on state computers had not been breached.