Two Romanian citizens have been charged by the Justice Department for allegedly hacking into more than 100 surveillance cameras used by D.C. police.
Suspects Mihai Isvanca and Eveline Cismaru were arrested Dec. 15 in the Romanian capitol of Bucharest after attempting to flee Romania, NBC News reported. Prosecutors allege the two used the hacked computers to spread ransomware by sending thousands of fraudulent emails.
Isvanca and Cismaru could face up to 20 years in prison, according to NBC News.
On Jan. 12, eight days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Secret Service officers became aware that 123 surveillance cameras had been hacked, according to a complaint in federal court unsealed Thursday.
The suspects “participated in an intrusion into and taking control of approximately 123 internet-connected computers used by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to operate surveillance cameras in public, outdoor areas in the District of Columbia,” the complaint states.