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U.S. NAVY/GETTY IMAGESSuspect Nicholas Paul Knight was an enlisted Navy member assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman, seen here, at the time of the hacking.
A U.S. Navy man allegedly led a group of hackers to steal secret government information and shared the information on Twitter.
Nicholas Paul Knight, 27, of Chantilly, Va., was a systems administrator for nuclear aircraft carrier the USS Harry S. Truman at the time of the alleged crimes.
The group, known as Team Digi7al, is accused of infiltrating computer systems for more than 30 public and government organizations, authorities said.
Knight personally broke into the U.S. Navy's Smart Web Move database "out of boredom," according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The sailor, who went by the pseudonym "nuclear black hat," reportedly claimed to fight for the American people — not its government.
A black hat hacker is a person who hacks computer systems intending to damage them, according to charging documents.
Another conspirator said online that the group was "somewhat politically inclined to release” information but said they also did so because it was fun, according to authorities.
In addition to getting a kick out of their work, it's alleged that Knight's team published individuals’ private information to "embarrass the victims," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Souders told the Daily News.
Furthermore, when rival hackers took credit for Team Digi7al's work, Souders said "it was common for them to post more evidence."
Of 220,000 service members whose information was stored by SWM, 20 allegedly had their private information tweeted out by Team Digi7al.
The information included full names, birth dates and password reminders, which contained information like children's names and mothers' maiden names.
Social Security numbers were also posted, albeit in obscured forms, according to Souders.
Cyber criminals operate in the shadows and think they can escape legal responsibility; they cannot.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service detected the breach in June 2012. It identified Knight and Daniel Trenton Krueger, 20, of Salem, Ill., as suspects.
Krueger, who has since been discharged by the Navy, is accused of initially agreeing to cooperate with authorities’ investigation and then asking another member to delete information.
Krueger studied network administration at a community college in Illinois at the time. Souders could not say how Kruger and Knight met.
Investigators also identified a slew of other victims, including Harvard University, the Library of Congress, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the World Health Organization.
Authorities immediately notified and offered identity theft monitoring services to the hacking victims. They also set aside funds for damage assessment, mitigation response and a call center for victims, according to Souders.
Servers that stored the Navy records were located in Tulsa, Okla., which is why the charges are coming out of the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Knight and Krueger are accused of conspiracy to hack computer systems as part of a plan to steal identities, obstruct justice and damage a protected computer.
If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They would also need to pay restitution to victims.
"It's very important to protect our military from cyber criminals," said Souders. "Cyber criminals operate in the shadows and think they can escape legal responsibility; they cannot."
The investigation is ongoing.
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