Two Sudanese brothers have been charged with operating a global cybercriminal group responsible for computer attacks against corporate networks, government agencies and hospitals, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer, 22, and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, 27, were both charged in Los Angeles federal court with one count of conspiracy to damage protected computers. Ahmed Salah was also charged with three counts of damaging protected computers.
The defendants appear to be fugitives, court papers indicate.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that in March, pursuant to court-authorized warrants, law enforcement seized and disabled Anonymous Sudan’s denial-of-service technology, which the group allegedly used to perform computer attacks and sold to others.
According to charges unsealed Wednesday, victims of the attacks also included the U.S. Department of Justice itself, major technology platforms including Microsoft Corp. and Riot Games Inc., network service providers, and government websites for the state of Alabama. The attacks resulted in reported network outages affecting thousands of customers.
Anonymous Sudan’s attacks, which at times lasted several days, caused damage to websites and networks, often rendering them inaccessible or inoperable, resulting in significant damages, court papers show.
Earlier this year, the group’s attacks allegedly shuttered the emergency department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, causing incoming patients to be redirected to other medical facilities for about eight hours. Anonymous Sudan’s attacks have caused more than $10 million in damages to U.S. victims, according to federal prosecutors.
“Anonymous Sudan sought to maximize havoc and destruction against governments and businesses around the world by perpetrating tens of thousands of cyberattacks,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “This group’s attacks were callous and brazen — the defendants went so far as to attack hospitals providing emergency and urgent care to patients.”
If convicted of all charges, Ahmed Salah would face a sentence of up to life in federal prison, and Alaa Salah would face a sentence of up to five years, prosecutors noted.