Edmonton police have laid more than a dozen charges against a local man, after a local business’ network was allegedly hacked.
Police said they received a report over the alleged hacking of their IT infrastructure in July, 2017. It’s believed the suspect infiltrated the company’s IT network, took over their email and smart phone servers and demanded payment in Bitcoins to prevent any more damage to the network.
The EPS Cyber Crime Investigations Unit investigated, and managed to identify the alleged suspect. Investigators believe he may also be responsible for hacking at least four Edmonton-based companies.
Police have charged 37-year-old Jeffrey Johnston with 18 offences, including: three counts each of mischief in relation to computer data, theft under $5,000, two counts each of fraudulently obtaining computer service, mischief related to data and unauthorized use of computer services, and single counts of theft over $5,000 and extortion.
