Following the federal indictment of two Sudanese men for last March’s cyberattack, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement expressing her full support for the charges being brought against the men.
“Criminal activity of any kind, including that coming from outside of our state, will not be tolerated in Alabama,” said Ivey. “I am thankful for the quick action of our Office of Information Technology, and I applaud the indictment of these individuals responsible for this attempt to disrupt state government and many other operations around the world. Any individual or organization who attempts to harm our state, our citizens, or our way of life will be subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
“We will always do what is required to protect everyone who calls Alabama home.”
Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer, 22, and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, 27, were allegedly part of Anonymous Sudan, an online cybercriminal group responsible for thousands of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against critical infrastructure, corporate networks, and government agencies around the globe.
Both have been charged with one count of conspiracy to damage protected computers. Ahmed Salah was also charged with three counts of damaging protected computers.
In March, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI seized and disabled the group’s DDoS tool, which was allegedly used in the cyberattacks, and sold as a service to others.
“Anonymous Sudan sought to maximize havoc and destruction against governments and businesses around the world by perpetrating tens of thousands of cyberattacks,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “This group’s attacks were callous and brazen — the defendants went so far as to attack hospitals providing emergency and urgent care to patients.”
The two men face statutory maximum sentences ranging from five years to life in federal prison if convicted of all charges.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.