Two men have been arrested for attempting to destroy government databases and they reportedly tried to cover their tracks with the help of AI tools
At this point, I've come to look at generative AI in search as a hindrance at best, and a potentially damaging 'yes and machine' at worst. Despite that, it seems that two alleged conspirators used it to try and cover their tracks after attempting to destroy 96 government databases. Maybe next time, go with plain 'ol search… or just don't bother.
As published by the Office of Public Affairs, Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter were two government contractors (and brothers) who reportedly destroyed these databases after having their employment terminated. According to the report, many of those databases contained records and documents linked to "Freedom of Information Act matters", alongside other sensitive information.
"Court documents further allege that approximately one minute after deleting a DHS database, Muneeb Akhter asked an artificial intelligence tool how to clear system logs following the deletion of databases."
According to the court document (via Cyberscoop), Muneeb Akhter asked an AI tool, "How do I clear system logs from SQL servers after deleting databases" at 4:59 PM on February 18. At 5:44 PM, he again asked an AI tool, "how you clear all event and application logs from Microsoft windows server 2012".
Just three minutes before the first search, Muneeb Akhter accessed the company's computer network and deleted the first database. Six minutes before this, Sohaib Akhter was let go from the company.
Muneeb and Sohaib have been accused of wiping multiple databases, over several hours, taking files off company-owned laptops. The court document claims Muneeb then drove to Texas with his personal laptop, mobile device, and Personal Identity Verification card.
We don't have confirmation of which tools were used or why. Given this took place in February, many search engines, like Google or Bing, already had AI-led searches, so it seems possible this is what the court document could be referring to. The specificity of the searches certainly implies the accused knew they were using AI, though.
Muneeb (who has been accused of going by Mickey and Munib) and Sohaib (or Suhaib) pled guilty to wire fraud back in 2015 and conspired to hack into the state department. Seems like the help of AI didn't manage to get them out of trouble this time.