American hacker Robert Purbek was sentenced to 10 years in hard Freedom for a series of cyber attacks and blackmail, affecting more than 132 thousand people across the United States. Purbek targeted medical institutions and police departments, stealing personal data from their servers and then attempting to extort money from the victims by threatening to expose the stolen information.
According to the case documents, Purbek gained unauthorized access to a clinic server in Georgia in 2017, stealing data of 43 thousand patients. A year later, he hacked into a police department server in Newnan, gaining access to police reports containing personal information of over 14 thousand individuals.
One particularly brazen extortion attempt occurred in 2018, where Purbek targeted Orthodont from Florida. He demanded payment in bitcoins, threatening to sell the patients’ and even a doctor’s information if the ransom was not paid. Over a span of 10 days, he sent threatening messages, instilling fear in the victim.
The FBI began investigating Purbek in 2019 and conducted a search at his residence in Idaho, seizing numerous devices containing stolen data. Many victims suffered significant financial losses as a result of his crimes, as per the investigation.
In March of this year, the court ordered Purbek to compensate for damages exceeding $1 million. Just recently, on November 13, the final sentence was handed down, sentencing him to 10 years in prison along with three years of probation.
FBI representative Sean Berker emphasized the importance of enhancing cybersecurity measures amidst the rising threat of digital extortion. He also highlighted that there is no impunity in the digital world, reiterating that even the most cunning hackers will eventually face consequences for their crimes.