Counterintelligence & Tradecraft — 2026-05-11

Virginia Man Convicted of Destroying Government Databases After Termination

A federal jury on May 8 convicted Sohaib Akhter, 34, of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, password trafficking, and unlawful firearm possession, according to the Department of Justice. Akhter and his twin brother Muneeb were fired on February 18, 2025, from an unnamed Washington, D.C.-based contractor serving more than 45 federal agencies, after the firm discovered Sohaib's prior felony convictions. The DOJ states the brothers immediately accessed protected systems without authorization and deleted approximately 96 government databases, including DHS investigative records and FOIA files. Prosecutors allege, citing court documents reported by BleepingComputer and The Register, that the brothers queried an AI assistant on how to clear system logs after deleting a DHS database and wiped company laptops before returning them; Sohaib faces up to 21 years at sentencing on September 9, 2026, and Muneeb faces up to 45 years.

Analysis
The coordinated execution, including write-protecting databases before deletion, querying an AI assistant on log clearing, and wiping employer laptops, reflects preparation that predated the termination meeting, per the DOJ conviction record corroborated through court documents by BleepingComputer and The Register. A contractor serving more than 45 federal agencies failed to detect a 2016 federal computer-crime conviction during rehiring, and DHS investigative files and FOIA records were lost with no public recovery timeline stated. New vetting directives from DHS or ODNI are unlikely within six months, as background-check reform in federal contracting tracks protracted rulemaking cycles that outlast individual incidents. The failure may represent a company-level compliance lapse rather than a structural gap across the contracting ecosystem.

2 sources