A Romanian national, Catalin Dragomir, 45, of Constanta, Romania, pleaded guilty in a US court to selling unauthorised access to an Oregon state government office’s network. Dragomir obtained access in June 2021 and allegedly advertised admin access to the state’s emergency management department, negotiating a $3,000 sale in Bitcoin, and accessed the network several times to prove the claim.
Court documents state he provided samples of personal identifying information taken from the compromised network, including an employee’s login details, name, email address, and Social Security number, and he is accused of hacking into and selling access to the networks of 10 other US victims, causing at least $250,000 in losses. He was extradited to the US in January 2025 after being arrested in Romania in November 2024, and sentencing is scheduled for 26 May.
According to the US Department of Justice, Dragomir pleaded guilty to information theft and aggravated identity theft and agreed to pay full restitution. He faces up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and one year of supervised release.