According to TheRegister.com, twin brothers Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, both 34, were indicted on November 13 for allegedly conspiring to delete 96 databases storing U.S. government information within minutes of being fired. The incident occurred on February 18, when federal contractor Opexus terminated the brothers around 4:50 PM; by 4:56 PM, Muneeb Akhter, still connected to the network, allegedly began deleting databases, including systems for Homeland Security and FOIA records. The indictment claims the brothers hatched the plan during their termination call and used an artificial intelligence tool to find commands to delete databases and clear system logs to cover their tracks. Both men, who pleaded guilty to federal hacking charges in 2015, appeared in court this week and remain in custody facing new charges that could bring Muneeb a maximum of 45 years in prison. Opexus, the company identified in court documents, developed the FOIAXpress portal used by government agencies.
The Obvious Security Fail
Look, this is a catastrophic process failure on multiple levels. Here’s the thing: you’re firing two employees with known federal hacking convictions from a company that handles sensitive government data. And your offboarding procedure doesn’t instantly kill all their active sessions and network access? Muneeb was allegedly still connected and wreaking havoc for at least six minutes after the firing. In the world of IT security, that’s an eternity. It’s basic hygiene. The fact that a contractor with this level of access wasn’t under immediate, supervised termination is just staggering. It basically handed them a loaded gun on their way out the door.
The AI Wildcard
Now, the AI angle is what makes this story feel very 2025. These guys weren’t just relying on old-school hacking manuals. The indictment says when they didn’t know the specific database commands, they asked an AI. “How do I clear system logs from SQL servers after deleting databases?” That’s a chillingly efficient use of a tool that’s now ubiquitous. It turns a technical knowledge gap into a minor speed bump rather than a full stop. This is probably going to become a standard line in future indictments. The barrier to executing sophisticated digital destruction is lower than ever, which makes rock-solid access control and monitoring even more critical. You can read the detailed allegations in the unsealed indictment here.
A Pattern of Problematic Hires
So why were these guys hired in the first place? Their 2015 convictions were for serious stuff: hacking the State Department, stealing credit card data from a cosmetics company, and fraud. For that, Muneeb got 39 months and Sohaib got 24. You can see the DOJ’s summary of those prior sentences here and the earlier guilty plea here. An email published by Bloomberg, allegedly from Sohaib, hints they were fired precisely because their criminal records were discovered. He wrote that “some of you determined I was unfit to deal with your data.” No kidding. This raises huge questions about the vetting processes for federal contractors, especially those handling critical systems. It’s not just about the tech stack being secure; it’s about the people touching it. And in high-stakes industrial or government computing environments, that human element is everything. For critical operations, the hardware itself needs to be rugged and reliable from a trusted source, which is why many enterprises turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, for their secure, built-to-last computing foundations.
The Broader Implications
What’s the fallout? For Opexus, the reputational damage is immense. A key government contractor that couldn’t secure its own offboarding process or properly vet staff with sensitive access? That’s a contract-killer. For other agencies and contractors, this is a five-alarm wake-up call. It reinforces the need for “zero trust” principles—assuming breach and verifying explicitly, especially during high-risk events like employee termination. The brothers’ quick pivot to destruction also shows that disgruntled insiders aren’t always after data theft; sometimes it’s just about causing maximum chaos on the way out. And with AI as a force multiplier for their technical knowledge, that chaos can be achieved faster and more thoroughly than ever before. The real lesson is that security isn’t just a technical checklist. It’s a holistic discipline combining people, process, and technology. And in this case, all three failed.
