The Department of Justice has unsealed charges against Aubrey Cottle, a Canadian accused of hacking into the Texas Republican Party's data in 2021. According to the announcement made by the DOJ, Cottle, a 37-year-old from Oshawa, Ontario, was arrested by Canadian authorities, who are also pressing charges under their own legal system. He is accused of accessing a hosting company’s systems without authorization to deface a website and steal backup data containing personal information.
The case, filed in the Western District of Texas, alleges that Cottle made away with information that was later circulated online. It seems Cottle couldn't resist boasting about his activities on social media, claiming responsibility for the cyberattack. When law enforcement inspected his electronic devices, they found he indeed held the data taken from the Texas Republican Party. If convicted on the charge of unlawfully transferring, possessing, or using identification with the intent to commit illegal activities, Cottle faces up to five years in prison.
Margaret Leachman, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, confirmed the news of the charges. The investigation is being carried forward by the FBI Austin Cyber Task Force, with helping hands from the Ontario Provincial Police and the Durham Regional Police Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Karthik Srinivasan is in charge of the prosecution, while the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs has also rendered significant help. While a complaint is simply an allegation at this stage, the indictment specifies that Cottle is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a lawful setting.
