In 2018, Vikas Singla had illegally invaded the computer system of the Gwinnett Medical Center in Georgia. Vikas Singla was a local, staying at Marietta, a northwest city of Atlanta, Georgia. He used to work at a metro Atlanta network security company as a chief operating officer when he ostensibly managed to enter into the hospital’s computer system.
The Acting Attorney Erskine in his Justice Department statement stated that Vikas had caused a disturbance in phone service, procured data from a digitizing gadget, and also disarranged the network of the printer service. Erskine further affirmed that the attack was done for gaining financial profits. Vikas Singla has been cited by the Federal Grand Jury in the State of Atlanta, which is the capital city of Georgia.
Vikas Singla is currently facing 17 charges which include ‘deliberate defilement into the protected computer’ and one charge upon ‘acquiring details from the protected computer’. The Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Nicholas L McQuaid (Acting Assistant Attorney General), additionally expressed that ‘any nefarious interference into the computer system of the hospital may have a disastrous outcome. The Justice Department has to incarcerate those who are responsible for jeopardizing the lives of the patients by disrupting the computer system, which is a crucial division of the healthcare system’.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case. It is noteworthy that Vikas is being prosecuted by Samir Kaushal, an Indian-origin Assistant U.S. Attorney. Another fact that came to light is that Brian Mund is the Trial Attorney who is representing the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Sanchita Bera,
Campus Ambassador, WCSF