US security was pranked by a 15-year-old boy
Kane Gamble, the British teenager who posed as former CIA Director John Brennan and accessed top secret US intelligence documents on Afghanistan and Iran, has just appeared in court.
According to the Telegraph, Kane Gamble, now 18 years old, has been carrying out all of the above daring activities since he was 15 years old. This teenager accessed the confidential data from his bedroom in Leicestershire, England.
One piece of information that caught everyone's attention the most was that Gamble did not "attack" the US intelligence system in the literal sense of the word, but used social engineering. This is the process of deceiving system users, or convincing them to provide information that can help defeat the security department.
The teenager convinced the CIA callers that he was John Brennan, then CIA Director, to gain access to the official's computer. Then, from the FBI help desk, Kane Gamble impersonated Mark Giuliano, then FBI Deputy Director, to regain access to the intelligence database system.
The teenager then went on to target US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
After gaining access to the computers, Gamble used the personal information he obtained to taunt his victims online, reveal personal information, bombard them with calls and messages, and even download pornographic films onto their computers while taking control of the VIPs' iPads and television screens.
Gamble is the founder of a group calling itself "Crackas With Attitude" (CWA). This group is often mistaken for hackers, although in reality the group relies on deceiving others to gather information to evade security forces.
During the scam, Gamble remotely accessed Mr. Brennan's Verizon account, then his AOL account, and even the official's email, phone book, iCloud, and Mr. Brennan's wife's iPad.
"Gamble accessed a number of highly sensitive accounts, including information about military and intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran," prosecutor John Lloyd-Jones said.
In addition to Mr. Brennan, Gamble also used similar techniques to communicate privately with White House Deputy National Security Adviser Avril Haines, FBI Agent Amy Hess, and Vonna Weir Heaton. In each case, Gamble successfully impersonated different people, of different ages.
The date for Gamble's sentencing has not yet been set, although the teenager has pleaded guilty to 10 charges.