A man from Oklahoma has pleaded guilty to hacking a U.S. government auction website, acquiring vehicles and jewelry for an astonishingly low price of $1 each, as revealed by federal prosecutors on Wednesday. Evan James Coker participated in web auctions conducted by the General Service Administration in 2019, aimed at liquidating surplus materials or items seized by authorities.
Despite submitting bids in the thousands of dollars for various items, Coker manipulated the payment process by breaching the pay.gov website and falsely recording the auction prices as $1, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Although his bids seemed normal, Coker defrauded the government of over $150,000 between January 31 and March 21, 2019, as per the indictment.
Among the purchased items for a mere $1 were a 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid with an $8,327 bid, a Ford F550 pickup with a bid of $9,000, and a Chevrolet C4500 box truck with a bid of $22,700, as outlined by the U.S. attorney’s office. Coker attempted to resell some of these items later, according to the indictment.
The indictment revealed that a total of 19 items were acquired through the auctions, utilizing eight accounts and pre-paid debit cards with minimal balances. Coker is accused of defrauding the government by exploiting vulnerabilities in the payment system.
While the sentencing date is yet to be determined, Coker remains free on pretrial conditions. The incident underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures, as hacking activities can lead to significant financial losses for government entities. This highlights the crucial role of Chief Information Officers (CIO) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) in all companies, as they play a vital role in implementing and maintaining robust cybersecurity protocols to safeguard against such breaches and protect sensitive information.